Thursday, December 29, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 29 December

Windy ride home, I was watching the weather and ducked out when the rain eased off. I got home just in time, there was a huge great big storm cloud massing overhead that started raining on me just as I turned on to my road home. Another 60 seconds or so and I would have been drenched, although that would probably have done the bike some good - all the rain earlier turned the fire trail into a morass of mud, it felt like my tyres were sticking to it like glue.

I changed the chain over tonight, it took 5 washes just to get the mud off. The tyres are clogged with mud, they appear to be not as good at shedding mud as they are at shedding snow. The brake lines feel like they're clogged up deep inside, and the front hub is started to vibrate and (not so) subtly hint at repacking. I had to scrub each rim 3 times to get all the mud off. I'm looking forward to this heatwave we're getting passing over and we can get back to proper winter...

Distance logged: 13.328km
Time: 43:54
Average speed: 18.2km/hr
Max speed: 49.8 km/hr
Temperature: 7C, windy, intermittent showers
Cumulative distance: 7067.180km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 524.346km
Monthly cost per km: $0.18

Ride into work for Thursday, 29 December

First ride on my bike since before Christmas. I put on around 10lbs, and I was carrying my laptop (8lbs) plus an assortment of other gear that had to go back (around 6lbs) so it was not a particularly fast ride. I noticed that my legs were feeling a lot less drained after stacking up the calories over Christmas, and I could feel all the extra energy floating around in my system. I think I might take off an hour or so early this afternoon to go riding around downtown to use up some of the energy - I figure if I use it up now it'll be easier than trying to wear it off after it's converted to fat and I have to carry it around on my bike...

Distance logged: 12.726km
Time: 39:15
Average speed: 19.5km/hr
Max speed: 58.5 km/hr
Temperature: -2C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 7053.852km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 511.018km
Monthly cost per km: $0.18

Ride home for Friday, 23 December

Catching up on posts...

Distance logged: 14.164km
Time: 48:36
Average speed: 17.5km/hr
Max speed: 41.9 km/hr
Temperature: 1C
Cumulative distance: 7041.126km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 498.292km
Monthly cost per km: $0.19

Friday, December 23, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 23 December

Didn't have a great start to today, I got halfway along the fire trail and realised I'd forgotten my headband (since my ears were starting to freeze). Went back, got the headband, and set off again. About halfway through I started getting really warm and unzipped my jacket halfway, and the pit zips the whole way. When I went past the CBC building I saw why... The temperature had gone from -6 when I set out to +2 on the CBC thermometer.

On the plus side, the roads were almost completely empty, I guess a lot of people have started their Christmas vacation early...

Distance logged: 14.080km
Time: 42:42
Average speed: 19.8km/hr
Max speed: 55.5 km/hr
Temperature: -6C to 2C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 7026.962km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 484.128km
Monthly cost per km: $0.19

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 22 December

The new sales manager at work left at the same time as me and was mentioning how she'd be happy to give me a ride into work (she lives fairly close to me). I said I'd rather bike, and she started on about how "sometimes bicycles shouldn't be on the streets for their own safety", and "sometimes it's not safe to ride a bike because of the weather conditions". I told her about some of the conditions I've ridden in where cars have been spinning off the road, but I don't think she really grasped what I was talking about. I said I'd take her up on the offer if I ever had real problems, since she was just trying to be nice. She then mentioned how she could never ride my bike since it was way to big - since she's around a foot and a half shorter than me, that's rather to be expected!

Found out why my ride in was so slow yesterday... My rear brakes were jammed on, and wouldn't release. I stopped off at Idealbikes and Roger took a look. After blasting Releaseall and some compressed air through and not making any difference, he decided that the innards of the brake were completely gunked up and quite possibly corroded, and gave me the option of either trying to clean them up, or put another pair on for $15. I figured a new pair would be the best bet in the long run, and Roger popped them on for me. We had a look over the rest of the bike, it looks like my rear derailleur is wearing out (the jockey wheels now have spikes), and the rim is starting to wear out - not enough to wear through the wear line, but it's something to keep an eye on, though I should be able to make it through the rest of the season.

I officially hit 7000km for the year on this ride, too, although I actually hit it several days ago - I don't take the bike computer when I'm just doing utility runs to the store and what not.

Distance logged: 14.514km
Time: 48:29
Average speed: 18km/hr
Max speed: 44 km/hr
Temperature: -10C
Cumulative distance: 7012.882km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 470.048km
Monthly cost per km: $0.20

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Nice ride in, but I couldn't seem to get any speed going; I think I might need to pump the tyres up a bit, I suspect they're running around 30psi or so.

Don't know if I'll be riding home tonight, I'm off out drinking (tis the season!) and I may be getting a lift home - that should be interesting, first time going home in a car in several months...

Distance logged: 12.877km
Time: 41:40
Average speed: 18.5km/hr
Max speed: 50.5 km/hr
Temperature: -10C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6998.368km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 455.534km
Monthly cost per km: $0.17

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 20 December

Things seem to be warming up a bit again, it was a balmy -2 on the way home. Looks like people are starting their vacation early as there was less traffic on the roads than usual - today is the day school lets out. Should be interesting to see if it makes any difference tomorrow...

Distance logged: 14.359km
Time: 48:41
Average speed: 17.7km/hr
Max speed: 41.2 km/hr
Temperature: -2C
Cumulative distance: 6985.491km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 442.657km
Monthly cost per km: $0.18

Ride into work for Tuesday, 20 December

The Bobcat came after the light snow we had last night and cleared the firetrail, incidentally ripping up the layer of ice, which made for a much easier ride in. Experimenting with how little I need to ride in, I just had a long sleeve jersey and windbreak on top, and cycling pants with kneewarmers, which ended up being just about right.

Distance logged: 12.889km
Time: 40:10
Average speed: 19.3km/hr
Max speed: 56.7 km/hr
Temperature: -7C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6971.132km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 428.298km
Monthly cost per km: $0.19

Monday, December 19, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 19 December

I had to conciously underdress, I was going to put on an extra T-shirt before I remembered it was only -2 outside. Even with just a long sleeved jersey and windbreaker I was rather warm and ended up with them both unzipped a fair way. The snow helped quite a bit with the grip and this time I managed to get home without incident.

It's supposed to be windy tomorrow morning, that should make things interesting...

Distance logged: 14.346km
Time: 45:35
Average speed: 18.9km/hr
Max speed: 45.3 km/hr
Temperature: -2C, snowing
Cumulative distance: 6958.243km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 415.409km
Monthly cost per km: $0.19

Ride into work for Monday, 19 December

Managed to fall off my bike on the fire trail before I even got a kilometre away from home - the trail was solid ice, and the ruts from Bobcats and foot traffic made me bounce around and ended up slipping. I deflated the front tyre a bit more and that seemed to do the trick for the rest of the ride. There's supposed to be flurries this afternoon so hopefully that will lead to a bit more traction. The fact it's close enough to freezing that the ice is easily melting under pressure isn't helping at all.

The roads otherwise were pretty clear - we had a bit of a thaw over the weekend that mixed with the salt on the roads and seems to have cleared the majority of the compacted ice off.

Distance logged: 12.864km
Time: 38:07
Average speed: 20.3km/hr
Max speed: 49.1 km/hr
Temperature: -3C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6943.897km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 401.063km
Monthly cost per km: $0.20

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Maintenance day

Had to do a complete overhaul on both front and rear brakes as salt had got in and was causing the arms to be extremely slow releasing, or sometimes not releasing at all. A good cleaning and large quantities of grease in the posts and inside the brake mechanism should see me through for a couple of months. The grease inside the rear brake assembly had turned into solid black goop.

The rest of the bike is in surprisingly good condition. Everything with exposed steel (screws, nuts, bolts, etc) has surface rust but is otherwise fine. My handlebar bag has a hole in it where it's been rubbing on the frame, I covered the hole with duct tape, then chopped off a section of inner tube, sliced it in half, and duct taped it over where the hole is. Hopefully that should do the trick until either (a) Santa brings me a new one, or (b) I pick up another one in the new year...

I managed to lose half the chain link when I swapped over the chains this afternoon. Fortunately I had one spare, but I think I'll pick up a few more from MEC so I'm prepared for this in the future.

Ride home for Friday, 16 December

Muppet of the day was the driver who overtook me and immediately slammed on her brakes to make a right turn into the shopping mall. I was sorely tempted to follow her and pull the same stunt on her when she got out of her car, but I managed to resist.

Looks like I'm going to hit around 7000km for the year on, at a guess, Wednesday.

Distance logged: 14.254km
Time: 44:48
Average speed: 19.1km/hr
Max speed: 45.3 km/hr
Temperature: -4C
Cumulative distance: 6931.033km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 388.199km
Monthly cost per km: $0.2

Friday, December 16, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 16 December

A really good ride in today with no wind and near perfect temperature. The fire trail is now a sheet of ice with snowdrifts on top, which makes for some interesting maneouvres. Most of the roads are cleared enough to ride on, though there's a coating of snow and ice on the sides by the snowbanks. The bike lanes have been used to dump snow on, and where there's open space people are parking, so I'm feeling no guilt whatsoever in taking the whole lane to myself.

The forecast for tonight is freezing rain and/or ice pellets. Ah well, it can't be perfect all the time...

Distance logged: 12.726km
Time: 40:40
Average speed: 18.8km/hr
Max speed: 50.7 km/hr
Temperature: -11C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6916.779km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 373.945km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Ride home for Thursday, 15 December

Still quite a bit of snow on the roads, but even so it's surprising how slowly some cars are driving - I clocked one trundling along at 15km/hr.

Most of the Tenacious Oil I put on last night washed off on the way to Bedford, it looks like I need to use quite a bit more to comabt the salty slush...

Distance logged: 14.279km
Time: 49:38
Average speed: 17.3km/hr
Max speed: 41.6 km/hr
Temperature: -7C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6904.053km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 361.219km
Monthly cost per km: $0.22

Ride into work for Thursday, 15 December

Had a Dr's appointment this morning so I rode into Bedford to the Dr's office, then into work from there. Had a really stiff headwind on the way into Bedford along Kearney Lake Road, which didn't help.

Winter is definitely here, I had to put Phil Wood Tenacious Oil on my chain last night as the Triflow was getting washed out by the snow and slush. The Tenacious Oil is about the only oil I've been able to find that won't wash out, but they aren't joking about it being Tenacious - it's a real bear to wash off anything it gets on!

Distance logged: 35.151km
Time: 98:12
Average speed: 21.5km/hr
Max speed: 46.1 km/hr
Temperature: -9C, clear, windy
Cumulative distance: 6889.774km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 346.940km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Ride home for Wednesday, 14 December

Windy ride home, the forecast was 40km/hr winds with 60km/hr gusts, and I think Environment Canada hit it pretty much dead on. There was still a lot of snow on the roads but the ploughs had been out in force so it was slushy rather than icy and inch deep, so it was quite a bit less slippery - no fishtailing around. I went via the Farmer's Market on the way home so I was carrying an extra 6 pounds or so of fruit for the last few km which helped my traction a bit, I think - plus I had a tailwind on the way home, which is always enjoyable. I could have done without the -15C wind chill, though...

Distance logged: 19.056km
Time: 71:19
Average speed: 16km/hr
Max speed: 42.2 km/hr
Temperature: -6C, flurries, windy
Cumulative distance: 6854.623km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 311.789km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Ride into work for Wednesday, 14 December

Started off riding on the fire trail but it was too much work pushing through the snow. Also, the snow was accumulating on my rear derailleur and the cogs, so I was limited to 1st and second gear (cue the usual suspects to start banging on about single speeds). I took the road in the rest of the way and it wasn't too bad, I saw plenty of cars on the way that had spun off or just couldn't get the traction to move up slight inclines. I only saw one other cyclist on the way in, though.

Distance logged: 12.764km
Time: 43:02
Average speed: 17.7km/hr
Max speed: 40.9 km/hr
Temperature: -5C, cloudy, flurries
Cumulative distance: 6835.567km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 292.733km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 13 December

A snowy ride home, there was just enough settling on the ground to make it slippery. I wasn't having much problem as I have my snow tyres on, but a lot of cars were going very gingerly, and I saw quite a few having problems going uphill.

The fire trail was... interesting. The snowfall covered all the ruts, so I had to take it slow while spinning fairly quickly to keep my momentum going. Going round the corners took some careful balancing, too - I was trackstanding at a couple of points while I got my balance, which was quite a novel experience...

More snow is forecast for tonight, and 40km/hr winds with 60km/hr gusts are forecast for tomorrow, which should make things even more fun...

Distance logged: 14.275km
Time: 52:39
Average speed: 16.3km/hr
Max speed: 43.2 km/hr
Temperature: -3C, snowing
Cumulative distance: 6822.803km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 279.969km
Monthly cost per km: $0.28

Ride into work for Tuesday, 13 December

The back roads still aren't clear, but it looks like cars driving over the ice is melting it a bit and breaking it up. This is making things even more interesting. To add to the fun, we're supposed to get some more snow; flurries giving 2-4cm today, 5 to 10cm overnight, and more flurries tomorrow giving 5cm, giving a total of 12cm to 19cm (or 4 to 7 inches, for American readers). Hopefully this should give me a bit more traction going over the solid ice...

Distance logged: 12.787km
Time: 40:10
Average speed: 19.1km/hr
Max speed: 57.1 km/hr
Temperature: -4C
Cumulative distance: 6808.528km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 265.694km
Monthly cost per km: $0.30

Monday, December 12, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 12 December

Bit of a tricky ride home, pretty much all the back streets still had two or three inch deep ice on them with potholes, so a lot of concentration and careful riding was required. The upside of the layer of ice was that no cars were driving on the back streets, so I had the roads to myself and could weave around a bit onto clear patches.

The firetrail had been ploughed by Bobcats, which was a nice thought, but they left the path rather rutted, which then froze solid making for a bumpy ride home.

The overmittens are still doing a good job, but they haven't really seen decently cold temperatures to prove themselves. The antifog stuff wore off by the time I set off home - it still had some effect, but I think I'll have to apply it every time I go out - unless it takes a while to build up a coating or something. Picked up a new mirror at MEC at lunchtime, too.

Distance logged: 14.222km
Time: 49:34
Average speed: 17.2km/hr
Max speed: 42.2 km/hr
Temperature: 0C, overcast
Cumulative distance: 6795.741km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 252.907km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Ride into work for Monday, 12 December

Picked up some overmittens at the weekend when I took my stepdaughter into town for Christmas shopping, and also found a place selling some coating in a jar to stop glasses from fogging. The guy demo'd it out on my cycling glasses (it was really bright out with the snow, so I wore them downtown) and it worked perfectly, so I picked up a jar. I got to try them both out today; the overmittens worked great, my hands weren't cold at all, and the antifog coating did the trick - instead of my glasses getting all steamed up at the lights, I just got a faint blurring. The blurring wasn't too bad, I wouldn't want to read fine print at a distance but for driving around it wasn't a problem.

The ride itself was a bit sucky, as the temperature was right on the verge of freezing so there were puddles of water sitting on top sections of inch-thick ice on the road. Hopefully that'll thaw before I head home. No accidents on the way in, but it turns out my mirror got fatally dinged in the fall I had on Friday, so I'll have to pick up a new one today...

Distance logged: 12.781km
Time: 42:40
Average speed: 18km/hr
Max speed: 50.7 km/hr
Temperature: -1C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6781.519km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 238.685km
Monthly cost per km: $0.31

Friday, December 09, 2005

Ride home for Friday, 09 December

Great ride home in the snow, I think a lot of people left early due to the heavy snow warning so there was very little traffic on the road - on a lot of the backroads I was the only vehicle around. It all went great up until I was turning into the driveway of my home, when I spaced out and did my usual "brake hard into the driveway" trick. This trick does not work well in 3cm of snow, not even if you're running snow tyres. The studs caught a few times and stopped me from going down too hard, and I came off without an injury, and nothing on the bike was broken either!

Unfortunately, I heard a cyclist was in an accident yesterday and is in hospital. Not much in the way of details, but from the way it says it happened at night and the rider had no helmet, I can't help suspecting that he was running without lights, too...

Distance logged: 14.241km
Time: 47:44
Average speed: 17.9km/hr
Max speed: 38.7 km/hr
Temperature: 0C, snowing
Cumulative distance: 6768.738km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 225.904km
Monthly cost per km: $0.17

Ride into work for Friday, 09 December

I'm not sure if the temperature's right there, EC say -11C but that's out at the airport - it felt more like -6 or so.

Muppet of the day was the truck driver who overtook me while I was signalling left. Oh for a HERF gun.

The forecast is for heavy snow, 15-25cm. Environment Canada have promised this a few times before though and nothing has come through; the Weather Network is calling for 1-3cm. Weather forecasters... FIGHT!

Distance logged: 12.711km
Time: 36:47
Average speed: 20.7km/hr
Max speed: 52.9 km/hr
Temperature: -11C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6754.497km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 211.663km
Monthly cost per km: $0.18

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Ride into work for Thursday, 08 December

Another pleasant ride home. The comments I'm getting of "don't you find it cold?" and "oooh, that's ever such a long way to be riding your bike in this weather" are getting a bit wearing, though. It doesn't seem to matter how often I explain about layering and how pedalling faster=more heat, either. I told my boss this morning it would be preferable if it were a few degrees colder. I think he believes I was joking.

Distance logged: 14.212km
Time: 45:02
Average speed: 18.8km/hr
Max speed: 42.2 km/hr
Temperature: -5C
Cumulative distance: 6741.786km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 198.952km
Monthly cost per km: $0.20

Ride into work for Thursday, 08 December

Great ride into work, the temperature was almost perfect. The only downside was my new outer gloves aren't as windproof as they might be so the tips of my fingers were a bit cold. I think a set of outer mittens might do the trick, I'm pretty sure I saw some at MEC for $20 or so...

Distance logged: 14.827km
Time: 44:15
Average speed: 20.1km/hr
Max speed: 53.3 km/hr
Temperature: -9C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6727.574km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 184.740km
Monthly cost per km: $0.21

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Ride home for Wednesday, 07 December

This would have been an enjoyable ride home if it weren't for the wind. With the wind chill, it was almost cold enough that I needed to put my rain pants on as a wind barrier, but my cycling tights and knee warmers just about did the trick. I hit a few flurries on the way home, which was a pleasant change, but according to Environment Canada that's going to be it until Saturday...

Distance logged: 14.191km
Time: 47:01
Average speed: 18.1km/hr
Max speed: 43.6 km/hr
Temperature: -6C, windy, intermittent flurries
Cumulative distance: 6712.747km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 169.913km
Monthly cost per km: $0.23

Ride into work for Wednesday, 07 December

Another short ride in as I had to scramble into the office to fix a server. The weather's starting to get pleasant again, another 4C or so drop should put it just about right for me.

Distance logged: 12.724km
Time: 36:42
Average speed: 20.8km/hr
Max speed: 56.2 km/hr
Temperature: -6C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6698.556km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 155.722km
Monthly cost per km: $0.25

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Ride home for Tuesday, 06 December

Had a muppet on the way home. He was coming the other way and pulled in front of me into a driveway. As I went past, he screeched out in reverse to attempt a 3 point turn. Fortunately I was able to avoid damage to my bike by judicious application of my boot to the corner of his car. I wonder how he'll explain *that* one... It was a nice white colour, too, so it'll show up pretty well.

Distance logged: 14.199km
Time: 43:59
Average speed: 19.4km/hr
Max speed: 46.1 km/hr
Temperature: -4C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6685.832km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 142.998km
Monthly cost per km: $0.27

Ride into work for Tuesday, 06 December

Took a shorter route in as I had to be on site for 8:30 this morning. Left a little earlier too so I was using my lights. Most of the snow has melted, what hasn't has been turned into ice by people walking on it. The forecast is for more snow this afternoon (2-5cm) and blowing snow overnight, so that should make things a bit more interesting.

Stopped off at MEC at lunchtime and picked up a new chain tool (with extra long handles, the one I have on my multitool has rather short handles), new chain (I'm planning on doing some chain rotation), inner tube, bar end plugs (my mountain bike has lost one somewhere along the way) and a new lithium coin cell battery for my turtle LED light. My unfortunate addiction to new toys isn't really helping the cost per km...

Distance logged: 12.711km
Time: 36:21
Average speed: 21km/hr
Max speed: 53.3 km/hr
Temperature: -4C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6671.633km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.24
Monthly distance: 128.799km
Monthly cost per km: $0.30

Monday, December 05, 2005

Ride home for Monday, 05 December

The rides are starting to get enjoyable again now the rain is over. Had to stop and make some emergency adjustments to my fender, when I was pushing hard in low gear (eg, up hill) the frame was flexing just enough that the rear tyre was rubbing on the fender.

More snow forecast for tomorrow...

Distance logged: 14.191km
Time: 47:05
Average speed: 17.8km/hr
Max speed: 40.3 km/hr
Temperature: -1C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6658.922km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 116.088km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride into work for Monday, 05 December

Set off a bit early today so I took a longer route in. The studded tyres seem heavier and louder than I recall them being, but they saved me a couple of times; the temperature was just on the verge of freezing, so here and there there was ice with a thin film of water on top just to make it extra slippery, The studs caught the ice every time, though - there was at least two occasions when I would have gone down without the tyres, so it was just as well I put them on yesterday. There's supposed to be more snow hitting tomorrow morning...

Distance logged: 16.756km
Time: 49:40
Average speed: 20.2km/hr
Max speed: 46.8 km/hr
Temperature: -3C, clear
Cumulative distance: 6644.731km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 101.897km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Maintenance day

Snow is forecast for the next week or so, so I got my bike winterised. It didn't take much, I put the studded tyres on, changed my front brake pads as they were wearing out, and cleaned the frame with car wax to protect it against the weather. I cleaned and reoiled the chain, it was pretty clean but I figured I'd do it anyway. Other than that, I think I'm ready for winter. The first few days are going to suck with the weight of the snow tyres, though...

Ride for Saturday, 03 December

Went into town to visit a friend who just moved back to Halifax. Dead on an hour to ride into town and back, not bad - although I'm sure that'll slow down over the next few months,

Distance logged: 18.404km
Time: 60:00
Average speed: 18.4km/hr
Max speed: 60.9 km/hr
Temperature: 2C, sunny
Cumulative distance: 6627.975km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 85.141km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Ride home for Friday, 02 December

The ride home wasn't much of an improvement over this morning, but at least I didn't get a flat tyre.

Distance logged: 14.227km
Time: 43:37
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 42.6 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, rainy, windy
Cumulative distance: 6609.571km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 66.737km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Friday, December 02, 2005

Ride into work for Friday, 02 December

Not a particularly great day, I was just setting off when I realised my rear tyre was half deflated and I had a slow flat. I came back and changed the tube and decided to put a different tyre on rather than risk another flat. Unfortunately the semi-slick I put on seemed to have lost some tension in the bead, as it took 3 attempts at inflating the tube before the bead would stay on the wheel. On top of that it ended up chucking it down raining with some fairly heavy winds. Still, at least it's Friday...

Distance logged: 11.355km
Time: 39:15
Average speed: 17.4km/hr
Max speed: 53.3 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, raining, windy
Cumulative distance: 6595.344km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 52.510km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Thursday, 01 December

Another day of overtaking cars, I'm not sure what was going on by every set of traffic lights had a massive queue. One in particular I think would have taken about 15 minutes to navigate in a car - I just skimmed up the side of the road and went through in about 2 minutes.

Distance logged: 14.208km
Time: 43:31
Average speed: 19.6km/hr
Max speed: 48.4 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6583.989km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 41.155km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Ride into work for Thursday, 01 December

Muppet of the day was the CBC truck which was parked outside the Metro Centre. In the bike lane. Parked in such a way that drivers would be unable to see right-turning cyclists at the traffic light. It's things like that that make me glad I pay taxes for the upkeep of the CBC, no really...

Distance logged: 12.722km
Time: 35:48
Average speed: 21.3km/hr
Max speed: 55.4 km/hr
Temperature: 8C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6569.781km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 26.947km
Monthly cost per km: $0

Ride home for Wednesday, 30 November

More and more christmas lights are going up, which means it's a bit lighter on the residential streets. I could do without the flashing ones, though - it's not like anyone needs warning that there's a house on the sidewalk or something. Most of them look to be filament bulbs, sucking down large amounts of electricity; I've only seen a few that are definitely LED based, mostly blue ones, for some reason.

Distance logged: 14.225km
Time: 41:05
Average speed: 20.4km/hr
Max speed: 49.5 km/hr
Temperature: 9C, cloudy
Cumulative distance: 6557.059km
Cumulative cost per km: $0.23
Monthly distance: 14.225km
Monthly cost per km: $0