biking to work
Tue Feb 3 02:10:16 EST 2015
We had a little snow Sunday night, but nothing severe; rain Monday morning. The skies cleared in the afternoon. It reached 50°F/10°C at the airport today, so I felt compelled to get back on the bike after biking only 1 day last week. It was a bit cooler when I got to work, 42°F/5.6°C with 30mph (48kph) winds gusting to 45mph (72kph), mostly a tailwind; the buffeting crosswind on Key Bridge was difficult. Coming home it dropped to 22°F/-5.6°C, into the wind - and mostly uphill, as always.
20:52 NW 22 G 31
21:52 NW 16 G 25
My announced cut-off has been 20°F/-6.7°C for many years. I think I may be able to drop that, maybe to 15°F/-9.4°C, especially if I'm not dealing with headwinds.
Tuesday's forecast is a colder high and a slightly warmer low. Warmer Wednesday, colder again Thursday and Friday, and very cold Thursday night.
Wednesday 02:26
Monday night someone in a pickup truck stopped very far back behind me at a red light. Turns out it was a co-worker. He left work probably 50-60 minutes after I did. It's no surprise he caught up with me, especially since I was fighting a fierce wind. I'm just wondering why he was even on that road. It's in the direction of his apartment, but I probably would have been on I-66 to go towards Ashburn.
Going in today was colder than yesterday. I stopped about 2 blocks from home to put on the booties. There was an unmarked police car parked in front of the house next door. I wonder what she was looking for? It's an odd spot to watch from for traffic infractions.
There was still some wind today, but coming home was not as cold as last night - 5-10°F/2.8-5.6°C warmer, much greater difference with the wind chill. Going in, I saw a small screwdriver in the road in Georgetown, but I didn't feel like stopping to pick it up. I did stop to look for it on the way home, and I found it a little further down the street, in the gutter - probably driven over a bit more. It's a Craftsman, so it can take some abuse.
Thursday 22:33
Yesterday got up to 55°F/12.8°C. The ride was quite pleasant. Consider that when the temperature drops to 60°F/15.6°C in the autumn that's when I think about jackets and long tights. T-shirts and shorts are still sufficient on sunny days.
Today was 35-32°F/1.7-0°C going to work, but the wind (tailwinds again) was stronger than Monday, and the ride felt colder. It was 17°F/-8.3°C when I got home tonight, with headwinds. I was dressed more warmly than Monday night - neoprene facemask, a fleece layer inside my jacket, and Gore-Tex covers over my lobster mittens. Everything was OK except my toes. The thick socks and neoprene booties are not enough. I did go past my 20°F/-6.7°C limit though.
Friday 22:31
Well, it's been a long time since I've done this: biked to work all 5 days of the week. Even with the crazy weather we've been having the last few weeks, the worst of it has been north of us, and it wasn't raining, snowing, or sleeting before or during my commutes. it was 24°F/-4.4°C when I got home tonight, but it was no challenge at all after last night - probably because it wasn't windy, along with being warmer.
I took my regular route today, both ways - north from the house instead of east, and across Chain Bridge to the C&O Canal Towpath instead of Key Bridge further downriver. A couple of houses were gone in one block; I expect the lots will get McMansions. They've done some work on the towpath, adding sand to level the muddy spots. This isn't entirely helpful, because sand is also a terrible surface for cycling. And since it's the muddy spots, it's wet sand, where bike tires leave ruts, and the ruts freeze. And ruts at shallow angles to the tire will deflect it. It's very hard to maintain your course and keep your balance at any appreciable speed.
There's ice on the canal, but I doubt it's anywhere near thick enough for skating. There's also places where creeks under and runoff from the adjacent road flow into the canal. Major streams are probably routed underneath the canal, to flow into the Potomac.
This route has the other "impossible" hill. I took a breather near the bottom of it, where it first becomes really steep, and made it up more than halfway. It's a dead-end street, so there's usually no traffic, but tonight strangely enough an SUV came up behind me, and leaving it room to pass restricted my efforts. I still don't think I would have made it to the 3/4 point, where the switchbacks start, which really make it unrideable for my long bike. To top it off, the SUV was apparently lost, since it turned around (dead end, yeah?) and went back (again, restricting my room, since I was still going uphill). There was another lost SUV in Georgetown. Water Street dead ends at the remains of the aquaduct that connected the C&O to Arlington, across the Potomac. Bicycles can keep going at that point up along the river on the Capital Crescent Trail. The Canal runs parallel on higher ground. The last turnoff from Water St before the remaining side streets are all short loops and dead ends has a straight lane and a right-turn lane, and almost every car turns right. This SUV seemed annoyed that I didn't move right. I wasn't turning right. I left it lots of room to pass me after the intersection, and it did eventually pass me, and got to the dead end. And turned around. I really wasn't in its way at that corner.
There's always lost drivers in DC. Some of them get lost enough to end up in VA.
The music for Pennsic's Known World Choir went online this week. I printed out a set. There's one piece I recognize, but I think it's not the same setting I've sung before, and I think everything else is new for me.
https://sites.google.com/site/kwcpennsicchoir/home/pennsic-choir/pennsicxliiichoirs
Sunday 15:38
It's a beautiful afternoon - 64°F/17.8°C. I was outside for a while, and I saw lots of bikes go by. (One street at our corner is an official bike route.) I took advantage of the warm, sunny day to do some bike maintenance.
I have a couple of lead-acid batteries for the halogen headlights and incandescent taillight that used to be the primary lighting on my bikes. This week I noticed that the taillight wasn't so bright. This tends to happen when some wiring has come lose and the batteries aren't charging properly, or when the batteries are failing. I pulled the whole setup apart and got out the voltmeter. It looks like one battery has failed, and it's draining the other battery. I'm charging them up again now, off the bike, and I can separate them for testing. Things will work OK with just one battery, and this is a secondary (redundant) lighting system now, since I have two LED lights on my helmet and six blinkers on the back of the seat.
I don't think I'm even going to bother replacing the bad battery, since (as I've mentioned) I'm planning to buy a new bike, and I don't have plans to set up 12-volt halogen lighting on it. The new LED systems are lighter (weight) and much brighter.
One of the mounts on the seat back, holding 3 blinkers, had gotten looser and looser. I thought the mount was breaking internally, has had happened previously. I took that apart too today, and had the delightful surprise that there were just some loose bolts. That's all snugged up now.
I replaced the rear tire in mid November. If the new tire is not identical, the circumference will probably be different, and the computer will require recalibration. I did a roll-out with a tape measure and there's a 1.4% change. This shows up in my daily logs; they often repeat day-to-day within 1/100th of a mile (16m). (You can see distance changes from tire inflation.)
Tomorrow's forecast is rain and maybe snow, so I don't expect to be on the bike. The lead-acid batteries are off the bike, and it's a lot lighter. I'll probably be putting only one of the batteries back on the bike. The "impossible" hills will be easier without those 15 pounds (6.8kg).
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/723459.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
We had a little snow Sunday night, but nothing severe; rain Monday morning. The skies cleared in the afternoon. It reached 50°F/10°C at the airport today, so I felt compelled to get back on the bike after biking only 1 day last week. It was a bit cooler when I got to work, 42°F/5.6°C with 30mph (48kph) winds gusting to 45mph (72kph), mostly a tailwind; the buffeting crosswind on Key Bridge was difficult. Coming home it dropped to 22°F/-5.6°C, into the wind - and mostly uphill, as always.
20:52 NW 22 G 31
21:52 NW 16 G 25
My announced cut-off has been 20°F/-6.7°C for many years. I think I may be able to drop that, maybe to 15°F/-9.4°C, especially if I'm not dealing with headwinds.
Tuesday's forecast is a colder high and a slightly warmer low. Warmer Wednesday, colder again Thursday and Friday, and very cold Thursday night.
Wednesday 02:26
Monday night someone in a pickup truck stopped very far back behind me at a red light. Turns out it was a co-worker. He left work probably 50-60 minutes after I did. It's no surprise he caught up with me, especially since I was fighting a fierce wind. I'm just wondering why he was even on that road. It's in the direction of his apartment, but I probably would have been on I-66 to go towards Ashburn.
Going in today was colder than yesterday. I stopped about 2 blocks from home to put on the booties. There was an unmarked police car parked in front of the house next door. I wonder what she was looking for? It's an odd spot to watch from for traffic infractions.
There was still some wind today, but coming home was not as cold as last night - 5-10°F/2.8-5.6°C warmer, much greater difference with the wind chill. Going in, I saw a small screwdriver in the road in Georgetown, but I didn't feel like stopping to pick it up. I did stop to look for it on the way home, and I found it a little further down the street, in the gutter - probably driven over a bit more. It's a Craftsman, so it can take some abuse.
Thursday 22:33
Yesterday got up to 55°F/12.8°C. The ride was quite pleasant. Consider that when the temperature drops to 60°F/15.6°C in the autumn that's when I think about jackets and long tights. T-shirts and shorts are still sufficient on sunny days.
Today was 35-32°F/1.7-0°C going to work, but the wind (tailwinds again) was stronger than Monday, and the ride felt colder. It was 17°F/-8.3°C when I got home tonight, with headwinds. I was dressed more warmly than Monday night - neoprene facemask, a fleece layer inside my jacket, and Gore-Tex covers over my lobster mittens. Everything was OK except my toes. The thick socks and neoprene booties are not enough. I did go past my 20°F/-6.7°C limit though.
Friday 22:31
Well, it's been a long time since I've done this: biked to work all 5 days of the week. Even with the crazy weather we've been having the last few weeks, the worst of it has been north of us, and it wasn't raining, snowing, or sleeting before or during my commutes. it was 24°F/-4.4°C when I got home tonight, but it was no challenge at all after last night - probably because it wasn't windy, along with being warmer.
I took my regular route today, both ways - north from the house instead of east, and across Chain Bridge to the C&O Canal Towpath instead of Key Bridge further downriver. A couple of houses were gone in one block; I expect the lots will get McMansions. They've done some work on the towpath, adding sand to level the muddy spots. This isn't entirely helpful, because sand is also a terrible surface for cycling. And since it's the muddy spots, it's wet sand, where bike tires leave ruts, and the ruts freeze. And ruts at shallow angles to the tire will deflect it. It's very hard to maintain your course and keep your balance at any appreciable speed.
There's ice on the canal, but I doubt it's anywhere near thick enough for skating. There's also places where creeks under and runoff from the adjacent road flow into the canal. Major streams are probably routed underneath the canal, to flow into the Potomac.
This route has the other "impossible" hill. I took a breather near the bottom of it, where it first becomes really steep, and made it up more than halfway. It's a dead-end street, so there's usually no traffic, but tonight strangely enough an SUV came up behind me, and leaving it room to pass restricted my efforts. I still don't think I would have made it to the 3/4 point, where the switchbacks start, which really make it unrideable for my long bike. To top it off, the SUV was apparently lost, since it turned around (dead end, yeah?) and went back (again, restricting my room, since I was still going uphill). There was another lost SUV in Georgetown. Water Street dead ends at the remains of the aquaduct that connected the C&O to Arlington, across the Potomac. Bicycles can keep going at that point up along the river on the Capital Crescent Trail. The Canal runs parallel on higher ground. The last turnoff from Water St before the remaining side streets are all short loops and dead ends has a straight lane and a right-turn lane, and almost every car turns right. This SUV seemed annoyed that I didn't move right. I wasn't turning right. I left it lots of room to pass me after the intersection, and it did eventually pass me, and got to the dead end. And turned around. I really wasn't in its way at that corner.
There's always lost drivers in DC. Some of them get lost enough to end up in VA.
The music for Pennsic's Known World Choir went online this week. I printed out a set. There's one piece I recognize, but I think it's not the same setting I've sung before, and I think everything else is new for me.
https://sites.google.com/site/kwcpennsicchoir/home/pennsic-choir/pennsicxliiichoirs
Sunday 15:38
It's a beautiful afternoon - 64°F/17.8°C. I was outside for a while, and I saw lots of bikes go by. (One street at our corner is an official bike route.) I took advantage of the warm, sunny day to do some bike maintenance.
I have a couple of lead-acid batteries for the halogen headlights and incandescent taillight that used to be the primary lighting on my bikes. This week I noticed that the taillight wasn't so bright. This tends to happen when some wiring has come lose and the batteries aren't charging properly, or when the batteries are failing. I pulled the whole setup apart and got out the voltmeter. It looks like one battery has failed, and it's draining the other battery. I'm charging them up again now, off the bike, and I can separate them for testing. Things will work OK with just one battery, and this is a secondary (redundant) lighting system now, since I have two LED lights on my helmet and six blinkers on the back of the seat.
I don't think I'm even going to bother replacing the bad battery, since (as I've mentioned) I'm planning to buy a new bike, and I don't have plans to set up 12-volt halogen lighting on it. The new LED systems are lighter (weight) and much brighter.
One of the mounts on the seat back, holding 3 blinkers, had gotten looser and looser. I thought the mount was breaking internally, has had happened previously. I took that apart too today, and had the delightful surprise that there were just some loose bolts. That's all snugged up now.
I replaced the rear tire in mid November. If the new tire is not identical, the circumference will probably be different, and the computer will require recalibration. I did a roll-out with a tape measure and there's a 1.4% change. This shows up in my daily logs; they often repeat day-to-day within 1/100th of a mile (16m). (You can see distance changes from tire inflation.)
Tomorrow's forecast is rain and maybe snow, so I don't expect to be on the bike. The lead-acid batteries are off the bike, and it's a lot lighter. I'll probably be putting only one of the batteries back on the bike. The "impossible" hills will be easier without those 15 pounds (6.8kg).
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/723459.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]