Originally Posted by
GeorgeBMac
Good advice -- but one that takes a lot of preparation (aka "money"): For me it meant a whole new bike that was setup for nasty weather and sloppy conditions (fenders, wide heavily treaded tires, rack & trunk) as well as a mostly new wardrobe (although some old ski stuff got redeployed)... But still, since I ride rails-to-trails and stay off of the roads, I was fortunate in having one nearby that is plowed by the locial township....
It didn't take a lot of money for me.
When I started riding outside, I used an inexpensive 10-year old bicycle I already had (no fenders, no wide heavily treaded tires, no rack and trunk ... after all, you're just doing a ride around the neighbourhood, not a cross-Siberia expedition). Then I went to the local thrift shops and department stores and picked up a few pair of tights (back in those days it was all stirrup pants, and those worked), and sweat tops or wool tops for < $5 each.
When you cycle in the winter, you don't have to have the latest and greatest ... all you need is a beater bike and a few odds and ends from your local Value Village, Salvation Army, or Goodwill.
About 5-ish years later I did pick up an inexpensive mtn bike ... it was new, but it certainly didn't cost a fortune.
And gradually over the years I began to acquire a few more cycling-specific items of clothing, although even so, I still wear non-cycling specific polypro and merino wool tops which I pick up as inexpensively as possible whenever I can find them.
Riding outside doesn't have to cost much at all, and neither does picking up an inexpensive fluid trainer from Nashbar or wherever so you can ride inside. Spinning classes aren't that expensive either.