Put me down for the Schwalbe studded winter tires. Excellent on ice and reasonable amounts of snow. Last winter here on the north shore of Lake Ontario was indeed brutal. Last I heard, the forecast for this one looks better. Yesterday was sunny and nice and I took the Voyageur out for what is likely the last time before April and I'm sure I will miss it. This weekend I'll do the pre-winter workup maintenance on the Norco, and then in a few weeks the studded tires will go on for full winter mode. It works out well for inclement weather as a cheap commuter with disc brakes - though a bit heavy. I've going to switch out the old pedals for my new V12 platforms which should work very well with my hiking boots on the winter commute. All I want for Christmas is a Brooks B17 Imperial to go with it. The Voyageur is spoiled with one but I'm very tired of the standard cheapo saddle on the Norco.

As for the winter commute ride, the primary concern is distracted drivers as per usual. My commute is along side streets with a few short sections of main arterial route along a painted bike lane. The city has launched a pilot project to snowplow the bike lanes this winter (yay) which means I'll be able to keep to my route. There are a few sections where I'll have to be extra vigilant due to the aforementioned iced / fogged car windows and sleepy drivers. Honestly I'm not looking forward to it as much as I once did, despite the positive feeling I get from the ride. If folks would just slow down...