Winter Cycling - The beauty of winter rides

Many posts have been written about the special challenges of riding through a northern climate winter. Today I experienced the other side of the coin, the unique pleasures of it.
When I set off, there was a glittering layer of frost on everything - the road, the path... car windows (keep scraping suckers :D). Everywhere my headlight shone, it was as if millions of tiny diamonds were scattered in front of me. Couldn't have seen that in the car.
Coming home, the low sun put a wash of golden light on the snow and the bare poplar trees along the path.
It made the hassles of packing clothes and dressing up to the eyeballs (in summer I often just ride in my office clothes) seem worth it.

I agree. A couple of weeks ago I stayed at the office until about 9pm on an evening when the temperature dipped down into the single digits and 2-3" of snow fell. My 9.5 mile commute is mostly through subdivisions and secondary roads and I encountered hardly any traffic. It was very quiet and kind of felt like I was floating on my bike as it easily sped along through the light, powdery snow. That's the kind of pleasurable experience one never has living life indoors all of the time.

We have had two days of heavy fog with temps hovering around freezing and zero wind. Everything is covered in a thick layer of frost and with the slate gray skies and dry roads its almost surreal as visibility is only 1/4 mile or so at times due to the fog. Pavement has been slick in the morning but damp to dry by afternoon. Unless the wind comes up overnight, I'm taking my camera with me tomorrow for some pictures of our altered landscape.

in summer I often just ride in my office clothes

Me too.

Also agree with the enjoyment of winter riding. I also take low traffic roads, or a bike path if the commute has to be in rush hour. I used to start work at 5 in the morning and would only see about 2 vehicles moving on my way in.

Even on a very cold dark busier morning, another bicyclist pulled up beside me at a red light and said "I'm still glad I'm out here, and not in one of those cars." There was something funny about it and I enjoyed it.

When it comes to riding in the Winter. Some people just don't know what they're missing.

When it comes to riding in the Winter. Some people just don't know what they're missing.

+1 there is a whole different range of beauty out there in the winter. It comes with a price of course but what doesn't.

Rhondabike: Funny you post this up. I've posted on my blog in the past couple of weeks about this very subject a couple of times. This has been my first winter commuting and I've enjoyed it a great deal. It's been much more fun and rewarding than I ever dreamed it could have been. Admittedly we've had a mild winter by all accounts but that is not to say there hasn't been challenges of cold temps or high winds. All in all though I've got to count my first year of winter commuting a raging success.

fasthair

When it comes to riding in the Winter. Some people just don't know what they're missing.

yes, they pay more attention to bad weather