The Annual "Put My Bike Away for Winter" Thread
 

Kudos to all of you in cold cities and towns who ride to work through the winter. For me, here on Long Island, NY USA, the roads are too dark, slippery, and lightly cycled during the late fall and winter months to provide a safe commuting experience.

Yesterday, November 3rd (despite unseasonably warm temps expected in the coming week), I put my bike in mothballs until March or April rolls around again.

So are you done for 2018?

Deleted per mod request. Sorry. ;)

I've actually just put on a second set of winter tires. I don't commute per se, but I do enjoy a bit of winter riding for fun and excersise.

I commute all year round. I find winter to be the most fun season to ride.

I remember reading a story about 20 years ago that the Mayor of Barrow Alaska biked to work every day, all year long. So this is where the bar is set IMO. And where I live is 60*F and beautiful all Winter so I won't have to man-up to his level, ever.

I have a good friend in DC. A maniac. LOVES the worst of conditions. I actually gifted him my Surly Pugsley fat bike last year. This guy is CRAZY, yet, he would not bike to work at least two of those days last Winter due to "impossible" conditions. His normal ride is a Surly Long Haul Trucker which saw tons of Winter action before he got the Pugs.

It ain't for everybody, but it can be done.

I used the upcoming winter as a good excuse for N+1. This year will be SSS (studded single speed) thanks to a new wheel build. The new wheels will let me mothball my "road" bike, which didn't take too kindly to the road salt last year. I'm following the new philosophy: "The less stuff on the bike to rust, the less rust."

But I certainly don't blame anybody for hanging it up. Just find something else to do! It's not just the weather conditions, but the behavior of the car drivers, that you have to take into consideration. I happen to have a virtually traffic-free commute.

As I have said in other threads, it's not the cold that gets me off the road in the winter, it's the darkness in the mornings and the frost on the windows of all the already-distracted drivers that seals the deal. I. myself, can barely see the pedestrians walking along the shoulders when I drive to work on a frosty or foggy autumn morning. I wouldn't mind bundling up and getting to work on my own power all through the winter, but I'm not going to be stupid about it.

I find that what bothers me is not just cold or just wet, but the combination cold & wet. Proper gear goes a long ways. But yeah, miserable is miserable. With any luck you'll still have a few good rides between now & springtime. Until then, maybe, some time on a trainer, generic spin class, cycling clinic with licensed coaches, etc...would at least help so you don't spend the next 4 or 5 months back on the bike trying to regain what you lost. Maybe your local cycling group or advocacy organization has weekend rides out to a countryside bakery or coffee shop.

Speed/cadence sensors and a used trainers are relatively inexpensive. Now might be a good time for that Powertap G3 wheel you've been coveting...Anyway, my point is winter doesn't have to be a reason for quitting cycling. Done right, it can be a great time to do focused training and carrying fitness to the next season.

Good Luck.

+25 to that, [MENTION=61571]Spoonrobot[/MENTION]; my first reaction too. I was not planning to reply to another seemingly inane thread about winter cycling, but that gratuitous, nasty comment was really uncalled for.

[MENTION=137127]Papa Tom[/MENTION], your post belies your signature. Frankly IMO, it’s “hate-filled rhetoric” disguised as irony. :notamused:

I haven't put my bike up just yet. In fact I'm still riding it, though far fewer miles. The challenge for me will be to stay in bike shape until April when things warm up again. I've been hitting the gym four nights a week for the past month to offset the reduction in road miles.

Winter commuting equals double points :-)

However ...

Keep the political crap out or the thread goes to P&R, Closed, Deleted or worse. Carry on.

That's what studded tires are for, plus some extra caution and common sense would go a long way in preventing slips and falls.

Yep. (Simply wanted to paint a winterly picture ;-)

I watched that video and really liked it...It must be somewhere from Europe...It's funny how these European commuter cyclists fall and get up and continue on their way without any drama or complaining...Here in USA and Canada most bike falls end up with a trip to an emergency room and maybe even giving up on commuting for a few months all because of slipping on a few wet leaves.

Nonsense. We've all fallen once or twice, some more than others. In fact, if this article is representative, we fall more often than European cyclists. The only times I've ever heard of serious injuries is when those crashes involve cars.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmc.../#51bed40233b3

Soon.

It'll probably be another month before ice/snow begins to creep in. It's already approaching the time when temperatures get down too low in the early mornings, for me.

So, a couple more weeks and then I'll probably be putting the commuter bike away for the winter, except for occasional periods of unseasonably warmer weather.

It only took until the third day of November to start Novembering :mad: ("Novembering" in western Wisconsin consists of temperatures between around 35-45F and rain, this kind of slow awful progression to the pretty part of the year with snow and sun!)

My summer bikes probably won't take their annual trip to the basement for another month or so, until the snow and ice start to stick around. Then it'll be time for studded tire fun - now with two different bikes. I like taking the MUPs in the winter: it makes the commute longer, but I need the miles, and it's the only time of year that I can ride on those without encountering other people :)

Don't sell yourself short: I know what your summer is like! Of all the places I've lived (most of them cold), the only one that killed my year-round commuting was Mobile, AL.

[MENTION=137127]Papa Tom[/MENTION], your reasons are rational, and you're not a wimp for not commuting in bad conditions.

My circumstances are different, so my decisions are different. I'm in the same climate as you, and I agree that when things are slippery, it's pretty crazy. I've heard about hardpacked snow in Minnesota, and I'd love to try that. We get slush here, and every few feet, the texture is different, which makes it hazardous and impossible to prepare for.

I ride on the bike path along the Hudson River. I'm out of motor traffic for the vast majority of my commute. I may not need to take many days off the bike this winter. Last year, I had about three miles in motor traffic, but I don't this year. But it gets colder and much windier on the Hudson than the rest of Manhattan. Sometimes the cold, damp wind is brutal.

So I play it by ear and make a decision each day. My other mode is the subway, and that's pretty safe from icy conditions.

That's exactly it! I'm in Madison, but we always get a couple of weeks like that.

Yup. I have my Lake SPD boots ready, and studded tires set aside--in case this winter is like last years....of course with being prepared and all--this winter will probably be a mild one

The Netherlands.

The video kinda shows how each person may fall in a different way.

Notice too how – towards the end of the clip – some friendly dude yells “Look out!”, but the guy doesn’t hear the warning because of what appears to be his headphone. Poor guy; he really takes a hit there. The one in front of him appeared to be more cautious and got away safely.

Cobblestones are the worst I guess. In winter I prefer (rough) concrete.

Normally I ride all year, but the winter of 2017 was beyond crazy.

Don't know the English word, we call it 'ijzel', it's light rain that freezes up as soon as it hits the ground and leaves a thin blanket of ice on the street that it so smooth an ice skater loves it. It doesn't even happen every winter but when it does, falling is an option for everybody. It can be all over al lot of streets and most people will stay home until it's salted and the skaters will skate on the roads, but often it's just a bit slippery and there are just a few patches that are extremely slippery. Often it's visible by it's shine, sometimes people stay there to warn or leave a mark but not always and it can be there or disappear/ get less slippery in a matter of minutes.

I change the brake balance to the rear so when I slip under braking I got a chance of staying up or fall more gently, but it can always take you by surprise.