More Cowbell

https://blogs.mprnews.org/statewide/2...o-bad-weather/

WhyFi

Nice.

Adrianinkc

Soft !

Niloc

Well yep us Northwesterners aren't really that tough. It's all a matter of what your norms are and what you are used to. I grew up in Ontario, Canada and I laugh about how pathetic Seattlites are at handling true winter conditions. The whole city is paralyzed by a few inches of snow. Actually this is quite nice as school is immediately cancelled, and work is not worth trying to get to, so snow day! take your kids sledding.

Still as wimpy as we are, we've had a relatively dry and warm winter and I've been biking several times a week through it, something I would never have dreamed of doing in Ontario (or Minnesota).

lsberrios1 

I am from Atlanta and that makes me laugh... pfffftt softies.

kreeess

just showed my co-worker this, shes from Minnesota and she chuckled as well lol

bigfred 

Hipsters.

Sixty Fiver

I would not be throwing snowballs if I were you... I bet you've been logging a lot of miles on your trainer of late.

The ride is still on although they have shortened it to eliminate the areas where there would be too many hills which would not be good in what is probably going to be slippery conditions and I was impressed by the number of cyclists who were still commuting despite the weather.

When Portland shuts down because of half an inch of snow that is funny... I think they got 6 inches in what they are calling Snownado 2014... which is funny.

We call stuff like this, "Friday".

Tycho Brahe 

Besides, the challenge course was also a misnomer. 46 miles with only 3640 ft of climbing? What is challenging about that ride?

lsberrios1 

2 Crashes and a century to prove you wrong! I got the bruises to prove it.. I regret it now since my right hip, knee and Achilles tendon are cursing me out loud. I also have my first two races tomorrow and sunday... may I say pre-race ***ters



Jokes aside, it was very hard for me to go any faster than 5mph on that ice and fell and slid a few times. In the end those 2 inches claimed 2 lives, 157 injured, and 1460 car crashes.

LesterOfPuppets

You sure park funny!


Cancelling bike rides is nothing, even Portland Polar Bears are skeered of snow!

https://koin.com/2014/02/07/snowstorm...r-bear-plunge/

Dudelsack 

banerjek

Correct. I didn't see any other cyclists on my descent down Marquam Hill yesterday. I can normally bust 40mph, but yesterday, my max speed was 7.



Today, I skied into work. Roads like the one below are no fun on 23's even if traffic is nonexistent...

R1lee

Didnt your city shut down for 3 days due to ice and snow? Lol

knobster

And did it on a 1987 Bianchi Grizzly. Had to have taken you a couple days at that speed.

But yeah, we don't handle snow well here, but we get it so rarely that we don't have the equipment to take care of it. Just like Atlanta.

Long Tom

This is an intense storm, at least 90 miles south of PDX it is. I measured 10" of snow at dusk today. My wife was in the nasty position of needing to travel and was on I-5 today; chains required, packed ice.

If things are like they are here up in PDX it'd be sheer lunacy to hold a group ride.

Keep in mind, people mocking us from the frigid north, everything from your building codes to city planning to the vehicles you drive and how you set them up is geared to handle your winter conditions. 'Taint like that for us. I have traction-device rated tires on my 4WD truck, but that's unusual. If people are gonna get fancy with truck tires HERE, they aim for best mud traction, and cars typically have good RAIN tires, since that's what WE deal with.

SHBR

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I say its not the road conditions, more likely it is a lack of skill and experience in dealing with those road conditions.

Motor vehicles driven by unskilled and possibly over confident drivers, like the one pictured in the background of that picture make the roads far more dangerous than any cyclist will.

Long Tom

Ice and two wheels are problematic. But orthopedists like the combo.

dralways

Sorry couldn't help myself.. ignore me..

dralways

I can't understand riding in these temps without the gear to handle it. Look at this guy's face, where was his mask??

https://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/201...his-own-words/
Link found in OP's link to Minneapolis group ride article

Get on a treadmill and run until you can't anymore while its icy out! I've been doing this for the last few weeks, it helps like nothing else when it comes to endurance on the bike.. which explains why its what every great athlete/body builder/the like spends hours per day doing. Just imagine treadmill+trainer/rollers.. hmm maybe next year.

Long Tom

Ha! I love it. I met her in '88 and I'll STILL chase her around the house!

She just had to do this road trip for wonderful family-type reasons, which would've been plenty epic without crazy weather... add the storm and I'm just glad she's home. And xhe had go do it in a rental car since my high-schooler wrecked our RAV last week. But last night was a lonely feeling... got one kid in the dorms... my high-schooler off at a friend's house... my wife had to grab a hotel room just 70 miles away last night due to I-5 being borderline impassable. I didn't like it. Bad things happen on icy freeways. Just glad she got back ok.

I need a trainer to pedal off some stress.

pdedes

Had our "Coldest Ride of the Year " yesterday in -15c conditions.

WhyFi

It looks like he may have pulled his balaclava down for the pic and he has Vaseline or similar on his face, in addition. Seeing as the guy finished first in a 29-hour, 135 mile ride, I'm not going to second-guess him too much.