No, you’d get taxpayer-funded health care.

Plus, I’m pretty sure I could outbike anyone on foot…at least that’s what I tell myself…

Statistically how many cyclists are assaulted vs. hit by cars? I’m going to bet that the assault numbers are tiny by comparison.

I don’t know the vampire/chupacabra attack statistics. I think the government does not release those.

I also think the baddies are ‘fair weather folk’. I always feel safer riding nighttime in the dark when it’s also crappy weather, less safe when conditions are warm and pleasant.

I rode the river and the canal last night in a cool rain. Hardly a soul to be seen, plenty of wet leaves, darting wildlife and autumn smells. Nice.

I love being mean to ‘gas hogs’ or bike snobs.

Keep on rolling!

No matter what they say, I think they are great and fit what you need really well. This coming from the great Central Plains of salt and sludge.

Keep up the useful hacks and you’ll get that Mad Max look yet.

Maybe a little copper tape on the frame just for an extra shot of color. Recycle to your hearts content.

This is an example of misguided people with good intentions at the local level trying to put rules in place that the State government has NOT granted them the authority to enact.

School officials finally had to admit they didn’t have the authority to ban students from riding to school, and that their initial rule had no more legal status than a simple advisory. They backed off a little bit but they are still trying to get people to pretend they make the law when they actually don’t.

A good outcome here would be an official notice from the State governor’s office reminding the School district what the limits to its legal authority are, and what decisions are solely for the State legislature to make. The School District obviously has no clue how the law works.

Plus, our buses never arrive quite on time. :) The up-side is that they’ll generally wait for you if you run after them, or stop for you if you flag them down at a non-stop.

As for snow, showing up on-time, ready to work, in snowstorms where 4WD SUV-toting co-workers were late (or no-shows) “due to the weather”, cured them all of that.

A couple of doses of that, and they quit.

I get the same thing where I work — folks think they’re doing me a favor, but mostly they just piss me off.

Sometimes I feel like the ‘people who care’ are talking to me like I’m driving drunk or something. “Are you sure you should be driving? I think you’ve had a few too many.”

I don’t really know much about cyclo-cross beyond the fact that I just googled it. :) It looks cool.

That’s what I ended up using toward the end of my 30-years’ Rochester winter commutes of 1 or 2 miles each way.

Fine to -5, with liner plus heavy hiking wool socks.

I haven’t tried their new “waterproof” ones, but those they said weren’t waterproof worked fine in snow.
–

A couple of other lessons-learned:

For rain, I use Nokian rubber boots.

For real comfort in rain and snow, try a plastic face shield on a full-face motorcycle helmet. (Also protects your brain and keeps your ears and head warm.)

Studs. And don’t bike the first few snowy days each year, when drivers are relearning how not to slide.

Try to find two of the old Dick Burns lights and use them every day and night so drivers can really see you. I think it’s too dangerous to bike without lights at least that good.

(After Roch — DC, Columbus — I really miss biking in snow…..)

i have been refraining from saying something like “it’s only dangerous because people in cars drive like selfish idiots.” i know they’re only saying “be careful out there” because they care.

awesome. glad I’m not the only one,
but I bet they don’t call you ‘Lance’ at work.
New idea, I’ll start calling everyone Dale (ernhardt) – but they won’t get it. sigh.

See:

http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/dc-car-free-day-22-september-2009/

The most important factors are:
1. Circulation- don’t try to pack in more socks into your regular shoes! Circulation is more key to warmth than insulation. Your shoes must be fitting to slightly loose or you will get frostbite!
2. Energy expenditure- I’ve gone winter mountain biking wearing wool socks, normal mtb shoes, and just the neoprene toe-booties. Perfectly comfortable for over 2 hours in 25deg. weather. But I was hammering most of the time. I’d never try that at higher speed commuting, with higher wind chill and less effort to heat me up.

I’ve traveled the Greenway, at different times, on all the sections between Portageville, which is the south end of Letchworth SP, to the U of Rochester.

My favorite trips have been between the Yard of Ale in Piffard and Scottsville during the very early morning hours in the summer. The illuminated canopy and bucolic river valley scenes that consistently reveal themselves as you go along is just magical. I can’t recommend it enough.

Unfortunately, it is hard for me to get back to Rochester during autumn, which I’m sure is a truly dramatic time to be on the Greenway. To anyone who reads this, please count your blessings and try to enjoy it a little extra for me during that especially beautiful time of year:-)

There are surely cheaper versions out there. I haven’t tried them but they seem like a perfect idea. I used to be in to whitewater kayaking and we used pogies on our paddles to keep the wind off our fingers while retaining some dexterity. It worked great, even paddling in January. If they work in that kind of situation it seems like they’d be perfect for the bike.

And yes, my mom wrapped sandwich bags around my feet :)

I have a question. I have installed your program. I can’t runing it.
What must to do, that it works. Can I change the language to German.
Sorry, I can’t only litel English.

Thanks for you help
Berthold

Thanks,
Gary

-Kelly

I feel most strongly about making sure one’s winter footwear is completely waterproof – nothing worse then soaking your foot in a slush puddle at the start of a long trip. My first few solutions kept my feet warm but only kept them dry if I didn’t step in a Rochester pothole.

I picked up the waders years ago for walking through manure pits when trespassing on egg farms, and they’re also amazing at keeping out rain, slush, and snow. I had to repair the right one this year because the crank wore completely through the rubber!

They look a little funny when I get to where I’m going, but also I’m never cranky when my feet are dry.

But I found my dry feet were getting too cold, so I started wearing a comfy pair of Hanes Double-Tough socks over my feet and a heavy pair of ski socks on the outside of those. That always seems to keep my feet at the perfect temperature, even during 15 mile trips. I found that I wear through an average of 3 pairs of ski socks over one season.

I’m sure you’ll work out something with all these different ideas!

100% worsted weight wool socks – handmade by my lovely wife.

Specialized BodyGeometry Taho MTB shoes.

Louis Garneau XTR shoe covers – Warm but very poorly constructed. I will buy another brand this fall.

A few times I did the TNUA rides too. My hands got cold at times, but never my feet. I think the heavy wool socks are the key – wool insulates well even when wet with sweat.

My feet froze.

I’m not sure why it is, but everything I tried that had been successful when on foot, failed when on the bike.

My second year, I knuckled down and bought cycling-specific winter boots. Holy cats! What a difference! I’ve had toasty tootsies ever since–and I’ve ridden down to +4°F, the coldest it’s gotten in R-Town these past two winters. I don’t even need a second pair of socks until well down in the teens.

I chose Lake’s Winter Cycling Shoes. They’re bloody awful expensive–and worth every penny. I ride clipless, but you can leave the plug in the bottom and use them on platforms too.

They also seem to be the winter boot of choice among the TNUA riders, even for the women. Order them from any LBS, and a size too large to accommodate extra socks when you do need them.

I found some great winter hiking(?) boots at DSW last year. They were Columbia brand, waterproof, and Thinsulate-lined. I’m not sure how they’ll do riding, but they worked great walking. They kept my feet warm and dry through daily 2-mile walks in the dead of winter even with ordinary socks. They didn’t even get uncomfortably hot indoors.

The only down side was that they were gray and bright orange.

Fight Like Susan!!!

Thank you for the linking my page to yours. I appreciate it very much. More importantly, I appreciate the cause for which you have ridden for and the strides which I hope we will make together. Looking forward to more of your posts and maybe at some point we will cross paths on the trails.

Sincerely,
Dave

Jason

@Maggi: Thanks! I’ll be happy to not be a repeat guest at the Hotel Subaru.

i thought about how i dropped you & lauren,
and i waited a bit at the first stop,
but man,
it was too much fun dropping serious roadies
with knobbies on the ‘cross bike….

fun until i ran out of gas after the 25 miles,
then it was 20 miles of suck and hurt.

we’ll rent you a road bike next year,
you’ll be converted….
oh yes you will.

seriously though,
jenni – when you guys come through town look us up, all i cared about was your awesome pink tires, until i pooked around your Flickr – we could’ve talked omega/namaste – my aunt works in the wellness practice.

andy? was that you that gave me beer? thought you guys were from philly, albany, WTF? or am i confusing you with another beer supplier?

jennifer – YOU rock, making things happen.
it wouldn’t have been so awesome without the people behind it. thanks!

The opposite needs to be done with ecological, efficient alternatives, however. Just like the automobile’s reluctant introduction to the countryside was bolstered by socialized road building, we need to promote the construction of alternatives to automobiles. Walking, biking, and quality public transportation need to be considered as viable alternatives as the cost of individual automobile transportation increases.

But I’m way off topic, somewhere in an alternative reality future. Henrietta’s decisions now to even consider bike lanes is an important one and a “Good Thing” because one facet of this kind of growth is awareness and promotion.

As far as cars vs. bikes in road construction, trying to push bikes at the expense of cars this far out from the city center is precisely as much of a losing proposition for the bikes as it is when one hits the other on the road. Saying, in effect, “screw you” to drivers wins you few friends and lots of enemies in the political and public policy arena.

@Kirby: Great to meet you, man. Let’s get a hang going…

@Jennifer: It’s no Crazy-People-Riding-For-A-Thousand-Miles, or whatever it is you ride, but it was wonderful!

@Jenni: Let me know when you’re in town. We can go for a ride along the Hudson. It’s flat, which, other than downhill, is my favorite terrain.

I come by Albany once in a while, and you have definitely got some hills up there. Also: I learned never to take route advice in Albany from someone who doesn’t ride. “Oh, it’s flat that way on 20″. Gargantuan rollers later, I learned 20 is in fact, the un-flat.

Anyway, maybe we’ll meet up someday-
Jenni

Pushing on after a bonk like that is hard but so worth it!

Kirby

@asmathews: It was great to be there with you. Congrats on your ride!

@Julie: Never, ever again. Until next time.

@Andy: You’re from Albany, too? Our Team Fatty gang should all meet up at some point. Thanks for the encouragement at the end. And yes, folks, I was passed at the end by someone who had started at the same time and then ridden 100 miles.

Several someones, in fact.

The funny thing is, I’m from Albany too! Purely by chance, I also met two other guys at the finish (Ray and Kirby), and they were also from Albany. Ray also had a cooler full of good beer.

Amazing day for the Fattys. A WIN for sure.

Unfortunately money is in fact sharply limited, there are many areas that can significantly benefit from much cheaper and lower-tech multiuse infrastructure. Part of the reason I cycle is to enjoy the outdoors anyway.

For the record, I work at RIT and live nearby, so it’s not like I wouldn’t benefit from such tubes. I just think I and everyone else would benefit more from spending the money towards more complete normal infrastructure.

I think it’s an intriguing idea.

You can already ride up to (but not into) downtown from RIT without riding on the road. Getting into and past downtown is the tough part. Getting past is under development as we speak. Into is problematic.

I wonder if the old aqueduct and subway systems could be renovated, repurposed, and possibly expanded into underground bikeways or multiuse trails? Not at pretty as above ground, but no traffic, fewer temperature control issues, and a great deal of basic construction is already done.