jakbikesdc

I rode all winter. Florida is great during the winter! The coldest it got here was 32F with wind chill. That was it. I just doubled on some light glove liners and wore socks with my shoes (usually it's warm enough to go sockless) hahah.

Although FL is great on not having to deal with the cold snowy weather, I do miss the snow. It's been 2yrs. since I've been able to snowboard and I miss it. There also isn't much in terms of watching the seasons change.

toThinkistoBe

Nah, I know for sure the rim was perfectly true (or very close) prior to the incident; however, the spokes may have been a bit loose.

cooker

You guys are more badass than me. I don't ride on ice or snow, although I will ride on clean pavement at any temperature. So far in 2008 I drove the car to work once, took public transit 22 days, and only got 7 bike commute days in, and it's snowing again right now. Mind you I did get four days of skiing in, so that's one perk of winter.

Roody

For me winter cycling is a matter of necessity, not being badass. I can easily take a bus or walk to work. But I finish my shift at 11:30 PM, an hour after the last bus runs. My choices are taxi ($10 a trip), walk (seems risky, takes too long when I just want to get home) or bum a ride (co-workers and friends would get tired of that!). Riding is just more practical in my situation.

The important thing is to have the right gear and bike. With that in place, winter riding is very practical. In a city, there are only a few days a season that riding is more difficult than usual. Cold isn't an issue because your activity keeps you warm. Snow is a problem mainly when it's falling and for a few hours after it stops--just like for driving and even buses. Ice lingers on low-traffic roads for weeks, but the main roads are always ice free.

Torrilin

For me it is evil. I really don't enjoy seasonal changes since I find temperatures under 70F really pretty uncomfortable. Mostly, I'm happiest when I'm warm. Haven't really been warm for about 3 full months, and I'm getting tired of it. The pretty visuals just don't make up for it. Having a use for my knitting *also* doesn't make up for it, since I start needing sweaters at about 60F *g*.

bragi

Ice/snow is pretty much the only thing that will keep me off the bike at this point. Like several others on this forum, I laugh at the cold, wind and driving rain, and I really don't even notice rude or inattentive drivers any more (after a while, you can tell when they're about to do something that might hurt you even before they do it). Ice, however, is a scary deal-breaker. It's all that thinking about sliding around and falling down that makes me whip out the bus pass. Fortunately for me, I live in an area that's pretty mild compared to say, Chicago or St. Paul, and also happens to have a kick-ass bus system.

Roody

TEHO. I'd much rather ride in snow or even ice than rain. I've been known to spend an hour parked under a bridge waiting for a rain shower to pass. I guess it's a good thing that you ride in Washington and I ride in Michigan.

Cosmoline

Ditto on the fox river socks. I love them. I've been riding all winter so far, with a few cab trips during the worst of the snow to stock up on groceries.

Ice is fun and easy if you just have good studs on. The problem only comes with dense snow that gets too deep to ride through. The only way around that is with a fatbike designed to float on it, like they use for the iditasport.

jamesshuang

I tried riding throughout the winter. Baltimore didn't really get too bad, so I've been basically riding random small rides throughout the entire season. One thing I learned quickly - bike shorts don't work well below 4 deg C. Also, I never did find a good combination of jackets and underlayers that would keep me comfortable below 4 C. One last thing - ice sucks on old road bikes. I slipped and gashed up my leg pretty badly on some ice at the furthest point of a 50 mile ride. I was dripping blood all the way back :-D

Looking forward to spring, now that skiing season is basically over here...

Gudeman

I am back in the saddle again. Basically took off Dec, Jan and Feb...I just couldn't hack it in the windy cold. This is my first work day of March. The ride was dry this morning but is supposed to rain the rest of the day and then turn to a wintery mix. Hopefully, I can now ride from March to November.

doraemonkey

Winter, what winter? I didn't see much winter here... I have to say that I am actually disappointed. We had a few sub zero (Celsius) days, but that's about it. Now the sun is back and we are waiting for the spring down pours. I miss winter... and I am saying this from farther north than Montreal. Brittany, where somehow weather has been domesticated.

cooker

More snow and rain this week.

cerewa

Very true, although there are some exceptions. If you are extremely wet, or extremely under-dressed for the weather, you can get cold while physically active. And physical activity heats up your body core while doing only a little to reduce your chance of frostbite to bare skin or fingers/toes.

Roody

Frostbite isn't likely if the air temperature is above zero degrees F (wind chill above -18F). But I agree to watch out for hypothermia any time you get wet, whether from rain or sweat. Even if it's 60F, you can lose body heat quickly if you're wet.

Hypothermia makes you stupid, so if you get cold enough to start shivering, warm up and try to put on more clothes. This is less likely to happen if you're riding hard, but watch out when you stop.

Artkansas 

6 to 10 inches of snow tomorrow. And we've had a total of 1" so far all winter. I've been told to stay home if things don't seem passable. Looks like it may be a snow day at work.

Abneycat

So, the other day the mechanic at the shop gave me a quick run down on the M465 brakes, they're actually pretty easy to modulate and they work well after being adjusted, I suppose they're not so horrible after all. My initial impression was probably generated by the sales guy adjusting them out the door, instead of the mechanic - should've been the mechanic to begin with, but things are pretty spiffy now.

maddyfish

So far I have not missed a day of bike commuting, so my winter goes well.

cooker

Groan. There are large snowbanks on my street that ooze water during the day, which freezes on the street and sidewalk as glare ice overnight. Every night. Another blizzard expected tonight or tomorrow. Toronto is usually pretty much snow free by now.

maddyfish

Not much snow here in Ky. usually in March. But today about 6" when I came home, that's about as much as my slick tired SS can handle. MY commute is all uphill to, and all downhill from, and it got a little hairy on the way home. When I go out tomorrow I'll be taking the mountain bike with knobbies.

reptar douglass

i'll have to start by saying i'm a dumbass for not using a fender till a year after i started commuting. it's nice to have a dry ass at work on a slushy day.

as for the low 30 degree days, i stil think there better then 90 degree days.. i don't need a shower when i get to my girlfriends house or have a stripe of sweat across my chest.

wahoonc

Update on winter here...it was 78 degrees yesterday Next week will be much better riding weather, in the mid to upper 60's. Got a dyno hub mounted on my Compact RSW so that will be my bike of the week for next week. I was supposed to go to NYC this weekend, I was going to look up David at Bfold and check out some folders, but with the weather forecast and couple of flights getting canceled I decided to wait.

Picked up a copy of "Bicycle the history" by David V. Herlihy, gotta love that bargain book bin.

Need to get my butt in the shop and get some of the bigger projects wrapped up, but every time I look at one I think of another $100 worth of parts I think I need

Aaron

sumguy

+1 Would have to catch the bus at 630pm to start at 10pm

1st year LCF and what I'm learning this winter:
how to adapt. my limits. my gear's limits. if my tights are good down to 20f, I can probably use less bulky top layers. typically I'm sweaty by the time I get to work. watching the weather, headwinds, heavy snow, changing clothes, and icy ruts on the street suck. cold by itself isn't as bad as people think.

Short commute 8.4mi RT at night. Rode everyday except bummed rides 6 times during active ice storm and tail end of heavy snows. Took the bus once when my ride home forgot about me

The good:
...Performance windproof balaclava - very windproof, waterproof, warm. probably too warm over 30F
...NEOS overshoes - large and clunky but tennis shoes and rag wool socks good to -10F wind chills, waterproof
...Cannondale LE Bad weather tights - initially didn't like but they shed water and are tolerable down to 20F.
...Ski goggles: dual lens, rarely fog keep eyes and nose protected. need to get a clear lens instead of gold mirror with tint for night riding

OK gear:
...Nokian W106 studded tires. Bought into the marketing that said studded tires are all you need for winter. They are great for smooth ice and good until the snow gets heavy, slushy, or frozen and rutted. Need a better system for hard packed snow that breaks apart.
...Polarfleece gloves: very warm, windproof, water resistant. bulky but I have grip shifters, stay sweaty on the inside
...Pogies. These things are bulky (Cabela's brand) but great for keeping hands warm during heavy winds and also for keeping freezing rain off the shifters and brake levers.

Roody

Winter doesn't want to let go this year! We've missed the last couple snowstorms which went to the south of us, but it's stayed cold, with only one or two days when temps went above freezing. I rode across a frozen lake near my house Thursday, and plan to do the same tomorrow. Life doesn't get much better than that!

Gloves=no-name mittens made of a double layer of Ragg wool with a layer of "Thinsulate" in the middle. These have kept my hands warm down to -25 deg F wind chills, the coldest I rode in this winter. I guess I have warm-blooded feet. They've stayed warm in all-terrain running shoes with wool socks. (But I didn't ride for more than an hour at a time in the severe cold this year.)

Geonz

I bummed a ride home once and caught the bus to pick up my bike. I would have thought I'd have done the bus more often - this is my first car-free winter - but, then again, I didn't think the Xtracycle would want to ride so much when I first got it, either.
I agree about the Nokkian W106's - they're okay for most of what I've had to deal with, but some of this winter has been beyond them. I found that riding the Gazelle on just plain bitter cold days was also a good idea - not just the studded-tire-worthy ones - as I warmed up a lot faster.
Somebody told me their doctor told them that getting acclimated to colder weather included having more capillaries sending hot blood out to the extremities. That makes sense to me, as it would explain how my hands and feet are warm when others' are cold. It's tailwind-and-single-digit days that have been actually cold... but if I'm on the Gazelle I'm usually okay 'cause it's so much work to push a 50-pound bike with studded tires anywhere

urban rider

Too much ice and snow for me. I did not ride as much this winter. I did get a chance to ride with studded tires and a disc brake. Hopefully spring is around the corner.


Gas, 69 cents the price of a can of beans