Winter Cycling - You are your own winter enemy :(

I take the same route to work every day, and part of it is on an unplowed path through a high school campus. The first day after the first snowfall was great because the snow was so fresh and I was the first to ride through it, no problems. The second day had a bit of a crust on top, but I was able to plow through it. The third day though! I discovered the dangers of your own tire tracks. There were four sets of them spaced pretty evenly across the whole path, and the snow had melted slightly and then refroze. So here were four ruts only slightly wider than my 700Cx28 slicks, made of solid ice.

This was an unanticipated difficulty for sure.

The first time I fell into that rut I almost fell over in seconds. You can pop up the front wheel to get out of it, and the back wheel will sometimes follow, but it's not a sure thing. Ugh. Anyone else encounter this problem on their rides? I figure the next time it snows I can make each rut a little closer together so that I leave some room for the next time.

Maybe I'll start riding over the grass alongside the path, or get some studded tires (expensive), or stop sucking at handling and just not hit the ruts again :/

Your commute seems to be a bit different than mine. I am in an urban setting for my whole ride. I have to deal with the ruts and ice mounds( inververted ruts from compacted snow ) until the alley and side streets get plowed. With the city budget crunch, that can be a few days after each snow.

I ride gingerly to the closest snow emergency road, because those are kept fairly clear. If there isn't much snow there, its not too tough to ride the mountain bike. If it is totally clear of snow, I ride my trek touring bike, because it is much lighter and faster, and I'm inevitably racing to get to work on time.

I think that short rides on irregular snow pack can be a fun challenge, if I go slowly enough that spills are not dangerous or painful. For me, that means being able to put a foot down to catch myself.

So if you have a short segment through the school yard, maybe a change of attitude would work as well as a change in practice.

So here were four ruts only slightly wider than my 700Cx28 slicks, made of solid ice.
This was an unanticipated difficulty for sure.


Are you using 700x28s slicks on ice? Could you consider a CX tire, or better yet, a mountain bike?

I agree, virgin snow is the easiest to ride in, and icy crud and used ice tracks are the worst thing to ride in. Last night on the mtn bike trails all the bike tracks were frozen because so many riders during the day had made slush tracks, then they froze over at sundown. What a pain.

Hopefully one of my Christmas presents will be a set of CX tires and larger fenders to go with them. I know slick tires aren't the best choice for winter riding but it's what I happen to have.

I do have a mountain bike, but it is far too small for me and is a pain to ride. I'd much rather be riding slicks on ice than that for sure. :(

I take the same route to work every day, and part of it is on an unplowed path through a high school campus. The first day after the first snowfall was great because the snow was so fresh and I was the first to ride through it, no problems. The second day had a bit of a crust on top, but I was able to plow through it. The third day though! I discovered the dangers of your own tire tracks. There were four sets of them spaced pretty evenly across the whole path, and the snow had melted slightly and then refroze. So here were four ruts only slightly wider than my 700Cx28 slicks, made of solid ice.

This was an unanticipated difficulty for sure.

The first time I fell into that rut I almost fell over in seconds. You can pop up the front wheel to get out of it, and the back wheel will sometimes follow, but it's not a sure thing. Ugh. Anyone else encounter this problem on their rides? I figure the next time it snows I can make each rut a little closer together so that I leave some room for the next time.

Maybe I'll start riding over the grass alongside the path, or get some studded tires (expensive), or stop sucking at handling and just not hit the ruts again :/

Oh yes I have that problem. In fact I just descoverd that little inconvience the other day. I live on 65 acres of farm land and cyclocross train 3 times a week on it riding in circles way off to the edge so as not to hurt the winter crop. Last week was a fun filled snow melt slop, great bike handling training and overall just plain fun. Well then it snowed and froze over. My next ride was unbareable between shallow snow drifts and then my hardened tracks I only lasted 15 minutes b4 I quit to save a broken neck. Some areas were 15-20mph runs and it's next to impossible to stay in your former tracks. Yea I dont know if the studded tires would even help b/c it really is not a traction problem it seems it's just getting stuck in the ruts. BUt if you are on a limited track space than you really can't find a new track every time and crossing over the old ones is trecherous. Anyway in the cross tradition I'll just pick up the bike and run :) thanks for this post it really hits home for me this week...

That was one of the fun things I noticed the other day. I was riding the bike paths on my way to work and noticed my old tracks form the first snow with some slush under it. It was sort of neat to see a "fossil" of my previous ride.

There isn't much you can do about the the little rifts and ice patches except learn to navigate them. And stay out of them, they will aid in your riding in the swarmer months as you will be a better bike handler. One of the ice problems I don't like is the tracks left by people walking their dogs on the paths. The tracks that are left are worse than riding a cobble stone road.

My commute takes me a long a lake that has a lot of snow blown off it that forms these drifts. I don't know why the city hasn't put up a snow fence of some sort, but they haven't and wind up having to plow because of citizen complaints. Thes drifts are difficult to get through as they aren't quit solid enough to ride over and they aren't soft enough to plow through. I wind up stuck in the middle of them and getting off to push to a better spot.

If you are out riding in this, you might consider the purchase of a set of studded tyres. they really are worth the investment. expecially if you are wanting to remain car-less. Think of the money you are saving by not having a car, what you would spend on insurance for a couple of months you can get a pair of Nokians and be set for several seasons of winter riding. Just a thought.

I said in the commuting forum, but welcome here too.

Yeah, riding when it's icy and rutty is tough. Here in NJ it is especially bad because we're sort of in between rain and full snow and temperatures will go above freezing in the day and then refreeze overnight so the ATVs, Trucks all make unplowed trails (or roads for that matter) really icy and tough. I rode the first time with studded Nokian front tire and it was fun but a little dicey as my front tire would track fairly well but like you said, it's iffy whether the rear tire would follow the rut or track with you. Momentum is your friend but be prepared for the rear tire to kick out a bit if you're running only a front stud tire.

A couple of times I was biking sideways a bit as I tried to power out of some ATV tracks... This is where platform pedals might be better than clipless ones too.

Jay

This is where platform pedals might be better than clipless ones too

I use toeclips, and one of the first things I learned that first snowy night, is that they should be =very loose for winter riding. The ability to slip out really fast has saved me from quite a few falls. My bike came with toeclips, and I haven't decided yet whether it's worth buying a set of clipless pedals and some shoes. I'll definitely wait until *after* winter for that purchase anyway :)

A little Off Topic, but, clipless pedals are nice, and not all that bad in the winter either. I can "unclip" faster with clipless, than I can remove my foot from a toeclip. But one issue with clipless in the winter is that you have only a few choices for warm shoes that work with the pedals. And if you do get clipless, and expect them to work in the winter, get either Egg Beaters or Times.

Wholeheartly recommend the TIME ATACs, I have used the same cleats and pedals without much looking at any maintenance for 8 years now. Both on my commuter bike and my mountain bikes that I will race on. Great system and great in the mud and snow. And I can use them as platforms too, the eggbeaters are a little harder to use, unless you get the new eggbeaters with the built-in mini platform.

Jay