R
Ron Wallenfang
Guest
My longest consecutive day riding streak, by far, ran from March 6,
1998,(following an air travel complication the day before) to March 21,
2003, when I was hit by a car and sustained a third degree shoulder
separation. I don't have a distinct recollection of how I handled that 50"
snow month. My most vivid recollections are set out in the previous post.
"Eric Babula" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Ron Wallenfang" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> I'm another Milwaukee area bike commuter, who hasn't been stopped
>> by the cold since I've been keeping daily records in 1993. Coldest
>> riding day in that period was -15F. There have been a couple of
>> colder days here over those years, but I rode in the "heat" of the
>> afternoon those days. Snow and ice have, from time to time, forced
>> me not to commute, though I've always gotten in at least some
>> riding in the course of the day/evening. The plows and salt trucks
>> are ubiquitous and do a good job here (at least on the arterials),
>> so you're rarely completely shut down for long. The most difficult
>> day was the Jan 2, 1999 blizzard, when I waited for the snowplow
>> to come by on our street, and then rode up and down that street a
>> bunch of times for 5 miles of riding. Close behind it was a week
>> in Madison before Christmas a few years ago that featured an
>> unusual combination of snow and bitter cold. One evening that
>> week, I went to a tavern where my sister's blue grass band was
>> playing (She didn't know I was in town). Her first reaction on
>> seeking an abominable snowman type character come in was to ask
>> herself: "Who's that idiot out biking tonight. Then came the
>> realization: "That's my brother!" My most embarrassing day was
>> warmer - a 35 F wind driven rain in early April that I wan't
>> prepared for with adequate clothing - I had to pull into a fast
>> food place after 7 miles of riding and call and ask my wife to come
>> get me - I couldn't stay warm enough!
>>
>> I had studded snow tires but found them insufficiently helpful to
>> keep. They help on ice but not otherwise, at the price of being
>> very slow and very noisy. My zero mileage days since 1998 are
>> limited to 23 days off in 2003, when I was hit by a car and
>> separated a shoulder, 26 days off this past summer, while
>> recovering from surgery, and one day lost in 2004 due to travel.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Now, I'd consider THAT hardcore! Nice job, Rob!
>
> Did you bike every day the year that we had 50" of snow in just the
> month of December? What was that year - 2000?
>
> Ok, I admit it - I'm a wimp! My ~14-mile commute takes me about an hour,
> on a normal day. In the winter, it takes even longer. The one day I rode
> in the snow, it took 1hr45min, and I was not having fun. Bicycling is
> supposed to be fun.
>
> I too often let the weather be my excuse for not riding my bike to work.
> I gotta work on that.
>
> Do I hear a New Year's Resolution, already?
>
> --
> Eric Babula
> Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
>
> Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
> of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body.
> But rather, it’s to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
> totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!!!'
>
1998,(following an air travel complication the day before) to March 21,
2003, when I was hit by a car and sustained a third degree shoulder
separation. I don't have a distinct recollection of how I handled that 50"
snow month. My most vivid recollections are set out in the previous post.
"Eric Babula" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Ron Wallenfang" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> I'm another Milwaukee area bike commuter, who hasn't been stopped
>> by the cold since I've been keeping daily records in 1993. Coldest
>> riding day in that period was -15F. There have been a couple of
>> colder days here over those years, but I rode in the "heat" of the
>> afternoon those days. Snow and ice have, from time to time, forced
>> me not to commute, though I've always gotten in at least some
>> riding in the course of the day/evening. The plows and salt trucks
>> are ubiquitous and do a good job here (at least on the arterials),
>> so you're rarely completely shut down for long. The most difficult
>> day was the Jan 2, 1999 blizzard, when I waited for the snowplow
>> to come by on our street, and then rode up and down that street a
>> bunch of times for 5 miles of riding. Close behind it was a week
>> in Madison before Christmas a few years ago that featured an
>> unusual combination of snow and bitter cold. One evening that
>> week, I went to a tavern where my sister's blue grass band was
>> playing (She didn't know I was in town). Her first reaction on
>> seeking an abominable snowman type character come in was to ask
>> herself: "Who's that idiot out biking tonight. Then came the
>> realization: "That's my brother!" My most embarrassing day was
>> warmer - a 35 F wind driven rain in early April that I wan't
>> prepared for with adequate clothing - I had to pull into a fast
>> food place after 7 miles of riding and call and ask my wife to come
>> get me - I couldn't stay warm enough!
>>
>> I had studded snow tires but found them insufficiently helpful to
>> keep. They help on ice but not otherwise, at the price of being
>> very slow and very noisy. My zero mileage days since 1998 are
>> limited to 23 days off in 2003, when I was hit by a car and
>> separated a shoulder, 26 days off this past summer, while
>> recovering from surgery, and one day lost in 2004 due to travel.
>>
>>
>>
>
> Now, I'd consider THAT hardcore! Nice job, Rob!
>
> Did you bike every day the year that we had 50" of snow in just the
> month of December? What was that year - 2000?
>
> Ok, I admit it - I'm a wimp! My ~14-mile commute takes me about an hour,
> on a normal day. In the winter, it takes even longer. The one day I rode
> in the snow, it took 1hr45min, and I was not having fun. Bicycling is
> supposed to be fun.
>
> I too often let the weather be my excuse for not riding my bike to work.
> I gotta work on that.
>
> Do I hear a New Year's Resolution, already?
>
> --
> Eric Babula
> Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
>
> Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
> of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body.
> But rather, it’s to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
> totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!!!'
>
