Ha ha, did wipe out today! :D Nothing hurt but the ego.

Check out the winter cycling forum. There was a poster there recently from Denmark (if I remember right) asking for tips or ideas to help them deal with the unusually cold weather (for them). He was looking for things like heated seats and handlebars. Sounded like it's been a real struggle for those used to getting around on two wheels in a moderate climate. Pretty much the only he advice he got was "Dress warmer".

On the one hand I was thinking the same thing. Folks in the Winter Cycling form often ride in much worse conditions and we just deal with it with clothing. On the other hand, maybe there are some more creative ways to make cold weather cycling less daunting to the masses and we need to think outside the box a little more.

In any case, I think you're being a little tough on us North Americans. The people in Europe cycle under those conditions because that's how they are used to getting around. They have the infrastructure, the (normally) moderate climate, the relatively short commute distances, and a culture that supports them. It's certainly something we can aspire to.

In the meantime, there are those North Americans who ride year round under worse conditions, for longer distances on streets that cater to motor vehicles first and bikes second, if bikes are considered at all. Though the MUPs and bikeways are plowed in Minneapolis, the bike lanes in many instances just serve as places to put the snow.

I wish they plowed the MUPs here! There's no way I can traverse them on my 35mm studs. Besides, they're all covered with cross-country ski tracks; I'd likely need a Pugsley to ride successfully on them (although the skiers would probably be yelling at me to get off their path). Our bike lanes are the same as yours; covered in plowed snow piles. The city has created numerous new bike lanes in the past few years, but I guess they only figure they need to be used in warmer weather.

This'll teach me to open my big mouth.

http://arcanum.shackspace.com/photos/IMG_0109.JPG

That's a multiuse path on my way to work, honest. That's also a shallow spot; large sections of the path had snow up to the axles (or higher) of my 700c wheels. About a third of my trip to work was less a "ride" than it was a "walk".

Oh well. It'll likely be reasonably clear by the time I head home today.

The city of Anchorage is kind enough to groom a nice, wide lane on my MUP for skate skiers. Once it sets, which usually takes a couple days at most, it is awesome riding. I just stay off of it until it's solid enough to avoid putting in ruts that suck for both bikers and skiers. And skiers have miles of ski-only trails all over town, so only a very small number of them get pissy when you pass them on the MUP.

Walkers, runners, dogs, and moose have no respect for trail settlement though, they just post-hole away. Hey, it's a MUP, what're you gonna do?

Well said. Just today I rode through 50 MPH(95KMH) winds, 25F(-4C)and black ice everywhere. I did whine a bit though. There are others here that rode today.

:lol: if it was karma we would have had about 60 feet of snow instead of 6.