My difficulty with winter riding is preparation. I'm in New York City, and we get less snow and ice than other places, especially now with the changed climate. It's exceptional weather, and it's hard to prepare for an exceptional day. I need to know what to use and how to use it. I have studded tires, and it turns out that I bought them needlessly. They're hard to put on, and we haven't had conditions that require them for several years. I learned the hard way that they don't help in the snow except hard-packed snow. We don't get hard-packed snow here. We had complete covers of ice a few years ago but none since then.