have been gleaning apple, pear, plum, and asian pears trees in my neighborhood. random walks are fun (in 2-d you usually find your way home), but i've been wanting to get a map happening for a while -- here's my first effort. it is editable (and edible) by anyone, so add trees if you know of them.


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problem: commuting to work/riding around city for moderate amounts of time in the pac nw winter. getting wet is a given, so waterproofing and insulation of some kind is needed. sweater/water resistant jacket works well for top, but pants are less straightforward. "rain pants" are a big hassle of changing, and are expensive. jeans/bens get wet and cold, and stay cold. i don't actually mind this too much while i'm riding, but being soaked for hours afterwards at work is kind of annoying.

tentative solution: wool pants, (cost $6 and half hour of sewing). went to thrift store, bought heaviest weight wool pants that fit me. cut off bottom ten inches of legs and hemmed them because a) makes riding easier and b) the kitchen where i work is hot. also, can use newly extra fabric to reinforce seams.

data: works well so far. have ridden in pretty much the full spectrum of seattle winter weather, from cold and not raining to cold and raining a lot. pants stayed reasonably warm in all situations (even heavy rain), with occasional drafts up legs due to "shortening" of pants. contemplating wearing light weight silk-type long underwear if it gets much colder. dry exceptionally fast, esp compared to jeans. problems/things to work on -- could be heavier weight wool. didn't shop around for pants; recommend looking for really heavy ones. questionable durability -- don't know how long slightly dressy wool pants will last as bike pants. single stitching makes me nervous, may have to reinforce seams.

verdict: four stars out of five. for six bucks and less that an hour of work this was the best solution i could come up with, and it works really well so far.

other ideas? pdx crew, how do you ride in the winter?