Originally Posted by mmeiser

It is. I love clipless ESPECIALLY in the snow. It really helps even out my pedal stroke in the deep stuff and gives me a nice, slightly higher cadence helping me relax, keep a straight line and conserve energy. However I totally get that they are not fore everyone. I just hate it when people let their bias preceed their opinion. There are some crappy winter biking boots out there that aren't waterproof, apparently nashbar makes one. You get what you pay for and winter biking boots are expensive, but the vast majority of the ones I've tried in the $200 and up range are totally waterproof and absolutely worth it if you ride several times a week all winter long. For me they are the game changer as the alternative is to not ride in the winter or not ride as much.

I litterally ride twice a day sometimes when the snow starts flying and it has been flying here in the midwest with between 10 and 12" in the last week. I'm crazy for it.Words cannot express how magical it is to ride through a small rural town in ohio all decked out with christmas lights with the snow falling straight down heavily at 10pm on a week night with not a car on the road. Magical is the only term that does it justice.

Last night I road with a buddy and we just road through a suburban park for an hour and a half. Some tracked, some untracked, some plowed, some open fields. Deer, rabbit, squirrel, fox, cat, and possibly even coyote track, though probably dog. Less then a mile from his house. Moon so full and bright reflecting off all the white snow we could have ridden without lights. Afterwards had a brew and a bourbon with he and his wife and crazy dog. Dog only had a tiny bit of bourbon though. LOL.

Places that you normally would completely overlook in the summer can hold hours and hours of riding fun and adventure in the winter. If getting out on the road bike in summer is about riding as fast and efficiently as possible, pushing all the limits then snow biking is the exact inverse. It's all about conserving energy, trying to relax and keep the bike moving in the right direction while often going no faster then the minimal amount to keep upright so you can turn it on and bust through a drift when you need too and then recover.. all while riding at a minimum of 70-80% of your threshold. The key is relaxing and keeping a good steady rythm even while the bike tires are spinning anf even fishtailing a little.

I love it. Best part. Burning calories like a crazy mother. I swear an hour and a half of riding in the winter burns more calories then two hours of riding in the summer.
Somewhere there is a Calvin and Hobbs post on winter riding where his dad is just thinking "man! It's snowing today! That means I get to burn twice as many calories!"

Love of the white stuff is such an odd and demented addiction. I try and try to explain it to people, but until you've been out there on one of those magic nights when all the world is lit by the moon and covered in white no amount of words will do it justice.S

some pictures I've probably posted here before: