Not worth the trouble anymore for me. Icy pavement, less clearance on city streets and iffy bridge conditions will probably nuke my rides this week. It's not worth the additional risk and trouble for me now -- I'm not that guy anymore who rides in (almost) no matter what. Subway for me!

We received 6 inches of snow yesterday. I fell this morning on the way to work and tonight coming home, both times on the left side.

SSSTANG - ouch! 'specially on the same side. DAM! Are you using studs? What were the road conditions like? In my area despite getting 9" of snow the roads were in good shape and the shoulders had soft slush and I was thinking of riding tomorrow morning, if my studs are waiting for me when I get home tonight. Also what width tire are you using? Why do you think you fell?

BTW: I read somewhere that is best not to rise in snow any deeper than 3-4 inches.

My husband rode his bike to work as usual during the blizzard on Sunday. He has a heavy steel bike with 28" Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires; no studs. For him, riding in the snow was fine, and he rather enjoyed it. Me - I was not able to get much further than around the corner on a similar, but lady's frame bike under the same conditions. So I think it really depends on the person, and how comfortable they are with slippery conditions, how good their balance is, how capable they are with emergency braking, etc. I am sure that some cyclists can cycle in the snow on a road bike with skinny tires, while for others even studded MB tires would not be sufficient to make a safe commute possible. Everyone needs to experiment for themselves...

I was riding on the cleared roads/streets but there were still slick spots. I also have a bad problem with speeding. I guess slick roads, slick tires, and speeding don't go well together. I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow. BTW, both spills were while making turns.

I just put my studs on last weekend (I bought them in July!). Tried them out for a short 25km ride on Sunday when the temp was -12C. They worked great! I rode to work with them today with another 10cm of new snow. They're a little squirrelly in loose snow marred by tire tracks, but they're great on hard packed snow and ice. Highly recommended, even if our "winters" only last about 2-3 months. If they prevent a single fall that otherwise would have resulted in an injury, then I consider the investment well worth it.

I just rode slower, walked a block of heavy congestion and snow piles and walked over a metal bridge. It still beats mass transit:)

Adam

last year was my first time riding in snow and i took 2-3 pretty hard falls. now i know my limits now and what to be prepared for. ive been looking at studded tires but havent had the cash yet to get some. Cabin fever is setting in already though so ill probably have to get out the handy credit card.

Well, that's it for me. No more riding in the snow/ice. I fell two times on the way to work yesterday. The reason was because I was riding the edge of the road which was mostly clear but had patches of slush. The roads on my route to work have bike paths on each side. Between the road and the concrete bike path is a 12 inch area paved with brick. These surfaces are uneven and have grooves between them. Like I said, the road was mostly cleared but the bike path was covered with snow. As I was riding the edge of the road, at about 18-20 mph, I noticed I was on the brick strip then before I could even think about applying the brakes, the brick strip disappeared into the snow and my front tire hit the edge of the road and I landed on my left side sliding through the slush.

I probably would not have these problems if I didn't ride so fast. I would slow down but it's a 13 mile ride, one-way. Oh well, I'll be back at it next week when the snow is gone.

Ouch and ARG, wet slush! Thanks for the heads up about hidden obstacles. I commute 13 miles one way as well and I appreciate speed. However I've slowed down in some areas in the interest of safety. Rule #1 do no harm. I imagine my first snowy ride will be much slower but speed is still a temptress. I'm on break now 'till 1/4/10 so I have some time to plan my excursions and I'll probably try my work commute during off peak times. I usually do test commutes on Sunday mornings because traffic is so light.