As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79

Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.

The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7

Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.

Lou

On 12/23/2021 6:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>
> Lou
>

Yes! Have hope! There's more daylight every day now.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 AM UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>
> Lou

This is my CX bike after my last race about a month ago.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jKhLb9TNVbFiu9yQA

- it rained heavily the previous day, and at racetime it was lightly raining and about 45 degrees.

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 4:06:49 AM UTC-8, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
The thing that irks me about this time of year is the usual heavy rains between the years where the state government is reporting "total drought"'. If you have a gravel bike there are plenty of gravel trails to visit. But although we are covered with hills in every direction most of them are not fit to ride in the winter since the drought years turns the ground into a fine powder that rain turns into a slush with near zero traction. Riding the bike in the rain is not a sport in the very heavy traffic that has poor visibility and not a whole lot of respect for bicycles though that has certainly improved in recent years as more people are forced onto bicycles for transportation but to go nowhere. More and more homeless and jobless people are being forced onto bicycles for any transportation at all and a large percentage of these are completely unaware of the rules of the road further alienating drivers.

On the positive side, I just bought a Cannondale "real" gravel bike with too fat tires and mechanical disks which will be changed over to hydraulics when the Douglas sells. As for the Douglas Ti, when I attempted to convert it to a gravel bike, I shortened the stem so that it is about the length of the Airborne and on a ride Monday, it was just as manageable. My seated position is a little high but I can always go to the drops in the descents.

The Cannondale will need some work such as reducing the tire width to 34 from 40 and hydraulic brakes from the cable disks. One converts to hydraulics because they are self adjusting and you have to continually adjust the mechanicals because pad wear is so fast if you ride in difficult terrain.

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 3:33:45 PM UTC+1, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 AM UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> > As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
> >
> > Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
> >
> > The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
> >
> > Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> > Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
> >
> > Lou
> This is my CX bike after my last race about a month ago.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/jKhLb9TNVbFiu9yQA
>
> - it rained heavily the previous day, and at racetime it was lightly raining and about 45 degrees.

Ahh. We had a wet autumn. This means that I have to clean my CX bike after every ride because in the forrest it doesn't dry up the whole winter. By the end of Februari I'm fed up with that and I only go off road when its dry. Most of the times it means road season starts.

Lou

On 12/23/2021 8:42 AM, AMuzi wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 6:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly
>> fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main
>> reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and
>> most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a
>> light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are
>> harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic
>> network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the
>> roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>
>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike
>> gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>
>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got
>> cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that
>> everything dries up so quickly.
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>
>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just
>> haven't  lost all my hope.
>>
>> Lou
>>
>
> Yes! Have hope! There's more daylight every day now.

This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
and back.

On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
"sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.

From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
Christmas and happy holidays to all.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 12/23/2021 7:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck.

For nearly a decade I lived in a southern U.S. state. Northerners (or
"Yankees") were moving there in droves because of the climate. I moved
there to take an engineering job.

The climate drove me nuts. Spring was beautiful, but summers were
oppressively hot and humid, and winters were as Lou describes: gloomy
and wet.

I much prefer this northern climate. Snow is much more pleasant than
cold rain, for biking or for hiking.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:19:22 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 8:42 AM, AMuzi wrote:
> > On 12/23/2021 6:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> >> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly
> >> fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main
> >> reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and
> >> most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a
> >> light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are
> >> harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic
> >> network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the
> >> roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
> >>
> >> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike
> >> gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
> >>
> >> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got
> >> cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that
> >> everything dries up so quickly.
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
> >>
> >> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> >> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just
> >> haven't lost all my hope.
> >>
> >> Lou
> >>
> >
> > Yes! Have hope! There's more daylight every day now.
> This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
> sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
> hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
> and back.
>
> On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
> "sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.
>
> From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
> Christmas and happy holidays to all.
>

That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?

On 12/23/2021 1:34 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:19:22 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>
>> This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
>> sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
>> hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
>> and back.
>>
>> On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
>> "sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.
>>
>> From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
>> Christmas and happy holidays to all.
>>
>
> That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?

I do think it's cool. It turned out to be much more interesting - and I
dare say beautiful - than I anticipated. It also turned out to be much
more difficult, and much more educational. It took several years.

I began it on a whim, after reading that Isaac Newton did something like
this when still a boy. When I started, I didn't clearly understand what
an analemma was, and was surprised my first hundred data points were not
on straight lines. I then went down a sundial rabbit hole, learning a LOT.

Partway through the project I took a crack at calculating coordinates of
data points. If my mirror chip had been precisely horizontal, that would
have been feasible, although complex. (Developing the equations required
a couple pages of trig coupled with Descriptive Geometry.) But I found
that my mirror was tilted a tiny bit southward, making the math too
complex for me. So ultimately it was all empirical. But as a result,
it's extremely accurate.

Here's a link to a less than wonderful photo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/51770098481/in/dateposted-public/

That was taken just after 11:30 in the spring. The sun dot is visible
between the Wright Flyer model and the tandem silhouette.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 3:18:37 PM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 1:34 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> > On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:19:22 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >>
> >> This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
> >> sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
> >> hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
> >> and back.
> >>
> >> On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
> >> "sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.
> >>
> >> From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
> >> Christmas and happy holidays to all.
> >>
> >
> > That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?
> I do think it's cool. It turned out to be much more interesting - and I
> dare say beautiful - than I anticipated. It also turned out to be much
> more difficult, and much more educational. It took several years.
>
> I began it on a whim, after reading that Isaac Newton did something like
> this when still a boy. When I started, I didn't clearly understand what
> an analemma was, and was surprised my first hundred data points were not
> on straight lines. I then went down a sundial rabbit hole, learning a LOT.
>
> Partway through the project I took a crack at calculating coordinates of
> data points. If my mirror chip had been precisely horizontal, that would
> have been feasible, although complex. (Developing the equations required
> a couple pages of trig coupled with Descriptive Geometry.) But I found
> that my mirror was tilted a tiny bit southward, making the math too
> complex for me. So ultimately it was all empirical. But as a result,
> it's extremely accurate.
>
> Here's a link to a less than wonderful photo.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/51770098481/in/dateposted-public/
>
> That was taken just after 11:30 in the spring. The sun dot is visible
> between the Wright Flyer model and the tandem silhouette.
>

That's amazing! Nice work! Artistic as well! I was thinking about how you would compensate for parallax between the reflector and subsequent angle of the ceiling. Sounds like that math is as tough as I thought it would be.

On 12/23/2021 2:18 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 1:34 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
>> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:19:22 AM UTC-5, Frank
>> Krygowski wrote:
>>>
>>> This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a
>>> reflecting ceiling
>>> sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11
>>> hours and half
>>> hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from
>>> solstice to solstice
>>> and back.
>>>
>>> On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see
>>> the reflected
>>> "sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most
>>> northerly one.
>>>
>>> From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get
>>> brighter. Merry
>>> Christmas and happy holidays to all.
>>>
>>
>> That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere
>> for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?
>
> I do think it's cool. It turned out to be much more
> interesting - and I dare say beautiful - than I anticipated.
> It also turned out to be much more difficult, and much more
> educational. It took several years.
>
> I began it on a whim, after reading that Isaac Newton did
> something like this when still a boy. When I started, I
> didn't clearly understand what an analemma was, and was
> surprised my first hundred data points were not on straight
> lines. I then went down a sundial rabbit hole, learning a LOT.
>
> Partway through the project I took a crack at calculating
> coordinates of data points. If my mirror chip had been
> precisely horizontal, that would have been feasible,
> although complex. (Developing the equations required a
> couple pages of trig coupled with Descriptive Geometry.) But
> I found that my mirror was tilted a tiny bit southward,
> making the math too complex for me. So ultimately it was all
> empirical. But as a result, it's extremely accurate.
>
> Here's a link to a less than wonderful photo.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/51770098481/in/dateposted-public/
>
>
> That was taken just after 11:30 in the spring. The sun dot
> is visible between the Wright Flyer model and the tandem
> silhouette.
>

Very nice!

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 a.m. UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>
> Lou

That's why I like full fenders on my winter bike. Those fenders sure do stop a lot of crap from getting onto the bike. Full mud/water spray flaps help keep even more crap off my feet and bike.

In some ways I like rain over snow because once the sun comes out the roads quickly dry. It isn't nice riding in rain when the temperature is just above freezing though. I kind of like riding when it's snowing because I don't get wet. However the snow sticks around and melts a bit in the daytime if the temperature is above freezing and then that melt water freezes at night or in the shad and makes riding interesting. Like so many things in life either has advantages and disadvantages.

Merry Christmas to all.

Cheers

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 9:18:37 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 1:34 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> > On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:19:22 AM UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> >>
> >> This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
> >> sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
> >> hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
> >> and back.
> >>
> >> On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
> >> "sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.
> >>
> >> From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
> >> Christmas and happy holidays to all.
> >>
> >
> > That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?
> I do think it's cool. It turned out to be much more interesting - and I
> dare say beautiful - than I anticipated. It also turned out to be much
> more difficult, and much more educational. It took several years.
>
> I began it on a whim, after reading that Isaac Newton did something like
> this when still a boy. When I started, I didn't clearly understand what
> an analemma was, and was surprised my first hundred data points were not
> on straight lines. I then went down a sundial rabbit hole, learning a LOT.
>
> Partway through the project I took a crack at calculating coordinates of
> data points. If my mirror chip had been precisely horizontal, that would
> have been feasible, although complex. (Developing the equations required
> a couple pages of trig coupled with Descriptive Geometry.) But I found
> that my mirror was tilted a tiny bit southward, making the math too
> complex for me. So ultimately it was all empirical. But as a result,
> it's extremely accurate.
>
> Here's a link to a less than wonderful photo.
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/51770098481/in/dateposted-public/
>
> That was taken just after 11:30 in the spring. The sun dot is visible
> between the Wright Flyer model and the tandem silhouette.
>
> --
> - Frank Krygowski

Nice! You have to replace the wallpaper though :-)

Lou

ELou Holtman <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
> of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
> for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
> times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
> Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
> beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
> remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
> road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
> dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
> dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>
> Lou
>

The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
now except for skiing or snow shoeing.

Thanks for the non Covid, non TX, non political post. Been a while since
we’ve seen that here.

On 12/23/2021 4:16 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 a.m. UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>
>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>
>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>
>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>>
>> Lou
>
> That's why I like full fenders on my winter bike. Those fenders sure do stop a lot of crap from getting onto the bike. Full mud/water spray flaps help keep even more crap off my feet and bike.

I like full fenders on all my bikes. The only serious downside I've
experienced is a bit more difficulty transporting the bike.

Specifically, I had to trim the bottom edge of front fenders slightly to
allow use of our axle-clamp roof rack; and if I throw my bike into the
rear of the hatchback, turning the handlebars (as is necessary) makes
the rear half of the fender protrude and take up space.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thu, 23 Dec 2021 11:26:26 -0500, Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 12/23/2021 7:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck.
>
>For nearly a decade I lived in a southern U.S. state. Northerners (or
>"Yankees") were moving there in droves because of the climate. I moved
>there to take an engineering job.
>
>The climate drove me nuts. Spring was beautiful, but summers were
>oppressively hot and humid, and winters were as Lou describes: gloomy
>and wet.
>
>I much prefer this northern climate. Snow is much more pleasant than
>cold rain, for biking or for hiking.

I, on the other hand, moved to a tropical country(s) and enjoy it
immensely. Warm rain is (so) much more pleasant then cold rain for
biking or hiking (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:26:14 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 12/23/2021 4:16 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> > On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 a.m. UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
> >> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck.. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
> >>
> >> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
> >>
> >> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
> >>
> >> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
> >>
> >> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> >> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
> >>
> >> Lou
> >
> > That's why I like full fenders on my winter bike. Those fenders sure do stop a lot of crap from getting onto the bike. Full mud/water spray flaps help keep even more crap off my feet and bike.
> I like full fenders on all my bikes. The only serious downside I've
> experienced is a bit more difficulty transporting the bike.
>
> Specifically, I had to trim the bottom edge of front fenders slightly to
> allow use of our axle-clamp roof rack; and if I throw my bike into the
> rear of the hatchback, turning the handlebars (as is necessary) makes
> the rear half of the fender protrude and take up space.
>
>
> --
> - Frank Krygowski

No doubt that full fenders make sense for a road bike used in the winter. Although that bike has eyelets to mount full fenders and I have even a set lying around I didn't installed them because:
- that bike is used on road (winter) and off road (summer) and off road fenders are a PIA so I have to take them off. Too much of a hassle with full fenders.
- off coarse I don't go for a ride when is raining cats and dogs in winter time and for light drizzle or only wet roads I have good clothes/shoes
- like you said fenders make handling more troublesome,
- interfere with the ease of cleaning. Now I pop out the wheels put the bike in the stand with a tensioned chain and within 30 minutes it looks like new because everything is easy accessible with the right brushes, sponge and my secret potion :

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pRZ5ybQWi1cfYZEH8

Lou

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:09:47 PM UTC+1, Duane wrote:
> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
> > of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
> > for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
> > times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
> > Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
> > beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
> > remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
> > road ride my bike looks like this:
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
> >
> > Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
> > dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
> >
> > The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
> > dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
> >
> > Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> > Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
> >
> > Lou
> >
> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.

That are brutal conditions. We don't have that here. I think when we had I would picked up cross country skiing.

Lou

On 12/23/2021 6:42 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>
> No doubt that full fenders make sense for a road bike used in the winter. Although that bike has eyelets to mount full fenders and I have even a set lying around I didn't installed them because:
> - that bike is used on road (winter) and off road (summer) and off road fenders are a PIA so I have to take them off. Too much of a hassle with full fenders.
> - off coarse I don't go for a ride when is raining cats and dogs in winter time and for light drizzle or only wet roads I have good clothes/shoes
> - like you said fenders make handling more troublesome,
> - interfere with the ease of cleaning.

That latter is a benefit vs. detriment thing. I suppose fenders may slow
the cleaning process a bit, but they also greatly reduce the need for
cleaning.

I'll confess to cleaning my bike no more than twice per year.

=

I may have told this, but: Recently my wife and I were riding to our
credit union, taking a shortcut through the local forest preserve and
adjacent meadow. I didn't realize the usual path through the meadow was
unavailable and the rest of the meadow was very wet. We emerged with a
very muddy bike.

So I telephoned a friend living very nearby, explained my problem and
asked if we might stop and borrow a hose. He said "Do you know what you
just interrupted? Me using my pressure washer." So I guess that counts
as an extra time washing my bike.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 5:09:47 PM UTC-5, Duane wrote:
> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
> > of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
> > for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
> > times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
> > Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
> > beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
> > remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
> > road ride my bike looks like this:
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
> >
> > Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
> > dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
> >
> > The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
> > dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
> >
> > https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
> >
> > Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
> > Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
> >
> > Lou
> >
> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.

Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:

https://www.tribreakaway.com/

https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982

On 12/23/2021 7:40 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 5:09:47 PM UTC-5, Duane wrote:
>> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
>>> of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
>>> for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
>>> times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
>>> Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
>>> beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
>>> remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
>>> road ride my bike looks like this:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>>
>>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
>>> dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>>
>>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
>>> dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>>
>>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>
>> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
>> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>
> Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:
>
> https://www.tribreakaway.com/
>
> https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982
>

Here as well. It's been mild for this season, not below zero
F yet and no snow.

Which sorta offsets the freeze on Decoration Day which
killed a garden full of tomatoes. Oddly although it's not
cold now, our summer, while pleasant, was never hot.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

May Father Christmas bring each of you a pair of SKS P65 mudguards/fenders for each of your bikes. -- Andre Jute

Lou Holtman <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:09:47 PM UTC+1, Duane wrote:
>> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
>>> of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
>>> for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
>>> times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
>>> Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
>>> beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
>>> remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
>>> road ride my bike looks like this:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>>
>>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
>>> dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>>
>>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
>>> dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>>
>>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just
>>> haven't lost all my hope.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>
>> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
>> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>
> That are brutal conditions. We don't have that here. I think when we had
> I would picked up cross country skiing.
>
> Lou
>

It’s not unusual to see -30C here. -40 is not impossible. It’s not really
the cold that keeps me from riding though. I ride outside until the ice
comes. The snow/slush/ice/salt is no longer any fun. Add to that the
reduced visibility and sliding cars.

I’ve tried XC skiing a few seasons. I prefer downhill. We have a lot of
nice slopes near Montreal.

funkma...@hotmail.com <funkmasterxx@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 5:09:47 PM UTC-5, Duane wrote:
>> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
>>> of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
>>> for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
>>> times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
>>> Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
>>> beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
>>> remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
>>> road ride my bike looks like this:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>>
>>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
>>> dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>>
>>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
>>> dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>>
>>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just
>>> haven't lost all my hope.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>
>> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
>> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>
> Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north
> eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:
>
> https://www.tribreakaway.com/
>
> https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982
>
>

I lived in Boston for 5 years. You get a lot of snow though not as cold as
here. I remember some nice ski slopes in New Hampshire.

On 12/24/2021 1:08 AM, Andre Jute wrote:
> May Father Christmas bring each of you a pair of SKS P65 mudguards/fenders for each of your bikes. -- Andre Jute
>

Hmmmm. I'll keep my British steel mudguards thanks.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971