Random Revival

I am new. ( I made an intro thread) I bought a bike in may and i loved riding then winter came and i got a new job. I want to commute to my job so i dont have to buy a 2nd car. My wife has been dropping me off and its getting to be a hassle. Thing is winter is still here for a few months but right now we have a freak break in the cold and the snow is gone . Long story short...how is commuting in the winter? Is it doable and reasonable? Do i need certain tires? I have a trek 7100. Hybrid bike im told. Also...i know this sounds stupid but can i ride on the side of the expressway?...be gentle....im new.

Versa2nr

How far is you commute. Riding on the side of an expressway is not the greatest idea. If possible you might want to consider a different route. There are very possibly some side roads and backroads that will get you to work while avoiding major thoroughfares. You can always google or mapquest a route and then try and drive it to see what you might encounter on a daily ride. But anything is possible.

Random Revival

Wondering if riding on the expressway is illegal. Below is the link to the mapquest. It puts me on the expressway because it assumes a car i guess. I know i can take side streets but i don't know how to choose that to calculate miles. hmmm

https://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...y&2z=14624&r=f

tarwheel 

It is illegal to ride a bicycle on freeways, at least in NC it is. Go to www.bikely.com and see if someone has posted a route in your area. Or you can use Bikely to develop your own route. That is what convinced me to start bike commuting -- using an online map (in my case google) to find a safe route on lightly traveled streets.

Commuting in winter is definitely doable, although you live a lot further north than me. I ride year-round in NC with no problems, but our winters are mild with snow and ice very uncommon. However, there are plenty of folks who commute in the winter in places as far north as you live.

riddei

Have you seen this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/376440-studded-tires-necessity.html regarding studded tires?

I started a new job in August of 2006 that was commutable by bike. I rode a couple of months and stopped over the winter. I passed a couple of guys that rode year round. So I knew it was "doable".

I started riding again in the Spring. I decided I wanted to keep going. I did spend a bit changing my wardrobe. Nothing fancy, but there is a saying I remember from my Eagle Scout days "cotton kills".

You generate a lot of you own warmth. If you can keep your hands, feet, and face/head warm you are OK. Generally, over dressing is more of a problem for me. I've found that down to 0*F (the coldest I've been so far) I need a synthetic tee shirt, a thin fleece jersey, a fleece vest, and an outer shell.

For my legs I wear synthetic thermal long underwear, and non-breathable rain pants a wind-block.

I wear insulated hiking boots and two layers of socks. Lobster style gloves an a balaclava.

You want bright lights (planet bike has some good ones).

And the thread linked above has all the info you need regarding tires.

As others have said, riding on the freeway is not a hot idea and probably illegal.

Best of luck.

ericy

In some areas, the expressways have signs that say "non-motorized vehicles prohibited". I wouldn't ride there even if it was allowed. Wouldn't be much fun, really, and one inattentive bozo could ruin your day..

Mendel

Definitely do not use the highway. Every time you cross an entrance or exit you risk being road kill. Very scary. I did it once as a teenager after not reading a map well and recommend against it.

Here is another way to go, avoiding highways. I
https://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...o=nw&r=s&aoh=1

I'm not from your area so you still need to drive the route and check if it will be safe. With https://maps.google.com/ using the satellite view and zooming in all the way you can get a pretty good view. Click and drag the map along possible commute routes to see which will give you the safest way to go. The distance is very "doable."

As far as using a hybrid bike for a 8.7 mile commute, thats reasonable. Although, depending on your taste, you may want to look at a road bike. (I had a hybrid way back when which eventually got replaced with a road bike and mtn bike.) But, ultimately, you need to explore and find out what works best for you.

With the short winter days, its important to think about lighting and visibility. Make sure you will have either daylight or a good rear and front light when you ride.

Good Luck!

bmclaughlin807

Maybe you should check your laws before giving advice?

Riding a bicycle on the freeway is NOT illegal in MOST states. It is prohibited where there are alternate reasonable routes available (MOST urban areas).

I ride on the freeway fairly regularly... it beats some of the smaller roads that I ride on, that's for sure. There's a very popular bicycling loop here that runs on the freeway for a few miles... nice, wide shoulders... you just have to watch like a hawk if you need to cross ramps.

edit: Ok, as pointed out by dobber... NY seems to prohibit bicycles in general, then allow them in specific places. MOST states (Well... every state that -I've- ridden in) are the opposite... they're allowed unless specifically prohibited.

What can I say? NY sucks.

dobber

No, you can't ride on the expressways in Rochester.

Being a little familiar with the area (I'm researching a possible move, new job, commute and have been doing some contract work nearby) you might want to look at opportunities to snake your way thru some of the housing areas and industrial parks. The best route isn't always the most direct one

dobber

NYS Section 1229-a. No person, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, shall: (b) Occupy any space of a state expressway highway or state interstate route highway, including the entrances thereto and exits therefrom, with: an animal-drawn vehicle; herded animals; a pushcart; a bicycle; except in the performance of public works or official duties, or on paths or parts of such highway provided for such uses.

Tom Stormcrowe

Try the avoid highways, tools, etc option and you get an 8.7 mile shortest route commute on Surface streets

https://www.mapquest.com/directions/m...NNZbhZrjsBVg==

chephy

Hey there, and welcome to commuting!

There is a whole Winter Cycling forum on here. Check it out. Commuting in winter is very doable. Even with snow and ice. If there is no snow and ice, it really is no different from commuting at other times of year. You just put a little bit more clothes on.

For ice - studded tires are the way to go. For snow, I find that thick knobby mountain-bike like tires are plenty good, and some people even claim thinner hybrid- and road-bike tires are fine. Too slippery for me though.

Should be fine.

With the exception of a few places where expressways are the only roads around (mostly Western states in the U.S.) riding a bike on an expressway is illegal. Don't use stuff like mapquest to automatically generate routes for you - they'll most likely end up being HORRIBLE for cycling even if they don't put you on an expressway. Figure out your own route. Look for connections that a car can't use but you can (a small patch of grass, a path through a park etc.), and try to avoid major roads (especially since you're a beginner). However, also try to avoid roads with lots and lots of stop signs (really annoying), and try to find routes that will allow you to cross major streets with relative ease (i.e. with lights or ped crossings - it's no fun to be stuck on a tiny side street unable to cross a major artery becuase the traffic is non-stop and you have no way of stopping it).

chephy

I love mapping out bike routes - especially in Toronto (though I'm getting kinda too familiar with it; I already know good roads pretty much all over the city). I'll try to map out a sample route for you on www.bikely.com to give you an idea of the types of routes you might want to consider. Just give me a minute. Of course, you'll ultimately have to decide what's a good route for you - how comfortable you're in traffic, how good is the road surface, how good are the connections etc. etc. - I don't know the area after all. But it'll give you an idea. Give me a few minutes.

Random Revival

Thanks alot for the info and help guys! You rock.

CB HI

You can cut across using either Ridgeway or Lyell. I suggest riding the commute on the weekend as a test run. Maybe take Ridgeway on the way in and Lyell on the way home to see which route you like best.

Generally, it is best for new commuters to start in the summer during warmer days and longer days. If you really are tired of the dropoff routine, maybe now is the time to start "for you".

CB HI

If you do have to ride at night, get some very good lights, front and back.

Random Revival

it will be dark this time of year riding to and from work. I work 8-5pm. ( an hour lunch bah) I need to work on getting a light.

BarracksSi

FYI, Google Maps lets you drag the route line itself after you ask it for directions.

chephy

Can't always do that. My favourite bike routes have a few connections that are impassable by car. One can drive on the road part of the commute though, and check out road conditions, traffic volume etc. In addition to that (or instead) one can a practice run on Sunday. There is less traffic, so it's not too stressful, and one can still check out road conditions, as well as estimate the time it takes one to ride the route, find out any unexpected problems etc.

chephy

Here. Sample route. Click on the Start Tour button, and it will lead you through the route point-by-point (with comments in bubbles). Those comments include directions, and a cue sheet could be automatically generated should you need it.

https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...echnology-Park

chephy

LightS actually. You need at least one white light in the front, and a red light in the rear. It's better to have a couple of rear blinkies running, because they might fall off, or get damaged, or run out of battery - and you won't even notice because it's at the back. Also, LED blinkies are pretty directional, and using more enables you to point them in more than one spot.

For a rear light, I and about 80% of others on here will probably recommend Planet Bike SuperFlash. It's bright as ****, reasonably priced, and pretty reliable. Get a couple. What you get for the front, depends on whether the route you ride on is lit or not. If there is enough light for you to see the road, then all you need is a light that lets others notice you. Those can be had fairly cheaply. However, if you actually need light to see by, you're looking at spending at least a hundred bucks and probably quite a bit more. There is a whole forum on here that discusses gadgets (incl. lights) in great detail.

Random Revival

It seems near the begining you have me going over spaces between roads? I am not sure it that's grass.

chephy

Here is a very consice and comprehensive guide to riding your bike in traffic vehicularly. You'll develop your own style with time, and many cyclists will say that it is good to be a little bit more flexible, and mix vehicular cycling with other tricks (nothing wrong with an occasional hop onto a sidewalk, or going the wrong way on a one-way street for a few yards, or riding a little further to the right than vehicular cycling suggests - as long as you are aware of all the dangers of such behaviours and know how to avoid them). But this is a very good start, imho.

Edit: here is the link... https://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm

chephy

Turn on the satellite view (and read the comments). It's a parking lot and some unmarked roads. If those are closed to public, or for some reason unrideable, you can go a bit further west first on Ridge. There should be a connection to those Kodak roads somewhere in there, and they let you avoid major arterials.

tsl

Welcome RandomRevival. A fellow Rochesterian and four-season rider here. And I grew up in Greece. My brother lives near you on McCall.

In New York State, you cannot ride a bike on limited-access divided highways. Mt. Read is touch and go, but I'd avoid it nonetheless, if only for the traffic and the shoulders which haven't been swept since the Kennedy administration. But you're kind of boxed-in where you live. Mt. Read isn't good, neither is the Ridge. I haven't been in that area since before the reconstruction, so I'll avoid recommendations that use them. Look up and PM another Greece rider, crankyolddude to see if he can help there.

And what out-of-towners don't know is that the Ridge (NY 104) and Ridgeway Ave trace the Niagara Escarpment, the prehistoric shore of Lake Ontario. Crossing them from north to south involves a steep (albeit short) climb. Ridge is also the busiest stretch of road in Monroe County. It's a 6-10 lane surface street with no shoulder, tons of commercial, and is currently under reconstruction.

So between them, I'd actually head north and east first, taking residential streets, (Bonesteel, Johnson and McCall) to Dewey. Dewey south to Ridgeway, Ridgeway west to Elmgrove, Elmgrove across the canal to the rest of Ridgeway, Ridgeway west to Manitou.

It's less direct, but in the summer you can go to the canal path, use either Lee or Long Pond Rd, and ride the Canalway west to Manitou.

Bus/Bike routes are worth investigating too. All buses in the system have bike racks. You could take the 24-West Ridge right to Manitou, and ride the rest of the way on Manitou. Or ride over to the 10/15-Dewey/Latta, transfer to the 3-Lyell, get off at Lyell and Long Pond, the ride Lyell the rest of the way. Another (limited) possibility is the 20-Brockport/Spencerport. See https://www.rgrta.com/

As for the rest, this is my second season riding straight through Rochester's winters. It's doable. Studded snow tires help a lot. I rode a hybrid last year. It was fine for 3,800 miles. It became tiresome and I upgraded to a road bike this year. It's much, much nicer. A cylcocross bike or something like my Trek Portland are examples of road bikes that will take studded snow tires. This is my second season (and second bike) on my Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 tires.

Read the Winter Cycling forum for tips on how to dress. Last year I used regular winter clothes. My biggest problem was staying cool and dry. This year I use bike clothes. It's much easier to manage heat and sweat with them.

What helped me a lot last year was hanging with a bunch of other idiots riding bikes all winter. Join us on the Tuesday Night Urban Assault ride, Tuesdays at 6:00 sharp at the Adams Street Rec Center, downtown in Corn Hill. The ride leader is a great coach. Even though he owns a bike shop, he emphasizes riding technique over equipment. I learned an awful lot from the other riders too. Some have been cycling all winter here for years and years.