I've been back in my little house in Philomath almost a week and have been riding everyday. The first couple of days were rainy and I got a good test of my rain gear. For the most part I stay pretty dry. My pants and jacket seem to do their job. If it's raining hard my gloves soak through, but that shouldn't be a problem for my 6 mile commute, as long as I can dry them out during the day. My shoe covers keep my feet dry and toasty.
I woke up early one morning and decided to do a simulated commute to see how long it would take me to get my act together and ride to work. I could hear that it hadn't been raining all night. Little did I know how cold it was, and when I got outside everything was frozen. On the bike I really couldn't tell how icy it was. I was careful around the turns but it didn't feel at all slippery until I had to put my foot down at a light. Only then did I realize that it was very icy. I was happy the bike handled so well on it. When I left Philomath it was just getting light and it was very clear. There was a bright crescent moon hanging low in the south. It was quite spectacular. As I approached Corvallis I could see I was riding into fog, and sure enough it was pretty thick by the time I got to campus.
I'm a little concerned about leaving the Trucker locked up all day on campus. Even though school was out there were hundreds of bikes on campus and the bike racks were mostly full. Of all the bikes I saw, the Trucker was by far the classiest. Most people ride old mtbs or 10 speeds. Some of them even have down-tube shifters. I want to ride the Trucker because it is so solid and reliable, and can go anywhere. I just hope it isn't too much of a target for the bike thieves.
After riding the Trucker all week I decided to take the road bike for my traditional new year's day road ride. It hadn't rained for 3 days so I was confident that the roads were dry enough for skinny tires. I did have to wait until about 11:00 for it to warm up enough so that I didn't have to worry about frost. I got in a 33 mile ride and it never got much above 38 degrees. This ride started through the hills south of Philomath, then cut east and across 99W almost to the Willamette. Then back across 99W and almost into the Coast Range to Hwy 34, and then back to Philomath. There are lots of great roads here, both in the hills and in the flats. I saw to other riders on the road today, both on Hwy 34.
Speaking of other riders, in Corvallis you see all kinds of people on bikes riding locally, yet I've seen very few on the routes between here and OSU. Instead what I see is lots of joggers. Even in the rain they're out there, soaked to their skin, running along. True dedication.
I'll probably take a day off tomorrow, and then on Monday begin my life as a daily commuter. Depending on the routes I choose, and there several to choose from, I'll get 11 or 12 miles a day, or more if I run errands after work. Doesn't sound like much but that's about all I'm ready for considering the rain, and I can always take the long way home, once the days start getting longer. Should be an adventure.