You know what they say about those who go looking for trouble... Once is enough for me.

I've had experience with snow building up on the drivetrain as well, but never to the extent that I had to stop to clean it.

I feel guilty but I avoided cycling Tuesday because of the forecast. Haven't have build up that much before - impressive. For me - I have ever only had snow build up that much - but it still makes shifting a problem. Single speed does solve that problem well.

+1

Nice work on the ride-

Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Fair-weather riding is a luxury reserved for Sunday afternoons and wide boulevards. Those who ride in foul weather – be it cold, wet, or inordinately hot – are members of a special club of riders who, on the morning of a big ride, pull back the curtain to check the weather and, upon seeing rain falling from the skies, allow a wry smile to spread across their face. This is a rider who loves the work.

I enjoy riding in the weather as long as I am prepared.

Tom Palmer

^^^ Totally agree here.

Or blow torch? Chapeau to you, @mcours2006. But it did sound a bit risky. Glad to hear you have studded tires.

Thanks.

Actually, the ride home today with the snow falling was much more harrowing than the freezing rain. Riding on the right car tire track was no good. First of drivers tend to following the same track, and with fresh snow everywhere around they don't like to stray far from that track. A couple of closer passes, albeit at a slightly lower speed. Second, I had quite a few 'Oh *****' moments when the bike slid, if only momentarily. Studded tires or not, on packed snow like that they're not much use. I found riding closer to the curb where there was fresh snow (about 4 cm) was better.

Again, if I woke up to this I would have taken the car.

Yeah, freezing rain sucks. Be glad you didn't have to ride through a blizzard (winter of 2015/2016), been there and it's far worse than freezing rain.

I'm with you on the take a day off sentiment. Speaking of freezing rain, I took today off from the cyclecommute and took the train. The roads here look fairly clear but still have some ice here and there. I had to shovel the semi-hard slush off the sidewalk yesterday. So took off since I knew it wouldn't stay hot enough to clear up fully. Its all good. We will get plenty of ride time during the year.

Freezing rain is not good, nor is snow. I'd prefer extreme cold to either of those conditions, but of course extreme cold has its own set of problems.

I did take my own advice today. With 20 cm of fresh snow fallen from Sunday I took the car, even though I probably could have ridden. Some of the side roads on which I ride would have been very tough.

No need to be a hero.

thought about this thread the other day. thought I might wind up w nasty accumulation like the OP cuz of recent snow & cuz I took my fenders off. but I got lucky I guess cuz the trail was plowed & there was no falling precip. kudos to the OP for being such a bada*s

I feel the same. That's why I haven't ridden into work in quite a while now. I would most likely survive, and I'm sure I would get a great heroic feeling by making it in without even getting cold. But it's not sufficiently fun, nor is it sufficiently safe or predictable how it will go, so I'll wait.

Now why would you do a foolish thing like that?

That snow doesn't look too had. It's not the semi-wet stuff that sticks to everything. But regardless, I'm always tempted to hit the 'EASY' button whenever I see any snow in the morning.

#characterbuilding

That's the worst ice build-up I've ever seen!

Like you, I ride in a wide variety of conditions, but freezing rain is the least enjoyable conditions. It's damn near impossible to keep warm as the moisture gets right down to your skin. This was my ride back in November.

IMG_20161118_151410338.jpg

Thankfully my drivetrain stays clear of the ice.

couldn't get the new 700x40 studded tires on w/o rubbing. upsize tires = upsize fenders ...

This surprised me too, considering the way the RD and cassette were covered.

RE: Keeping warm--I had on more or less enough layers to keep the water from reaching my skin, but by no means water proof. Actually, I think the layer of ice covering me helped keep me warm.

With shorter rides (under 15 miles) I'm typically warm enough, like this PM commute a few years ago.

904279_10201010153598745_551347486_o.jpg

I wish I took a pic of my shoes coated ice!

The earlier pic I posted was from a metric century ride, the forecast was for light snow but I got that freezing rain for most of the ride. That was challenging to keep the cold wet way from my hands and feet.

100km in freezing rain?? Hats off to you, sir. Glad to know there's someone out there more crazy than me.

My commute is only 12 miles. Can't imagine riding four hours in that.

+1