I joined these forums almost 5 years ago. Back then, I lived in a small, rural town. School was MAYBE 1 km away, and I had not much of job to speak of (I did ride bike to my uncles farm in the summer to do some rouging). I dreamed of being able to use my bicycle as a practical means of transportation. I tried, on a couple occasions, to ride to the nearest city and although I succeeded it proved to be too significant an effort for the fitness level I was at. I rode regularly on the highway for a while, but found that my 'pointless' route grew rather dull. I dreamed of being able to ride my bicycle a reasonable distance to and from work. I dreamed of being able to commute as many of you do. After highschool, I went to college but the dorms were so close to the building we held classes in that there was no point in riding bike there (it would have taken longer to dig out my bike and ride over there than to just walk).

Throughout this time, I tinkered away on my bike, adding new parts here and there, experimenting with different lighting systems, and so on. A lot of it was unnecessary where I lived at the time, but I suppose I always had it in the back of my mind that someday I would live in the city and be able to commute by bicycle. Now, I finally find myself in a place where I CAN commute. And now that I have become familiar with the streets and more of the bicycle paths and pedestrian overpasses/bridges, I am starting to commute to work! I am finally starting to live that dream!

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you guys.

Cheers.

Really nice to know you've find your 'place'. Enjoy!

How does the cold and ice and snow affect your biking? I assume that you are high up in Canada where the weather in the winter time is snowy and icy. Do you bicycle in the ice and snow? What types of problems do you encounter while bicycling in the ice and snow up there where you are at?

The winter weather here in Canada isn't exceedingly icy. It can be if we get freezing rain or when it warms up for a bit and then gets cold again. Also, some roads that do not get heavy traffic (but still get more than, say, a residential area) can be icier. I try to avoid the ice and ride on exposed pavement - although that is not always possible. To compensate for than, I have recently got studded tires on my bike.

I think the biggest problem for snowfall is when we get a big blizzard coming through. Probably about a month back we had a big blizzard come through and some of the roads got icy, and most of them got covered. It took a while for the cities limited machinery to clear the streets. I tried riding to the nearby Canadian Tire (it's like a cross between a hardware store, an automotive store, and the sporting/seasonal/toy/kitchen/furniture section of Walmart) and found it to be exceedingly difficult (trying to ride through deep, loose, rutted snow can be tough). But once the roads were cleared, it was okay.

I don't know, from what I read here in the forums, it doesn't seem that our winters are all that different from what they might get in the Northern States... somewhat colder perhaps (it has been known to get down to minus 40 sometimes, although right now we have been enjoying a balmy -10 or -15 degree Celsius). It is not like some people have made Canada out to be where it is always winter (although last year it seemed that way. The blasted snow returned well into May) and we all live in igloos and drive dog-sleds around (well, that is an extreme version of what some people seem to believe). Like I said, it's probably a lot like the winters that parts of the US can get, just a bit colder (I suspect) and perhaps a bit more prolonged.

Hope that kind of answers your question.

It is not like some people have made Canada out to be where it is always winter (although last year it seemed that way. The blasted snow returned well into May) and we all live in igloos and drive dog-sleds around (well, that is an extreme version of what some people seem to believe).

That is so dumb.

We still live in igloos but dog sleds are so turn of the century but I guess the image has stuck... if we're not cycling we are driving snowmobiles.

A few old timers still like to hitch up the dogs but you don't see that much anymore as feeding a dog team can get expensive.

Well, maybe YOU do...

Happy for ya. Have fun.

And isn't it true that Canadian cyclists where helmets, not for bicycle-specific safety concerns, but because a hockey puck could come flying out of nowhere at any time?

On a more serious note, good for you Sir Lunch-a-Lot!

So how far is your commute? What is the terrain like? And I'd be interested in seeing the pictures of the current evolution of the bicycle you use.

And shouldn't there be at least one "eh?" in your post?