Monday, January 07, 2008

... or not!

I was going to ride to work the whole way this morning. And why wouldn't I? Could someone tell me what's wrong with this weather?

Temperature: 60.6°F / 15.9°C
Humidity: 85%
Pressure: 29.63in / 1003.3hPa
Conditions: Overcast
Wind Direction: South
Wind Speed: 5.0mph / 8.0km/h


The answer is not "It's January! 60 Degrees in Kansas?!" No, it can stay 60 degrees as long as it wants to!

What's wrong is something that it isn't telling: at some point overnight, the dew point was higher than the ambient temperature, causing the pavement to sweat. And I'm not talking a little sweat. I'm talking a thick layer of condensation mixed with salty, sandy dirt, forming a perfectly even layer of milkshake grime on the road.

So, it was another bus morning. I'm all geared up for a ride home if it dries out, but it doesn't look like it will.

4 comments:

dvicci said...

The damp, for whatever reason, is one of my favorite times to ride. I *love* riding in the rain... too bad my drivetrain doesn't like it so much.

I'm sure you've mentioned it, but how long is your commute, sans bus?

Noah said...

Bare-bones work-bound commute: 14.1 miles. But I usually add a little to it to get coffee on the way in.

Bare-bones Homeward commute: 14.0 miles. Actual route varies, though.

I usually stay pretty close to those routes, but as you can tell there are a ton of alternate routes possible, especially in the morning - there's hardly any traffic in the 'burbs until close to 6:30 and I'm usually out the door no later than 5:45.

Noah said...

Oh yeah, my conditions from favorite to least:

Clear and dry, between 50 and 90 degrees

Snow on the ground. The more powder the better

Blistering heat - upwards of 90 degrees, no problem

Biting cold - I've ridden down to 3 below zero and could handle colder than that as well

Standing water on the ground

Slush

Rain above 50 degrees

Glare ice

Re-frozen slush, ice-boulders, arctic moonscape

Rain below 50 degrees, but rain below 35 degrees in particular is the bane of my existence.

I'd take snow, or slush before rain. That said, this morning wasn't that bad, I just didn't feel like riding close to 50 miles in it today (once you count my possible Monday night ride at Casa Tienda Paloma (or whatever it's called) tonight.

Anonymous said...

From Columbus, Ohio. This is one post for posterity. We broke a 101 yr old weather record today. Way back in 1907(I think?) it was 64f (did they have global warming back then?)Today it was 65f! I rode home in shorts and a jacket. Saw a ton of people on the OBP making my way up to Whitney Ave. Had a beast of a wind out of the south(20mph). But hey, it won't last, believe me. Feb. is lurking around the corner. I hope that everyone who reads this post got out and rode today. ScottNorthSide (considerbiking.org)
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s, Ohio.

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