What will you do differently this winter?
 

Ah, winter . . . . when temperatures dip down into the 60s and light jackets are optional. I luv Texas!

Actually, in my home town (El Paso) we can get down to the 30s and rarely the 20s in the early morning hours. Snow is rare. In winter I just layer up a bit. :)

they're XC ski gloves and will stay on the trails this time around :D

There are a few things I will do differently. For starters, I will attempt to cycle thru the whole winter if possible. That said, I want to buy some studded tires. I will ride my old bike (now that I have one) and I may try to get more light on my bike.

Studded shoes.. a must with studded tires LOL! Other than that nothing that stands out right now.

this year i will ride the same bike and just have a second set of wheels with studded tires. also i need to get warmer socks or shoes. feet were pretty cold last year.

Remember, a tight or snug fit in the shoes can impede circulation leading to colder feet. When I add my thick wool sock to the mix I wear looser shoes; inexpensive firm-sole sneakers. I ride with toe clips and straps and flip over to the bottom of the pedals for dicey stretches.

last winter, I switched from 28mm to 40mm tires for the fast bike, and put on some studded tires for the mountain bike.

Riding in the snow is a blast - as long as I'm not riding through old footsteps...

I've decided I've got nothing to prove, so I will probably drive on most of the rainy days. Like 3-5 times maybe in Jan/Feb.

I made it through last year w/o ever switching to snow tires and fixed-gear but maybe that will happen this year.

This year... e-bike! In the past I've ridden my road bike commuter down to 20°F, which is pretty much my limit for a ride that takes upwards of 80 minutes, but by the time I get to work my toes are in pain, and I promise you that whatever suggestion you may have, I've tried it, short of battery-powered heated insoles, or big fat SPD boots that I just can't afford.

On the road bike I prefer to be clipped in, but on the e-bike I find that it's not so necessary. And since the ride takes less time, I may be able to commute more often this winter. However the cold temperatures may make battery life and range take a hit, so we'll see. Currently I can do a 30 mile round trip commute on one charge up to 90% (charge to 80% night before, then top off in the morning before leaving). Doing this puts me right around 20% battery remaining when I get home. I'm not sure yet how the cold will affect things.

Ride more often and test out the bike lanes downtown Toronto.

I'm retired now. So that gives me the opportunity to test out the anti- bike lane claims that they can't or won't be used in the winter.

For me, it's a matter of staying more active this winter.

This past winter, my riding completely stopped for January, and I only had a couple rides per month on either side. I didn't make up the difference with any running or gym work, so I gained a bunch of weight and SAD kicked in hardcore. Things started to pick up again in April, but I don't feel like my fitness ever got back to that of previous years. One other side effect of riding less, especially over the winter, is that my biking confidence suffered, especially on hills. I want to -- no, NEED to -- fix that.

There is no appropriate gear for sub -20F....only a thermostat and a bottle of whiskey. A book helps too..

I'm sort of in the same boat. Last year...I pushed riding consistently into mid December...then came home one night when it was 10F outside, dropped the winter beater mountain bike in the middle of the garage, and didn't get on a bike until late february/early march.

I don't want to punish myself riding through total ickiness, but I do want to stay fit, and get on the trainer in my basement, or hit the heavy bag in my garage.

I'm going to be more prissy about snow or ice on the ground but less prissy about low temperatures.

When there is snow or ice on the ground, there is also slush and snow and ice of many various thicknesses and textures. These blobs jut out into traffic, and dodging them and going over them is tricky in traffic. There is no tire that can handle all of these textures. And riding in that mess takes too long.

But when it's cold and dry, I hope to keep moving. I have a ski helmet, and that turns an unpleasant ride into a pleasant one.

Last year was the first time in many years that I did not ride, since work moved 25 miles from my house and 50 miles on the upright with studded tires didn't seem workable.

But last week I started doing a half route 4 days a week - driving to work, riding back, the next day riding in and driving back.

This might make riding in the winter workable again.

I'm going to try doing a single-speed conversion on my trusty Long Haul Trucker. I didn't get too much component damage last winter, but I found the maintenance effort draining. Plus my time for that is limited with a new addition to the family.

Another thing I want to try is leaving some brushes in the (outdoor, covered) bike parking area. I had a decent amount of rust in the chainstay bridge area last year. I'm hoping that brushing off the salty road snow/slush on arrival will help avoid that.

Two years ago they were quite usable, and I saw a few other people using them (even outside of typical rush hour times). I was in Etobicoke for Jan-Mar, and midtown after that.

Some of the major trails (eg. Kay Gardner Beltline trail) were pretty difficult to navigate during the spring freeze/thaw cycle, when the hardpacked snow turned to an icy sheet at times.

Winter riding is great exercise. The bonus for me is that I can get a good workout without ever going more than a mile from home - everything is different. It is a whole new world for adventure, and a great excuse to get off the couch. I don't often get the motivation to go snow mountain biking, but to spend 30-60 minutes in fresh snow just outside my front door - it is a great way to stay in shape in the winter!

ooooo I just had a great thought last night! Since my e-bike doesn't require quite as much effort as my road bike commuter, and I'm sitting upright instead of leaned forward like on my road bike commuter, I might be more inclined to try wearing regular cold weather clothing for my cold morning commutes this winter, if I'm on the e-bike.

In winters past with my road bike, I would always layer up with various combinations of bibs/tights on bottom, multiple socks, my SPD MTB shoes, various upper tech shirt and jersey layers, wind shell, etc. And it's generally a PITA. And the commute is still really slow (80+ minutes) and my toes still get frozen, and it's just generally not that fun. But I'm thinking that since I'm riding more upright with less effort on the e-bike, I can probably wear just normal sweaters, winter coats, possibly even *gasp* jeans!

Another benefit of the e-bike: if I can leave the office early enough, say around 4:15 or 4:30, it won't be quite as dark when I get home, or I won't have to ride in the 5 PM traffic in the dark for quite as long, which will be nice.

haha now I'm excited to try it once it gets cold out!

good for you! same thing happened to me (from 13 to 22 miles one-way). but since I had a 2nd job when I got the new job I could never figure out the best days to do it. then I gave up the 2nd job & it all fell into place last summer & did a bunch of split commutes like that. but then I got into adventure riding unpaved trails & got sidetracked from the commute thing. rode all winter just not to work. this spring got that 2nd job back & finding time to ride is a problem again :foo:

Good time for this question - it's snowing here right now :(
This year I'll use a disk brake on the front wheel.
I'm going to shop for some new gloves now...

really? snow? got a pic? let us know about the gloves. I need new big roomy over-gloves to go over my favorite thinner gloves

i don't anticipate that i'll be doing anything to terribly different from what i've done during the previous 8 chicago winters that i've bike commuted through.

i've got my winter bike set up and ready to roll for when ice season strikes (disc brake IGH hybrid w/ studs & fenders), and by now i think i've accumulated all the necessary clothing and other gear to successfully tackle another season of winter bike commuting.

at most i might get some new glove liners as i remember my old ones getting a little worn out last winter. i'll have to check the winter gear bin and assess them at some point this fall.

It's not sticking around here, so the pics aren't very impressive. Here is a shot from where I usually ride: