Sixty Fiver

This thread is for the hard core, for those who will not let the weather stop them no matter how cold and icy it gets, those who will keep riding when their loved ones threaten to call the men with the little white coats to take you away because riding in this weather just has to be insane.

This is for those of you who do not fear the thought of experiencing -40... the place where C and F come to meet.

It will be a balmy -18 F tomorrow and the roads have just became passable... I'm actually stoked to be able to get out and ride and will be helping film a short piece on winter cycling.

So... how was your winter commute ?

noglider 

Saturday, we had precipitation, and the temperature hovered around the 32ºF mark, so it looked like snow, but it felt like rain half the time. I had some errands to do by car, so I didn't cycle in it, but I thought to myself that this is the type of weather that can be more discouraging than when it's colder and snowier. I am challenging myself this winter to brave tougher weather on the bike than before. We'll see how it goes. So far, I haven't had to ride in anything difficult. I'm looking forward to it.

nwmtnbkr

That damned Alaskan air is moving in to our area, too. (Normal temps here are cold enough, I don't know how those who live in Alaska deal with the extreme cold all winter long.) Our high is to be 9F tomorrow, but we'll have 20 MPH winds gusting to 31 MPH so the windchill will be around -40F. I'm not planning on riding the bike tomorrow. I don't have that kind of fortitude. This cold front is going to be lodged over us most of this next week, ugh.

tjspiel

Winter has just started to show its face around here. Maybe some snow Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the teens (F) toward the end of the week. Nothing that will stop me from riding though.

I do have a problem with my goggles icing up once it gets below about -10 F but I've ridden when it's as low as -21 F. We don't see that mythical place where F and C meet in the Twin Cities like they do in the Northern part of the state but I know I'd have to figure out my goggle problem to be able ride when it's that cold.

noglider 

I've never experience anything like a Twin-Cities winter. I want to, one day. To me, your winters are legend.

And just like your stereotype, you speak as if your winters "aren't really that bad."

Bat22

I've gone camping at 40 below in the N.H. Whites. The coldest commute was a very rare 20 below wind chill.
Normal commute is in the teens. Snow&rain forecast for Wednesday and I'm looking forward to it.
The challenge is part of it. Getting by a bunch of cars is pretty cool too.

Sixty Fiver

It has warmed up to -17 F / -27C already and we are supposed to warm up to 0F / -18 C this afternoon... I have a bunch of errands to ride today but it should be pretty pleasant.

The worst thing about the winter commute here is the roads... thankfully... there is no snow in the immediate forecast and the city is supposed to have all the main routes finished today.

I live on a bike route and only saw one guy riding this morning... at these temps a lot of people have reached and exceeded their personal cutoff point for riding... at -25 C the combination of temperatures and road conditions generally result in people looking for other travel options.

I have no cutoff point at which I won't ride and -46 C / -50 F is my personal best... if we see -50C I'll have to see what riding in that is like... that is -58 F.

tjspiel

Call it climate change or just a misrembering of my childhood, but winters (and summers for that matter) have been quite a bit milder than those of my youth. Rain in January was a very rare occurrence when I was kid (as opposed to snow) but now it happens all the time. So to me at least, our winters aren't as legendary as they used to be. In fact, "useful" winter is rather short. Outdoor skating rinks for example are open for two months at most. If they're open anytime in December, it's a gift and the city quits maintaining them by mid February because it gets too warm. I can remember skating on the lake outside my childhood home right around Thanksgiving.

But I digress. I understand that our winters are colder than most of country's. However, we're located in the middle of the continent. There's plenty of land (and people) in the Great White North where it's colder than it is here

Oh, and I should add that Minneapolis and St. Paul shouldn't be confused with places like Ely or International Falls, MN that frequently make the news as having the "coldest temp" in the lower 48. They are quite a ways from here up near the Canadian border. It's practically tropical in the Twin Cities by comparison For fun, those folks like to cut a hole in the ice, jump in, get out, sit in a sauna for a while, and then jump in again. Generates a strange feeling of euphoria. Having experienced this on a winter camping trip last year, my contention is that the feeling of euphoria comes from having survived it.

Bat22

Been doing the same 16 mile commute for so long that I feel like a rented trail horse at a tourist stable.
I use mostly side streets,sometimes I turn back if I feel the plow and traffic conditions may be too iffy.
Unless I'm leaving work. Conditions never seem too bad then.

Sixty Fiver

I seem to recall that the winters of my youth had much more snow and stats support the fact our climate has been getting drier and drier... perhaps that explains why more people are winter cycling here and as far as that goes, it is considered to be one of Canada's best cities for this.

The city keeps the MUTS cleared so some routes are just about always free of snow...

hshearer

Saskatoon sees lots of winter commuting, too... wet is way worse than cold, and we're too cold to be wet. I had -31C this morning, so I got out my winter coat and helmet... too warm! I was sweating. -41 is my personal best, although the headset bearings were getting dangerously stiff at that temp. New grease this year, where possible.

By the way, when talking temperature, do you consider windchill or not? I don't; windchill only matters for people standing still... when you're on a bike, the windchill is a pretty consistent effect, so I find the 'real' temperature to be a more reliable guide than the 'windchill' temperature.

There were 3 other cyclists that made it in to work before I did. Down from our typical summer numbers of about 15, but that's still a pretty good ratio of die-hard to fair-weather cyclists!

Sixty Fiver

Gotta give some points to the folks in Saskatoon... I was the only cyclist on the road today save for the fellow I saw this morning although my friend might ride over to pick up her new winter tyres this afternoon.

She's as hard core as anyone I know.

noglider 

tjspiel, there you go again, talking like it's not so bad. You're comparing your current winters with your past winters or with winters in the northern part of MN. All I can focus on is how cold it gets there. The stories I've heard are amazing.

It's 38ºF here (3ºC), with 59% humidity. It's really humid in this area, ten months a year, from November through August. So I do understand the point about dry extreme cold being better than wet moderate cold. I just rode two miles each way to see a client. Most people around here find it very uncomfortable.

Edmonton sounds nice. How windy is it? I bet it's not as bad as Minneapolis.

We get a ton of grey sky days in the winter, too, because of our high humidity.

hshearer

Yeah, we never have to debate here in Saskatoon about whether to put studded tires on our bikes; ice ruts on unplowed streets are guaranteed. We don't have much ice yet, and cold is easy enough to deal with... just add layers. Pile on the snow like Edmonton just got and I guess winter cycling becomes (a little) less attractive. It occurs to me that, with the this combination of clear streets and cold weather, it's entirely possible that getting dressed/undressed is taking me more time than the commute itself. Well, it's a special kind of crazy I guess, but I always smile a little when I see someone else with the same affliction.

Sixty Fiver

A picture is worth a thousand words...

electrik

Right on..

Colorado low blows into town here soon.. plenty of snow, rain then a flash freeze!

Really not looking forward to putting away the clipless shoes, but the last thing I need is a soaking wet slush-puddle foot.

Do you have any trouble with your freehubs at that temperature?

Joe_Mo

Today was pretty intense. Lots of snow. I really like my studded tires. totally worth the money

Sixty Fiver

In years past I have always ridden my fixed gear through the winter and started using the longbike last winter and had no issues although it hasn't seen anything colder than today's low of -27 C... when it gets truly evil I will break out the fg bike just in case things might freeze up on me.

The fg is also a much lighter and faster winter bike.

noglider 

How hilly is your area, Sixty Fiver? What effect on control does the fixed gear have? I can imagine it helping in some conditions and hindering in others.

That's a heck of a lot of snow in your picture. When did that fall? Is that the same snowfall that caused the traffic problems? The pictures of traffic seemed to show only about three inches of snow.

bugly64

I have been disappointed by the small amount of snow fall here in Great Falls, MT. Today it was -19F with windchill reaching -40 to -50.

Sixty Fiver

Tom - This is from the same snowfall except this hasn't been packed down and there is a little drift build up (it's my back yard)... the road you saw the other day had probably been plowed at least once during the night and before the road carnage began and then it just kept snowing for the rest of the day and into the night.

I love the fixed gear as it offers some excellent control, especially when touching the front brake will result in an instant skid... the FG never hinders me when I am riding unless I decide to tackle some monster climbs.

Our city is built up around an old river with steep banks... there are 17 bridges that cross it and if one wants they can avoid any extreme climbs while dipping in and out of the valley will get you grades ranging from 8 to 22 % depending on where you enter and exit and most exceed 12%.

Sixty Fiver

You are insane.

Welcome to the club.

mechBgon

Here in Spokane, WA the weather is cooler than normal, about -14C / 7°F as of 9PM. No snow yet so my commutes are boring.

Last winter we did have exceptional snowfalls starting ~Dec. 18th and I shot some video of one city + highway commute for the heck of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfG1kjwVgi4 The city was overwhelmed and had to work hard just to keep a skeleton of arterial streets open. I resorted to using Google Maps' satellite photography to locate the storm drains on our street so I could dig them out.

irclean

I enjoyed your video. I'd say you'd qualify as hardcore IMHO. I'm surprised none of the passing motorists honked or yelled encouragement (or obscenities) while driving by.

electrik

It's too cold and it takes time and effort to roll down the windows... motorists are lazy and most aren't that commited to abusing cyclists. Winter is great that way!