Winter Commute

this morning it was snowing and the temp was 20°F with the wind chill putting the temp at 10°F. The commute was a blast! I took the bike path most of the way because this is the first time I've ridden through snow on the roads. It wasn't icy so I didn't have to deal with that. The city of Denver was plowing the bike paths! Awesome.


My bike with the wide 32 tires performed wonderfully. My commuting clothes were plenty warm as well, except that my finger tips were starting to get cold. Also I really need to get sunglasses for biking, the wind and blowing snow was distracting. Squinting into the snow is a bad idea when winter biking.

What clothes did I have?
Starting at the top, I have a Novara under helmet skull cap that was warm enough, it covers my ears too, although, 15 minutes in, the bottoms of my ears were starting to get chilled.

Next, I wore my Marmot wind and water proof coat, a wool sweater, a thermal long sleeved shirt, and a t-shirt on my abdomen. I need to get a balaclava or a neck warmer, as my neck and chin were cold in the wind! But otherwise the 4 layers were plenty warm.

On my legs, I wore my Novara headwind bike pants and long underwear. They were plenty warm down to 10°! And then on my feet, wigwam wool socks and my hiking boots/shoes. No complaints there! Warm toes!

So what do I need to add for these cold days? balaclava or neck warmer... sunglasses... and glove liners, or warmer gloves. Awesome!

I'm a little leery of commuting home tonight after dark, I'll just having to keep reminding myself to take it real slow and easy. Last night I rode through Denver with Kyle and because we took an easy pace, I spotted a red fox cross the road in front of us. Which reminds me I used to occasionally see myself biking through traffic as a trickster fox riding amongst a pack of brutish hunting dogs. Go Foxes!

Also two other people here at work commuted in on bike through the first week day snowy commute! (would've been hard to live down had I taken the bus...)

Sunday Nov 2nd: Chatfield loop

40 miles

Same as yesterday, except alot windier. The wind dried me out, I did not drink enough water and felt a bit dehydrated at the end of the ride.

I ran into Mu Son, we talked for awhile.

The weather was amazing both Saturday and Sunday: in the mid-seventies. Even the wind on Sunday was a warm southern breeze.

plenty warm on Sunday in shorts and short sleeved bike jersey. On saturday, when the sun went behind clouds I was a bit chilled.

Saturday Nov 1: Chatfield loop

40 miles

down the platte trail and up the steep hill to the top of the chatfield res. I rode down the hill, and then back up, then down again and pedalled home.

Saturday Oct 18: Waterton Canyon

62 miles, 4 hours 24 minutes






The distances:
3 miles from my house to Confluence Park
21 miles from Confluence to horse stable turn off at Chatfield
3 miles from horse stable to Waterton Canyon trail head
6 miles from Waterton trail head to Strontia Springs

Sunday Oct 12: Platte River Trail

32 miles; 40 degrees

I rode down the platte trail again today, it was a bit cold. But fun. I made the same mistake today that I made yesterday. I layered a cotton t-shirt. It got soaked with sweat and then was cold and clammy, so I stopped and took it off and then I was much better. Its tricky layering in cold weather, because you are hot and sweaty underneath and cold on the top layer. So if you wear cotton underneath it gets hot and sweaty and then cold and clammy. I just might have to make a few more wool purchases.

Saturday October 11th: Rainy Day Ride

25 miles


I rode around in the rain today. It was cold and rainy (around 42 degrees) but everyone in my house was practising music and I was starting to feel stir crazy, so I put on 4 layers on top, 2 layers on bottom and headed out on the road. I bought a pair of cold weather bike pants (Novara headwind pants) at REI's sale last week, they performed wonderfully. I just had those and a pair of long john bottoms and I didn't feel the cold or rain. On top I wore a raincoat and wool jersey (which I bought at New Belgiums' Tour de fat.

It was a fun ride, I enjoyed myself and other than a couple joggers, I had the bike trail to myself. Another tip of the hat to my new Miyata Six Ten. I've always been a bit hesitant to ride in the rain, but today was a sweet time, the 700x32 tires held the road wonderfully. And when I got home there was a warm bowl of Cream of butternut Squash soup waiting for me.

Notes from Bike Camping last month

What do I want out of this trip?
A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs.


Bike Camping 9-10-08

I left work at 3pm, I rushed home and quickly packed. I left my house at 4:15. At 5:20, on the Bear Creek Trail I got a flat tire. Luckily in the front. I arrived at the campsite at 6:05. I pitched the tent and cooked some pasta. At 7:05 I sat down to eat, pasta with Peanut Sauce. Awesome and smple camping meal.

The bike ride out to Bear Creek Lake State Park was beautiful. I enjoyed having the bike weighed down (and it was weighed down!) It made me ignore the passing bikes and ride mellow so I enjoyed the ride and scenery.

I need a stronger back wheel. I put a lot of weight back there. I also need new tires. I've been getting a lot of flat tires recently. I packed too much food. The pasta and sauce were perfect and tomorrow I'll probably brew coffee and maybe try oatmeal and cookies for breakfast.

The campground is pretty horrible: no trees larger than 12 feet, all open spaces, all spaces with electric hookups and huge gravel parking spaces in front. The RV parked across the driveway from me has a bright spot light shining on the side of their Motor Home. I came out here to escape all of the light pollution and maybe be able to see some of the stars and they brought a little of suburbia out camping with them.

But I kid you, it was an awesome bike ride. The grade of Morrison was pretty intense with all of the additional weight on my bike. I had to shift down into the granny gear! As I was barrelling down the other side of the hill I asked another cyclist where the park entrance was. He pointed it out and added, "Don't freeze camping!" Its weather is pretty mild at the campsite yet. As the sun went down, I put on jeans and a fleece long sleeved shirt, (the Lantz Guernsey Farm shirt my brother gave me!) and I am nice and toasty warm.

For bear and raccoon protection, I threw a nylon cord over a 7 foot branch to tie up the food. Granted a raccoon could reach that on its tippy toes but I figured I should make an effort. Still, what a joke. There's no tree branch really any higher in the campground to throw it over. I didn't pack that much food, I decided against making black bean soup because of the mess to clean up afterwards. The pasta was a last minute grab on the way out the door and will become a camping staple because of its simplicity to make and clean up afterwards. The Light My Fire mess kit worked perfectly, I even used the colander.

Next time, I need to organize the load better, so I can get at my tools (spare tube, pump, tire levers) without having to unstrap the tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad from the rear rack to get at them.

What did I bring:
Tent, footprint, pad, sleeping bag
stove, fuel, lighter
food (pasta, sauce, trail mix, tamari almonds, Uncle Eddie's Vegan Cookies, oatmeal, ground coffee, instant refried beans, and instant black bean soup)
water: 3 bottles and also camelpak
Extra clothes (fleece, pants, wool hat, gloves, socks, thermal underwear)
toiletries (soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, dish towel)
camera
raincoat

I will assess tomorrow whether I overpacked (it seems like a huge load for one night). But readingWhat do I want out of this trip? A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs

The tent pitched easily in 10-15 minutes. It would've been a different story if it'd been raining. Rain would've changed everything.

Bear Creek park was lovely to bike through, it was everything I miss: tree lined bike path, golden sunset prairie grass, a relaxed ride, easy going vibe.

I think when people saw my loaded bike they thought: "oh an eccentric!", or, "Oh the homeless!", or "Oh I want to do an overnight bike trip!" or "Oh, he's on a holy pilgrimage! A pilgrim, a Holy Fool."

What do I want out of this trip? A bit of confidence; a bit of spontaneity; a bit of independence; to know I can set up camp and cook on a camp stove and carry everything I need on my bike. And that when an obstacle arises I can keep my head and fix the flat and improvise. I also wanted to see the magical in the mundane, an adventure in the middle of the suburbs: and I am smack dab in the midst of the suburbs, the superhighways 285 and C-470 are both less than a mile from where I am camped. I can see the constant traffic from the picnic table I'm sitting at, by I can also see the moon and the stars.

Next morning:
I woke up last night thinking: Wow, is it morning already? It was getting lighter in the east, then I looked at my cell phone and it was midnight. Oops! So I went back to sleep. The wind blew a lot, I was out in the middle with no trees to block the wind. I slept sideways in the tent because the tent wall kept blowing in an hitting the top of my head.

I woke up at 6:30am, by 7:30 I had pitched camp and was drinking coffee. At 6:30 there was a constant stream of traffic passing over C-470 already. If you close your eyes you can pretend its the sound of a river, a mechanical river. I left camp at 8am, got lost a couple times biking around the state park and got home around 10:30am. Fun ride home, a bit cold and damp, especially riding in jeans and with the camelpak on my back. But a nice ride, not too tired.

Additions I could have used:
Pillow!
chain grease.

Didn't need to pack:
camelpak
some of the instant food.