so i'm gearing up for my first winter of commuting here in PDX and all i can say is... BRING IT ON!! every day the sky's looking more and more like dirty dishwater, reminding me i need a new rain jacket and some shoe covers.. up til now the worst winter i've ridden in was in atlanta, GA... pretty darn mild. don't know why i posted this but there it is.

peace

im jealous. rain is 10x more fun than snow

I prefer snow! It usually doesn't soak you to the bone. Plus I really like ice & snow. I just need a beater fixie to ride through the winter. My fixie is too nice, and my SS beater is just not worth replacing any more parts on--I'm crossing my fingers it'll get me through one more year.

Arecellus - I hear your loud and clear. Being in Portland as well, I am preparing for the impending deluge. I was able to catch a nice reminder about a week ago when we had some minute torrential downpours that would soak you through in about 3 minutes.

Checklist goes like this:

1) Gotta get my fenders fixed and back on the bike.
2) Gotta get a raincoat that will actually breathe - keeping me dry inside and out.
3) Shoecovers seems like a good idea, as my fenders tend to dump all the extra water on my toes.
4) Dig up my big headlight for the dark season.

You signed up for the "Bike Commute Challenge" that they are doing in town? I registered my company and am the only one riding. Kinda funny.


-Pete

PDX winter commuting is great. The air is so fresh and clean, and you feel hardcore because all the fair-weather riders have packed it in. I highly recommend a set of full-coverage fenders, if for no other reason than keeping your bike clean. A few rainy commutes and my singlespeed would be covered in muck without my Zefals.

As for snow commuting, I tried that out in our storm in January. The snow's no big deal--it's the ice that showed up the next few days that made things treacherous.

ha! if only i had a beater AND a "nice" bike... right now the one i've got is somewhere in between.

anyway, back in the day when i was growing up in iowa i'd always ride my bike to school in the snow. i'd wrap chains around the wheels.. not great on the tires but it got the job done, and it was frickin LOUD which i dug.

I guess i should sign up for that.. i'd be the only one here commuting though. but it'd make me feel cool, which would be enough gratification.

Arcellus - congrats on the winter riding. I agree with gilby, though - snow is really winter. There is a whole board for winter riding if you want any tips...

https://www.bikeforums.net/winter-cycling/

Arcellus, RidesALot -

Perhaps we should start a PDX winter commuter league - or just go for a ride and possibly drink some beers. I'm always looking for people who like to ride, talk bikes, and aren't too cool to be down to Earth.

-Pete

I've already been cycling through winter (every freaking day of the year). Have to, if I want to get to school And being in Canada it gets even uglier since most of the way to school is through an un-shovelled sidewalk through a park then a nice bike trail.

Only thing i'd really recommend is warm gloves and a chain guard <- essential. Fenders good for those 0 degree days where it starts getting slushy

sorry pedro, i'm waaay to cool for school... im me if you wanna ride and teach this new fixie convert a few tricks.

i think the winters in seattle are similiar to portland. i generally like it, but going down so many hills when the ground is wet is tough. i'll use a front brake this winter to give me more stopping options.

Snow is nice. Ice is not