Monday, October 22, 2012

Oct - 22nd Commute

I've been off the bike for about two weeks.  I've barely touched a bike let alone thrown a leg over one.  I still cough like mad if I take a deep breath.  However after being around so many bike enthusiasts(Veloswap) this weekend, I was pretty pumped about giving the work commute a try.  Here's how it went....

Temp - 41degrees

Me:
Head - 9 ok but fine (Helmet and thin head sock)
Hands - 9 ok but functioning (New Columbia gloves)
Chest - 9 warm (Underarmor pullover)
Legs - 8 warm (jeans)
Feet - 7 ok I can feel my toes (keen boots/tall but thin biking socks)
Overall Physical feel - 7 (little gaspy on the climb)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 5(front tire lost some air on the way up)
Brakes  - 7(chattery but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 6(liking the Fubar less and less.  The angle of the bar just isn't right.)

Total Score: 73

Things to change - Change out FuBar?, More slime or better tire sealant, change BB.

Things I noticed -  I like the smell of pancakes much better then the smell of diesel exhaust.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Winter Commuting

This was the lowest temperature commute so far.  It was 32ยบ when I left the house.  Luckily I had a tailwind of about 5-10mph.  It made the trip up the hill much more pleasant.  I did get a taste of the wind when I turned at the top of the hill.  I don't think my hands and feet would have been as warm if I'd have had to deal with a headwind.

My head was also preoccupied thinking about this blog post.  Kept my mind off of being cold.  Here's what I was thinking about.  I figured I'd rate my winter/cold weather commutes on a 1-10 scale.  All the factors will be added up and the rating for the ride will be that result.

For the Head, Hands, Chest, Lets and Feet : One will be useless frozen hunks of meat.  Ten will be Normal, warm functional appendage.
Overall Physical feel : One will be, legs and body fried, can't move.  Ten would be a great ride with energy to spare.

Me:
Head - 7 ok but fine (Helmet and thin head sock)
Hands - 5 ok but functioning (light fleece gloves)
Chest - 8 warm (med blue fleece jacket)
Legs - 7 warm (jeans)
Feet - 5 ok I can feel my toes (keen boots/tall but thin hiking socks)
Overall Physical feel - 5 (legs tired)

Bike ratings as follows.  One will mean total equipment failure.  Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.

Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 3(pretty sure they will both be flat for the trip home. Lost a lot of air on the way up)
Brakes  - 7(chattery but fine)
Drivetrain - 6(BB needs replaced)
Overall/Other - 7(lights great, Fubar??)

Total Score: 60

Things to change - Heavier socks, Windstopper gloves, More slime or better tire sealant, change BB.