The recent storms that passed through the Northeast, started with snow, but switched to rain for the majority of the day.  While the studded tires were nice during the ride yesterday, going through the slush and occasionally frozen snow, it wasn't until today that I discovered how awesome these tires really are.  After I finished my commute last night, the temperatures continued to fall and everything froze.  This left a nice layer of ice pretty much everywhere that wasn't plowed, leaving about a 1/2" of ice on the bike trail.  I looked at the path and decided, what the heck, these things are supposed to work on ice.  Since the other alternative was sticking on the potentially questionable roads with cars, I choose the safer of the two options and road on the sheer ice.  I started off cautiously, testing my steering and braking abilities.  All I can say are these tires are awesome.  There are a couple small hills during my commute and I had no issues with any slipping.  I kept looking down at the ice I was riding over and realized I wouldn't even want to try and walk along here, but the bike was rock solid.  It was amazing peaceful, I had the bike trail literally to myself, even the animals were all hunkered down just trying to stay warm.

I had my first modeling gig yesterday… okay, so RIPTA (RI Public Transportation Authority) wanted some material for upcoming alternative transportation brochures and contacted Bike-To-Brown.  I guess in previous years, they used "professional" models and had been given some grief about the fact that they looked too good.  They had us sign waiver forms, saying the usual, we had no rights to the photo, etc.  The part I got a kick out of was where we signed, it asked for the model's signature.  Take a look at this picture, does that not just scream professional to you?  Now that we have gone public, I'm sure that other modeling agencies will be flooding our inboxes with other opportunities.  I mean, who wouldn't want to hire this group for other photos 😉

I seem to have reached some critical age on my bike.  I went through many years, not needing to replace anything, and all of sudden it seems like parts are failing left and right.  I replaced my first set of derailer pulleys this weekend.  Just a few weeks ago, I replaced my first set of wheels and not long before that my first chain ring.  I haven't a clue how many miles are on all of the parts being replaced, most of them have resided on three different frames now.  I'm sure it's still cheaper than replacing car parts, heck I provide the labor, which I certainly can't do on my car.

My waterbottle froze on the way into work this morning, for the first time this year.  I left the house and it was just under 4 degrees F, with gusts to 30mph!  It actually wasn't too hard to stay warm, just lots of layers.  There were a handful of people who commuted to work by bike today, we are definitely starting to get a core group that is committed.

There are two wooden bridges on the bike trail, that traverse fairly wide inlets.  They seemed to be particularly unhappy with the temperatures this morning and were popping and cracking as I road over them.  It made me wonder, what in the world would I do if I actually ended up in the water on a day like this?  I wonder if I could even manage to get myself out of the water?  Fortunately, I'm sure the bridges were just fine and could hold far more than my weight, but it sure did make me feel somewhat isolated; there were not a lot of other people on bike path this morning.

There is a section on the North end of the bike trail, where there is very little to block the wind.  As I rode to work, the tide was going out and the wind was howling in.  There was steam rising from the water and it was really interesting to watch the struggle between the inertia imparted on the steam from the flowing water and the wind quickly.  I sure wish I had a camera, but was equally glad to avoid having a reason to stop in the cold.

I came across another blog that really seems to fit with my style of cycling called Everyday Cycling.  They seem to focus on using bikes as vehicles and including the entire family.  I'll definitely try and spend some more time looking it over when I get a chance.

I happened upon a fun article discussing some winter riding tips published by Pete in Ottawa, you can find the entire article here.  Even if you aren't into winter cycling, this article is entertaining enough to warrant a quick read.  Here are some of the highlights:

"Something I like doing in the winter is to buy a Popsicle before I leave, and put it in my pocket. It won't melt! I take it out and start eating it just as I arrive at the University. Its fun to watch peoples' expressions when they see me, riding in the snow, eating a Popsicle.  You have to be careful with Popsicles in the winter. I once had a horrible experience. You know how when you are a kid, your parents told you never to put your tongue onto a metal pole? In very cold weather, a Popsicle acts the same way.  If you are not careful, your upper lip, lower lip, and tongue become cemented to the Popsicle. Although this sounds funny when I write about it, it was definitely not funny when it happened."

"Starting at the bottom, on my feet I wear Sorell Caribou boots. These are huge ugly things, but they keep my feet warm. I have found that in extreme to insane cold, my toes get cold otherwise. These boots do not make it easy to ride, but they do keep me warm (see rule 2, brute force). They do not fit into any toe-clips that I have seen. I used to wear lighter things for less cold weather, but I found judging the weather to be a pain. If its not too cold, I ride with them half unlaced. The colder it gets, the more I lace them, and finally, I'll tie them."

On my ride, walk, hop, jump, leap in this morning, I got to thinking… where are my race numbers?  Parts of the ride felt more like a cyclocross event than anything else.  Perhaps this could be a new race category, the "with panniers, lights, batteries, etc." classification.  It was the first morning where I've really been slowed down by the work on the bike trail.  They were taking down trees in the area where the replacement sewer pipe will be layed in the ground and they were just laying them down across the entire width of the bike path.  Naturally, it was a section where there is water on both sides, so no good exit route.  They've been really good about cleaning up at night, so I suspect all of this will be gone for my trip home.

I was riding into work yesterday and passed a sight I still can't believe.  At first, it looked totally normal, two men were working on ladders to remove some Christmas lights from a house.  Then I got a little closer and noticed that there was a truck parked in front of this house, with what must have been a twenty foot trailer on it, full of Christmas decorations: wreaths, garlands, lights, etc.  When I passed the truck pulling the trailer, there was a magnetic sign on the side saying something like so and so's Christmas Decorating Service.  What!  Do people actually have enough money that they are willing to pay a service to decorate their house for Christmas?  I guess this is the ultimate attempt to keep up with the Jones'.  I was passing through a ritzy area at the time, so if I stop and think about it, I shouldn't really be shocked.  Still, it does say something about our culture.  There are people without enough food in this country nor proper shelter, not to mention the quality of life for people in other countries, and some people have to settle for having their houses decorated, by someone else, for a holiday.