Originally Posted by tsl

I took a tumble on the ice the past Wednesday morning on the way to the dentist. It was our first snow to stick, and likely a one-off event for a few weeks. I knew that the ground was still warm, but one part of the route might have ice, a residential section cut in on a side hill.

I didn’t bother with mounting the studs on either the MTB or the Portland (cross/light tourer), opting for the Portland which had the cross tires already mounted.

True enough, there was ice in that section but I didn’t go down until the last intersection, where cars spinning uphill and skidding to a stop downhill had polished a mirror finish. I’d been anticipating ice, had ridden a couple of patches, so I was going slow enough that when the front wheel went out (to the downhill side) I was more or less prepared. I tucked, and landed remarkable softly on my left flank. No damage, not even bruises. Almost tumbled again trying to stand and walk from there.

Most importantly though, no witnesses!

I’d have made a different decision had I still been commuting (see OT, below), or if I’d anticipated ice on a road with traffic. But having judged things almost to the exact meter, and not having to worry about work, I went with lazy.

YMMV. I still recommend studs when in doubt, but sometimes don’t take my own advice.

Originally Posted by tsl

What I discovered last winter was that newer studs are much nicer than older ones. They’re lighter and more supple than older models of studded tires, like my Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106s. On my MTB going from 2” (52mm) street slicks to 2.25” (57mm) Schwalbe Ice Spikers it's only barely noticeable, with regard to pedaling effort. I’m awaiting delivery of a pair of the breathtakingly-priced 45NRTH Gravdal 120 TPI 700x38mm for the Portland to see if the same holds true there.

Originally Posted by tsl

OFF-TOPIC: To catch up folks who remember me from before, recently, and through no fault or planning of my own, I found myself retired. Yay! I plan to spend 2019 travelling to and researching three places for potential relocation in 2020: CO, AZ and HI. Yes, HI.

I’m still fairly young, 61, so I’ve been treating this as a “trial period” of retirement. (I’d been planning to work until age 70.) While it’s generally agreeable, I’m finding I’m prone to becoming a bit of a hermit, especially in foul weather, which we’ve had aplenty so far this fall. Plus I’ve put on 20 pounds without daily commuting.

I figure I’ll find something part-time in order to keep my mental health when I “land”. Or something low-stress and full time if I go completely nuts from boredom. But all three places offer better cycling year-round than here and seem interesting. So who knows?