I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

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Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on January 5, 2015 at 11:10am

First Ice Beard of the season!

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Permalink Reply by S on January 5, 2015 at 12:08pm

Ryan Stahlman said:

I skipped the commute this morning due to the possibility of frozen slush on the LFT. I appreciate the report Skip, and hope to read more updates as the day progresses. I would really like to bike in tomorrow if the trail is passable.

Ryan, search twitter for #chilft to get a variety of reports. It's really handy in winter to see how passable/crazy the path may be and where problem spots are.

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Permalink Reply by Louie Louie on January 5, 2015 at 12:20pm

I was feeling a little lazy this morning but this thread helped me decide to ride my bike after all. I was a little overdressed so I'll have to rethink my outfit for tomorrow's commute.

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Permalink Reply by Beans on January 5, 2015 at 12:22pm

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on January 5, 2015 at 12:31pm

S said:

Ryan, search twitter for #chilft to get a variety of reports. It's really handy in winter to see how passable/crazy the path may be and where problem spots are.

FWIW, in my rather limited experience, the Chicago Park Dept folks are better at keeping the LFT clear than the Streets and San folks are at keeping the streets clear. Consquently, an LFT report might serve as an upper bound of your route's bike-ability, especially after a night's snowfall.

As an aside... Beans, that Clint Eastwood GIF is kinda creepy...

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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on January 5, 2015 at 12:49pm

I rode on studded tires for the first time and loved it. Just warm enough outside my nose and a few fingers.

Although the dragging brake sucked all the life out of my ride this morning. Gorgeous though and will try to snag a pic or 2 tomorrow on my way in. Took me 7 minutes longer than usual because of the brake.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on January 5, 2015 at 12:49pm

See Lisa, I knew this was going to happen. I just knew it!

Joe Guzzardo said:

Lisa, please, we're about a third of the way through meteorological winter this season. Let's not jinx things, okay? You don't need that kind of guilt on your conscience. We have to be quiet about this for at least another month.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

Well, it is no winter of 2013-14, but ICE!

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on January 5, 2015 at 12:55pm

Thanks everyone for the advice. Not much chatter on the #chilft today.

I've shared the experience that the trail is generally clear. I think the combo of the rain/snow slush and quick deep freeze shook my confidence in the Park District staff. A couple times last winter, they were not able to deal.

We'll see how the predicted 3-6 inches of snow leaves the trail tonight.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on January 5, 2015 at 12:56pm

Sorry Joe. And I wimped out today.

Joe Guzzardo said:

See Lisa, I knew this was going to happen. I just knew it!

Joe Guzzardo said:

Lisa, please, we're about a third of the way through meteorological winter this season. Let's not jinx things, okay? You don't need that kind of guilt on your conscience. We have to be quiet about this for at least another month.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

Well, it is no winter of 2013-14, but ICE!

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Permalink Reply by S on January 5, 2015 at 1:30pm

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

S said:

Ryan, search twitter for #chilft to get a variety of reports. It's really handy in winter to see how passable/crazy the path may be and where problem spots are.

FWIW, in my rather limited experience, the Chicago Park Dept folks are better at keeping the LFT clear than the Streets and San folks are at keeping the streets clear. Consquently, an LFT report might serve as an upper bound of your route's bike-ability, especially after a night's snowfall.

As an aside... Beans, that Clint Eastwood GIF is kinda creepy...

Depending on which part of the city you're in, the parks district can be much better about clearing and salting the LFT although last year they had problems south of the museum campus. However, to be fair, they ended up having to bring in heavy machinery to clear the path there and the snow banks on the sides of the path ended up being about shoulder high.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Guzzardo on January 5, 2015 at 1:56pm

No, Lisa. You're sane, not a wimp. I wimped out beginning last month and I even put spiked tires on my bike, but at least the days are getting noticeably longer now.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said: