KDC19561954

Today was my first day to be car free it was not to bad but I'll see how it is this winter.No matter how cold it gets I will be car free I need to
buy a few things to keep me warm.

noglider 

Congratulations! Keep us apprised of how it goes and how you figure out how to do everything you need.

Roody

Congratulations, KDC!

This would be a great time for somebody to start a winter gear thread.

KDC19561954

I am still working on my main bike I now have all the parts on order.They should be here by 10/17/2014
and take me about one to two days to get it all setup.I had my Surly Big Dummy re powder coated in all white and with all the Shimano 105 parts on it.
It will look good I think.I'm running a 50,39,30 chainring and a 11-28 rear cassette even when fully loaded it goes up hill good.I'll post pictures of it when I have it setup.I'm just not sure how I will keep warm this winter but I'm going to do my best at it.Here is a little peak of it.I am also thinking about going to a 50,38,28t chainring setup I think it would be a little better for me on long road trips and fully loaded.

gerv 

Yes it would be intresting to hear how things go in the winter. You can get all kinds of info on winter cycling on Bike Forums, but please let us know how it's going.

El Cid

Winter is definitely not bad as long as you dress for it. And there are tons of opinions, and advice, in the winter cycling forum. Don't forget to also get the right tires.

noglider 

As they say in Minnesota, there's no bad weather, only bad clothing.

jwarner

I wouldn't worry too much about staying warm in winter. I've cycled or skied as my primary form of transportation in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska for quite some time. My biggest problem is usually overheating because I'm cold and grumpy in the morning, and have overdressed. A lot of my winter cycling clothing is actually cross country ski clothing by the way, which can be a lot easier to find and cheeper than bike specific clothing, at least in my experience.

If you go about 3/4 of the way down on this page: Winter Tips - Bike Anchorage , there are some tips on dressing for winter biking. Some of the other winter cycling tips are likely also useful. With only three months of bad sledding, very little maintained cycling infrastructure, and some of the worse drivers and car-centric laws I've ever seen, our year-round cycling community has evolved to be pretty good at winter riding.

Congrats on going in a positive direction. Here's to keeping at it.

Machka 

Check out the Winter Cycling forum here for winter cycling and clothing tips.

Winter Cycling

Isaiahc72

Hi there. Good to see another car-free Arkansan(I live in Springdale). I've been car-free for a little over a year. And after last winter, I can tell you, if you don't already have wool socks, they'd be a great investment. Your feet will be one of the first parts of your body to freeze.

KDC19561954

Well nice to hear from you in Springdale I'm in Fayetteville AR maybe we could meet for a cup of coffee some time.I'm working on my new ride it's a Surly Big Dummy I had it re Powder coated in all white I have all the parts on order that I need to re do it.Most of the parts will be in by 10/17/2014.
And yes I do need to get wool socks and I need to get a warm jump suit as well for the extreme weather we have.Here is an update picture or it.It's going to be a sweet ride for sure.It's not done yet but I like to build my own rides.

Isaiahc72

That sounds great. That's a sweet looking bike. I've always been a fan of the Surly big dummy.

As for winter preparedness, you may want to buy/make some studded tires as well if you plan on riding on the ice.

duckbill

Ice? How much ice do you actually get in Fayettevile Arkansas? I am under the impression your area of the country rarely sees snow and cold. The temperatures this morning in my neck of the woods is what you get in January.

wphamilton

The recent polar vortex weather turned things on their head. This year the South had winter days as cold or colder than you were having in Ontario. It was all your arctic air being pulled down, making it unseasonably warm for you, unusually cold for us. We'd rather you keep it this year.

duckbill

Sorry to here about your cold winter but we had our coldest winter in recorded history because of the artic vortex not a unseasonal warm one.

wphamilton

I'll take your word for it, it was a really weird winter. But unusually warm in Canada the year before, and even more the year before that. I envied you some days, just looking at the weather map.

gregjones

I once had to take backroads to avoid a winter condition backup that grew and grew until it reached from Little Rock to Memphis. We had eight drivers leave Oklahoma headed to Alabama that day and solely due to my navigator, Cheryl, we were the only truck to make it the next day.

Artkansas 

You can do it. It's a little warmer in Little Rock, but not much and car-free living is very doable here.

Artkansas 

There's already a winter forum.

gerv 

I should head over there to get some motivation... right now I'm in denial about warm weather ending.

Roody

I inow, but that is mainly about sport and recreational cycling, not the everyday cycling that many of us on this forum practice. Also, they might kinda laugh at somebody from Arkansas who claimed to be a winter biker.

Juha

This is my experience too.

Where did you read that? IMO the main problem with that forum is, it's seasonal (duh). More traffic during US winter (whatever that may mean in the various parts of the US), and very little otherwise. But I've never felt I shouldn't post there because someone there thinks cycling is a sport and not a means of transportation.

--J

Machka 

Yep!

Winter Cycling

noglider 

@Juha, how common is commuting by bike where you are? It's not very common in North America.

KDC19561954

Oh yes I have new tires on the way for winter riding we get a lot of snow up in Fayetteville,AR last year was a little less but still good tires will help for sure.