I couldn't order the studded tires in time for this morning's iciness, so I went the homemade route, using a couple of old knobbies I had lying around. They worked great. I found this morning I could have used 20 or so more studs per tire, but they gripped well enough to keep me from falling. I fell crossing icy streets twice while walking my dog this morning. But riding my bike to work, didn't fall once!
One funny thing about having the business ends of 50 stainless sheet metal screws sticking out of your tire is that they tend to spear debris and keep it sticking to your tire. I mostly just picked up leaves this morning, but I made a mental note not to ride over any litter like fast food cups and crap. Picking something like that up could stop you pretty abruptly if it got stuck somewhere it shouldn't be...
6 comments:
I actually felt a little guilty starting up the Jeep this morning to head into work.
I didn't feel bad enough to walk though. The wind chill was less than 6 degrees F when I left this morning. My co-workers think I'm "touched" already, being able to ride in this morning would have cemented the fact in their minds.
People are funny that way.
Put a helmet on!
If my head weren't so freakishly large I'd have worn a helmet this morning... but I couldn't fit that thick fleece hat under my helmet.
Rock on! Man how I miss that kind of weather.Being from Alabama, I'm used to riding in the cold and in the rain. Out here though, it just doesn't happen much.
Yeah- get a bigger helmet. Louis Garneau makes a big freakin lid. Hate to see a head injury post on the blog...
The XL Limar helmet I've got fits great when I'm not wearing anything under it. I can fit a headband, but that's about it.
Limar makes one thats XXXL or something (Ala the old Bell "Kinghead"), which would work for me in the winter. But they don't import it to the US, at least not yet. And so far, I've been unable to justify a vacation to Europe just to buy a helmet (though now that I think about it, maybe that's a good excuse for a vacation).
Having been similarly cranially blessed, I'll tell you that I've had good results with a thin do-rag cut from a trashed dri-fit tshirt and mostly taped vent holes. That's my interim fix... If I can ever find my old, old helmet, I'll pull out some or most of the foam to allow me to wear something thicker, beneath.
Good helmet habits (and accidental death/dismemberment/disability extor... er... INSU-rance) is part of a deal I made with MBR when I started riding regularly amongst the cars.
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