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Today Jan 2019

@Forsbrook - I will admit it is difficult some mornings to get going, but I know if I don't get out there right away, I won't go.
I will end up regretting that for the rest of the day and possibly the entire weekend. Add to that if it rains and the trails gets jacked up before I get another chance to ride... I will regret it even more and possibly for up to a week.
 
Left work a little early and took the long way round, to go to Costco in Kawasaki. The first 20 km with a brisk tailwind were great - I even snagged a PR on a segment I've done many times before.

Things were less groovy after my brief shopping stop, however. Off-side crosswind on the Tamagawa, temperature on the Tamagawa dipped to 0ºC, and the battery in my front light died with about 5 km to go :eek:. Fortunately, I happened to be wearing a hi-viz safety vest - I'd put it on in the morning, just for its wind-proofing. Froze-toes:feet:, but also no chance of the products in my panniers defrosting.

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Forecast says it will be colder tomorrow, but with very little wind. Ride On! (Or don't.)
 
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Left work a little early and took the long way round, to go to Costco in Kawasaki. The first 20 km with a brisk tailwind were great - I even snagged a PR on a segment I've done many times before.

Things were less groovy after my brief shopping stop, however. Off-side crosswind on the Tamagawa, temperature on the Tamagawa dipped to 0ºC, and the battery in my front light died with about 5 km to go :eek:. Fortunately, I happened to be wearing a hi-viz safety vest - I'd put it on in the morning, just for its wind-proofing. Froze-toes:feet:, but also no chance of the products in my panniers defrosting.

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Forecast says it will be colder tomorrow, but with very little wind. Ride On! (Or don't.)

Colder tomorrow?? 😱. Can't say I'm looking forward to my long run tomorrow 😬
 
Can't say I'm looking forward to my long run tomorrow 😬
should be fine for running. I'm still in my flimsiest shorts and T-shirt, just like in the summer. if it's a particularly cold night, I put on arm warmers, and if there's lots of wind maybe a cycling gilet. in the mornings with the sun out, I'd imagine it would feel even warmer. have grown to prefer running to cycling in these colder months. if nothing else, at least the laundry is one tenth or so ;)
 
Prepped my bike for my 27km commute last night. Everything was ready. Woke up this morning. Just said, "Nah," and took the motorcycle instead. Still pretty cold though.

Hats off to all who brave temps below zero on their commute.
 
Hats off to all who brave temps below zero on their commute.

No! Keep those hats ON.

Zero Celsius all the way, today, both ways, pretty much. Makes me want to cuddle-up to those nice, warm bus exhausts. Was briefly confused by Stravr buddies with temperature readings in the high teens or twenties, until the penny dropped that they're wearing fitness watches or armbands.

The ankle zipper has broken on my favourite pair of Sugoi winter tights. I've only had them for 14 years, dammit. Any recommendations around the ¥20,000 mark...?
 
No! Keep those hats ON.

Zero Celsius all the way, today, both ways, pretty much. Makes me want to cuddle-up to those nice, warm bus exhausts. Was briefly confused by Stravr buddies with temperature readings in the high teens or twenties, until the penny dropped that they're wearing fitness watches or armbands.

The ankle zipper has broken on my favourite pair of Sugoi winter tights. I've only had them for 14 years, dammit. Any recommendations around the ¥20,000 mark...?
I went for the pearl izumi full winter ones. No complaints so far.
04EFDE33-E04D-4FEB-A480-7E16A17EDBDC.png
 
No! Keep those hats ON.

Zero Celsius all the way, today, both ways, pretty much. Makes me want to cuddle-up to those nice, warm bus exhausts. Was briefly confused by Stravr buddies with temperature readings in the high teens or twenties, until the penny dropped that they're wearing fitness watches or armbands.

The ankle zipper has broken on my favourite pair of Sugoi winter tights. I've only had them for 14 years, dammit. Any recommendations around the ¥20,000 mark...?
I bought thermal cycling trousers from some shoddy Chinese site for about 4,000 yen a few years ago and they are amazing (except the zip pocket broke very early on). Next to the roll of blubber around my midriff that does wonders for keeping me warm, those trousers have been incredible. I suspect you might be able to find something similar on alibaba or dhgate.
(The same maker I have is selling kits on alibaba for about $70: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/VEO...ropa-ciclismo-Winter-Cycling/32795506004.html)
 
No! Keep those hats ON.

Zero Celsius all the way, today, both ways, pretty much. Makes me want to cuddle-up to those nice, warm bus exhausts. Was briefly confused by Stravr buddies with temperature readings in the high teens or twenties, until the penny dropped that they're wearing fitness watches or armbands.

The ankle zipper has broken on my favourite pair of Sugoi winter tights. I've only had them for 14 years, dammit. Any recommendations around the ¥20,000 mark...?

Guilty of wearing a GPS watch!
For commutes I usually wear it on my wrist whereas for longer recreational rides, it goes on the handlebar.


For reference 14 degrees C, on the wrist, means 0 degrees!
 
The ankle zipper has broken on my favourite pair of Sugoi winter tights. I've only had them for 14 years, dammit. Any recommendations around the ¥20,000 mark...?

Just got a pair of Gore Wear C5 trail pants that I heard were really good for bike commuting. Haven't ridden in them yet, but they feel great, fit just right (not too tight or lose) and they're good for warmth and rain protection. Cost me $145 US.
 
This morning was cold, but not as cold as recent mornings.
The trail conditions are amazing right now, but for some reason I feel off... (coughing and more fatigued than normal).
So a 12km ride or so and i shut it down.

The upside... I didn't touch the ground today.
 
Hello! Got back in the saddle with a couple of decent rides this week. I was up on the Green Line yesterday and was surprised to find one of the old abandoned udon places had burned down - the one with the balcony viewing spot. I spoke to a dude who was working there and he didn't know how it happened. Here's the Strava if you're interested. There's also a wicked steep descent down to 299 close to the shop that I tried for the first time. It's even got those round doodads for traction it's that extreme.

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One quick question: how often should I wash my winter bib and jacket? I've washed them only once so far (before I left for th UK over Christmas) and usually hang them out on the balcony after a ride. I figure it's not good for the insulation if I'm always throwing them in the sentaki but this might just be kind of gross!
 
wicked steep descent
I climbed that thing once, quite something. would do it again, but it was a grind... those concrete doughnuts are not just for traction. they are created when the workers manually flatten and finish the asphalt, since big machines would mess it up at such a slope - no traction (gravity's a bitch)
 
One quick question: how often should I wash my winter bib and jacket? I've washed them only once so far (before I left for th UK over Christmas) and usually hang them out on the balcony after a ride.
I wash them after every ride, within one or two hours after arrival. Only when I have stayed quite dry do I skip on washing my jacket, but that has happened only two, three times so far. I wash them with disinfecting washing liquid. If you don't, the bacteria that break down sweat will grow and you won't ever get rid of the smell again. Do not use fabric softener on sports clothes, that clogs up the microscopic holes and your functional layers will, well, stop functioning. Haven't had a problem so far.

New coatings are designed to be washed (e. g. Pearl Izumi's hydrophobic coating is advertised to lose only 10-20 % of its effectiveness after 100 washes). Depending on the clothing item, some wear more quickly than others. My thermal winter running/cycling pants still work as advertised after ~10 years. On the other end of the spectrum I have my Gore bib shorts are showing some wear after wearing them countless times (I go riding about 4-5 times a week when weather permits and own two pairs of bib shorts). My winter base layers are still flawless after 5 years, too.

PS I am really jealous that you got to winch yourself up that climb. Given the weather here in Sendai, all I could do was zip along the coast line.
 
yeah, I'm also "wash everything immediatelly after each ride" kinda guy. honestly, I didn't know about any other type ;) esp for the bottoms...

anyway, did a short up and down Arakawa today. around 11 am, with sun out and wind behind us, it was so warm I got down to a base layer and summer jersey only (top), and even gloves-free... great weather right now
 
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