The Office Bug

Finally a weekend off and what happens? The office bug got me. I felt it coming on just before leaving work on Friday. By the time I go home the cold was in full fury. Achy muscles, headache, stuffy and dehydrated. I spent a lot of time in front of the TV screen over the weekend and have to say the pickings were slim.

There was an OK movie now and then but I was forced to settle on House Hunters too many times. The evenings had much better choices with three PBS stations available, but my realization that TV is a mindless waste of time was fervently reinforced.

I suppose the American football fans were were able to overdose, but that's not an activity I ever got into.

The weather is clearing the roads and by mid week if this head cold clears, commuting will resume.

It's Not the Temperature, It's How You Dress

The snow began to fall around 10AM. Throughout the day the intensity increased. By mid afternoon the accumulation measured around 6 inches and still falling. Add heavy winds and dropping temperatures and you have a typical New England blizzard. I had a forty mile drive to meet everyone in Providence RI where we would welcome in the new year and spend the night.

Dinner reservations were at Capriccios located on the bank of the Providence River in the heart of the city. The word is, "always keep your back to the wall, because you never know who will walk in". The reservations were for 9PM. I met everyone at the hotel at five. The storm was beginning to abate, but the temperatures continued to fall. Looking out the window from our 9th floor room, saw the first night activities beginning. I could not convince anyone to venture out into the night that gave single digit temperatures and flag ripping winds. But I'm a bike commuter right. We bike commuters know, "it's not the weather, it's how we dress". I had layers, and did a solo walk around town with very little discomfort.
Let the festivities begin

A $15 bracelet got me access to any venue that struck my fancy. I was convinced to buy the bracelet with the promise that the "dare devil show" would alone be worth the price of the all night, all venue bracelet. It wasn't. No matter, I had to leave to make the trek to the restaurant.
Irish ballads.

After dinner, no one wanted to walk the city and experience any of the first night events. I mentioned that everything was indoors and every event was withing a seven block area. "Nope, too cold" Alone I ventured out and spent time listening to the Blues, Jazz, Irish Folk and swing dancing like you don't usually see. Three of the events were in churches and the most contemporary was built in 1789. One was the oldest Baptist church in America founded by Roger Williams.

January 1, 2009
New Years day brought even colder single digit temps but the wind had ceased. A perfect sunny morning for taking photos of Old Providence.

State House


Providence City Hall


First Baptist Church


Providence River


"Look up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane". Yup, that's the superman building.


Old Stone Bank and County Courthouse steeple in the background


Haven's traveling diner. Since 1848


Snowy main street in Old Section of Providence.


LAYERS, LAYERS.

Dressing in layers, a technique that was tested and perfected by bike commuting gave this midnight rider the chance to experience a a great first night and New Years day while my companions spent hundreds of dollars to sit in a hotel for two days reading a book and watching tv.

First Night in the City

We are all meeting in "Town" tonight to celebrate 1st Night. Providence, R.I. does quite a production including Water Fire.

The snow is falling like crazy and the forcast is for 4-8 inches. The roads are a mess and I have a 40 mile drive after work. Dinner is not till 9PM so I have plenty of time to get there.

32 Degrees Would Have Been Welcome.

Last night produced a beautiful sky and unseasonably warm weather. That made the decision to bike commute to work today. As I approached the park and ride I glances at the car thermometer which read 23F. Sitting all warm and toasty in the car, I was a little apprehensive about getting out, unpacking the bike and riding off.

When I exited the car,I was greeted by a dead still morning. Not even the slightest wisp of a breeze. The 23 degress had dropped to 19F as day broke. My New Orleans friend Joey does a wonderful job making videos of his rides. I had tossed around the idea of doing the same but I doubt there would be much interest in baron roads and the occasional patch of black ice. Even with the temperatures well below freezing, riding wasn't bad at all. A felling of being chilled, but not cold.

The winter bike rarely exceets 12 MPH during the commute which make my rides more of a zen thing than any resemblance to a fitness activity. It seems more natural after all these years than driving though.

Got some free time. Check out Joey's Videos. They are a hoot.
Happy Boxing Day
Happy Kwanzaa

Winter Commute

The snow is gone and the Friday commute will be a fine day for bike riding.
Winter riding is not a big deal. It's.....It's.
Well, my friend Noah who rides his bike every day says it very nicely.

"Through experience alone, you figure out what works for you in the cold, so it's best to start venturing out for short periods of time or in "somewhat" cold climates, then expand your horizons as the weather gets colder, or start going out longer to determine where your weaknesses are.

Weaknesses can be in clothing:

* too hot
* too cold
* a drafty seam in your favorite winter jersey

Weaknesses can be mechanical:

* Drivetrain lubrication may be either too thick or doesn't protect from salt
* The ratchet in an old freehub might fail to grab in cold temps
* Your light's batteries might not last as long in the cold

Weaknesses can be mental, too. Those usually fade pretty quickly once you find out that you won't, in fact, die."

Personally, I think the only thing keeping people off their bikes in the winter is apprehension. Those who try it once usually keep riding.

We got a bit of snow last night. Because it occured in the evening, it was not a problem and actually lots of fun. I took the dogs for a walk during the hight of the storm and took along my camera. As you can see above, it was coming down pretty hard.

They look sad because they had to sit for a photo.




I was out moving snow and having a pretty good time. Here is the process. Shovel the driveway, step back while the town snowplow puts it all back. Shovel the driveway, step back. I was determined to outlast the plow drivers but gave in when my neighbor Randy came over with his machine.



The two of us finished off my place, his place and three neighbors. Randy plowed while I did the walkways.

Jen drank wine and smiled a lot.


I came in after an hour of shoveling soaked with sweat. A quick shower, change into my PJs, put some ice in a glass and topped it off with burbon. Twice.

How Many Bridges Cross the Cape Cod Canal?

A day off from work allowed me to finish off my shopping for the holidays. The last stop was the Mashnee Island Grill, home of the Quohaug Republic. I brought along "winter bike" and rode from the canal to the island then continued on and rode the lenght of the canal. And back of course.

I had a few more photos to post, but it seems I have used up my 1G of space. More will be posted as soon as the issues is resolved.

Bourne and RR Bridges over the canal.


Ahhh, the RR bridge. That also gives the answer to the title question. There are three bridges crossing the canal. Bourne, Sagamore and the rail road bridge.




The sun was shining bright for the ride out to Mashnee Island. After a quick shopping spree and a tour of the "closed for the season" grill by the owner Erik, I packed up my back pack had began the ride back to the car. The weather changed very quickly once the clouds rolled in. The wind picked up a little and the temps dropped to the low fortys. Still comfortable enough to continue the seven miles to the North end of the canal and lunch.
At the base of the RR bridge crossing the canal.


A seven dollar sandwich, (things tend to get pricey on the Cape), at the north end of the canal, in a good sized gazebo, allowed me a great view of the power plant. {{{{wonderful}}}}. This on a ride that was originally intended to get "green" photographs for a contest at MoveOn.org. If your not familiar with Move On, it's a progressive group who keeps many informed about the goings on about our government in a non partison way. Very much like Fox News, but for people under 75. Anyhow, a couple of vessles made their way through the canal including a very interesting Coast Guard bouy tender. The ship was laden with barnacle covered, rusty, navigaional bouys from some channel or other. No doubt being delivered to the "bouy shop" for cleaning up and a fresh coat of paint.

The return trip remined my why there were so few people on the canal trail. The wind. Holy mackerel! The comfort of the out bound ride made perfect sense. The wind was moderate, but add the radiational cooling from the ocean? {{{{{brrrrr}}}}.
The toes suffered the most, and I really didn't see much because my head was ducked into my chest and being hunched over as protection from the cold wind, didn't offer much incentive for photography either. Like most physical things, when it was over, I was glad I did it. But I wasn't thinking that while riding.

Canal South Entrance at Mass Maritime Academy


A major snow storm is forcast for this afternoon, (Friday). That will but an end to riding for at least a few days. A possibiltiy of rain on Sunday could clear things up, but then again, the rain could make things a lot worse by changing the nice fluffy snow into a mix of ice and slush.