Cold battery workaround

Yesterday I re-experienced a prob i have with the trike in winter - motor chugging, mainly up big hills. I think it's the cold. My fingers were freezing (after taking them out of mitts to take pics) going in the direction of the chugging. When turned and had the wind at my back, fingers thawed and no more chugging.

I have this bike trunk for the Hilltopper battery in summer, just to give it a place to live. The seat post strap is really worn down due to some rubbing i didnt realize was going on. So the batt lives in this trunk on the rat trap. But it almost overheats in spring-summer in there. Half way thru a short ride, I have realized it's noticeably to the touch. So i unzip and let the heat out. (I likely need another solution with better airflow for the HT batt.) But it occurred to me yesterday, maybe that heat buildup could be useful for winter riding.

Shown here is my Solo Rock battery. It's a tight squeeze to get it into this trunk. But it does fit. When i checked the battery this morning - temp +1C, no sun - the batt was cool to the touch. Certainly no signs of overheating. No chugging. Next step - try this on my steep, cold hill for effect on chugging.

Re moisture. I had left the front end, closest to the wheels, unzipped. There were a few water drops on the batt on the open end. I can certainly orient it so that it zips around further. Not sure if it will offer protection from salt.

Perhaps the old slush-proofing go-to, Scotchgard around the trunk. After that, an aesthetic plastic bag for the winter.

So far so good.

Handlebar Mitts (Pogies) - Road Test 3 - Rain - Passed!

Well i think i've taken these as far as i can. Conclusion - they are great if you're making them out of wool and cloth you have at home and don't want to spend money on them. Also are cuter than store-bought options out there.

Was drizzly today, but came down mild to medium hard on way back. Hallelujah - the insides stayed dry! You could feel the top was damp, but there was no dampness inside. See video HERE.

I was worried the minky cloth i ordered from Spoonflower might not work. But i put my hands in and out of the gloves numerous times on this ride, and the insides didn't get wet.

I like all the colour on them, and the bike patterns.  Used duplicate stitch for the letters, needle punch for the bikes, and french knots for snow, flakes, lazy daisy st for the yellow flowers floating out behind the bikes. The Happy Bike print on the cloth liner was so fun. So aesthetic-wise - 200 percent improvement over MEC type pogies.

It was about 4 degrees C when we were out. The kid had cloth bike gloves, and his hands were wet and cold. Mine weren't. If biking sub zero, i would wear  lite biking glove underneath. I do this with my rubber store-bought ones anyway.

They've been a while in the making. I think you could get your money back selling them if you used fun locally sourced flannel (vs specially ordered cloth), as well as wool already in stash. So let's say $30 in wool, $15 in cloth. Time in labour - 3 hours knitting, 1 hr cutting & sewing, 2 hours topical stitching. So undervaluing one's time at $5 an hour, that's $30 in construction time. Total - $75 in time and materials. To buy them in non-black vinyl colours is over $100, so this is still cheaper to make your own, and has way more character.

If you were to make them for other people, i'd ditch the cloth liner. Make a cover for MEC pogies to give character. The top stitching gives quirky pattern and colour. Simplify the design to take 1 hour. Now you're at $30 in wool,  $25 in construction time = $55 time and materials cost. Ditch the embroidery and you're down to $45 time and mat. If you could sell the covers for $50, then you would start making money.

If it's just a cover, you could make from acrylic-wool blend or just acrylic for less cost/more colour. I will try a prototype pogie cover in A or AW blend, and record results.

I think this bodes well for the experiment i want to do on kayak pogies. Basic mitten shape that can be smaller since it doesnt have to stretch over  brake levers, hole thumb and opposite side for paddle shaft to pass thru. Line with flannel to absorb some water, definitely wool shell to repel splashing.

Rewarding project :)

Whole year of cycling - mission accomplished!

I've been loosely keeping a social media record this winter of when I/we have been able to get out on bikes.

I combed thru my google photos last nite, and effective Feb. 21, we've biked all year. Woo hoo!!!

That doesn't mean every single day. Obviously even in summer there are travel days where we might not have biked - travel days, days that are just too busy, or family visiting days. So i have cut myself some slack on that in winter as well. There might have been a 4 -5 day block where we didn't bike, but never as long as a full week.

It takes a few seasons to get all the pieces in place. Changeover to winter was a lot easier this year with a couple of sets of handlebar mitts at the ready in the garage. I think i have 3 balaclavas now.  They give varying degrees of coverage. My go to one is a Mec that goes quite far down the back of the neck. I gravitate to a turtleneck, polar fleece vest, long coat, bala and wool watch cap over top for super cold days. Was -11 C yesterday, and i was fine. Fingertips feel it when you take off glove to shoot a couple of pics! :)

The next hurdle is making your bike easy to get out in winter. We have an old school garage. Mainly well-aged particle board with a new roof and door. (My point here is to show you don't have to have state of the art, HGTV worthy garage to facilitate this.) Making sure winter bikes aren't stuffed way to the back has been key. Our driveway is pea gravel. It gets icy back there. I have the crew make sure there's a decent amount of salt down. Past years the 2nd car, which older son now uses, has blocked  the way out. Car is more in use this year, so it has been easier to shovel thru to maintain a clear path to the road.

Once you're out to the road, you're in the clear! Here in Halton Hills (nw GTA),  the main road ways are clear pretty reliably within 24 hours after a major storm. I have tended to use the adult trike with electric wheel in winter. Heavy, solid, plows thru anything and doesn't skid out. The only problem it has is that if you get stuck on iced over car tire ruts - that leads to a fear of tripping problem. But the main source of problem for that has been my driveway, not any where else.

It has also helped that bike buddy is taller and stronger. It used to be a worry, him not being roadwise enough to look carefully past tall snowbanks at intersections.

My rides weren't long. In general i like having an errand, rather than just riding in loop. Taking pics becomes an errand. Nothing fancy, just even an update to IG story. This kind of project forces you to view your surroundings with a fresh, appreciative eye every day. (Note to self - new theme needed for next winter!)

The pluses:

* no cabin fever thru jan - feb

* no expensive gym membership needed.

* no struggle with unsatisfying sweaty claustrophobic indoor workout

* outdoors essentially every day

* great life skill taught to the kid

* maintained hip  flexibility

* some hip strength retained

* general positive mental health maintained - no SAD, cabin fever etc.


What to do differently:

* incorporate indoor strengthening regime. In the past when locked in on snow days, i have a workout involving paddle strokes and  light repeats/strengthening/ stretching, that i just didnt do this year due to time constraints. But i am missing the upper body tone up, especially on side that has a weaker shoulder.  So i have to protect time for  at least a scaled down version of that.

So i'll keep posting my #winterbiking pics, i guess until equinox - when that would be #springbiking .

But suffice it to say, photo record shows i have already made it thru a full year of biking :D :D :D