noglider 

I made three trips today. First was my weekly trip to my therapist, only 1.4 miles each way. She is a cyclist, too, and she has a lot of respect for me, braving all kinds of weather. But this trip is no big deal.

Second, I delivered a couple of bikes I had fixed up for a neighbor. I lashed them into my kiddie trailer. That turned into an adventure, as I suspected it would. I didn't balance the load right, so the "tongue weight" was severely negative, i.e., it was pulling up on my bike. The trailer made a strong back-and-forth oscillation on the bike, pulling me back and pushing me forward. The load stuck out to the right, and I accidentally hit a van that I was passing. My chain jammed three or four times, and I learned that I can't reach my smallest chainring before I do something about my front derailleur. My chain also went into my spokes twice from the rear derailleur shifting too far in. Luckily, when this bike does that, the derailleur doesn't hit the spokes. I think I'll get a dork disk after I adjust my derailleurs.

Third, my daughter has an awful cold, so I went to the supermarket to get some canned chicken soup and a box of Puffs® tissues. It's snowing outside! That went just fine. I fell at the very end of the ride, taking a chance knowingly: I tried to ride over a one-inch high curb at an angle. It was basically a test to see what reduced traction would do.

My bike has 27x1-1/4" tires, pumped to high pressure. Not ideal for snow.