Anyone else excited about winter?
 

I find myself digging through old winter biking pictures actually really excited about winter coming up. I really am hoping we get a few good snows this year, especially since I moved here before last winter ready to finally see snow again and getting cheated. We hardly saw any snow here in Colorado Springs even when Denver just an hour north got hammered.

Is anyone else crazy enough to be excited about the coming winter?

I'd be more excited if my LBS started to get the parts for my new winter bike. So far I've got a frame and fenders.

Yes and no. Part of me is looking forward to riding around in the snow, but all the "bad" stuff that comes with winter outweighs that. We got cheated for snow last year in Ontario as well, so it was pretty much all bad and no good.

Yes yes yes. Im waiting for that first snow to come so I can leave tracks everywhere I go on my bike. Im like a little kid at a candy shop when it comes to riding in the snow. I just hope I'm ready I havent bought any new cloths for this year. Every year I get a little bit more stuff. this year I'm thinking about getting sport hill winter running pants. Also this will be my first year with a real 200 lum front light. I cant wait. Im going to make some shoe covers now hehe

I am looking forward to finding out just how bad rim brakes are in the wet.........and the Winter X Games!

No. Not really. But when it does come, if there's snow, I enjoy it. :)

A quality light makes a huge difference for me. I think the only thing I will get getting will be a set of poggies, my hands get cold very easy and I do not like thick gloves. I had a set for drop bars and they worked great although I do not have a drop bar bike anymore so time to get a new set.

Rim brakes actually work decent in the rain if you have quality pads, kool stop salmon pads work really well in wet.

I was pretty excited to do my first year of winter biking last year and looked what happened: the warmest winter weather in Wisconsin history. On the plus side, it provided a good learning experience without painful consequences like frostbite, but in some ways I felt cheated because it was so warm.

I know your pain, it is starting to look and feel more like winter each and every day here. I am really hoping to not be cheated this year. I actually am hoping for a blizzard or two, plus we need the moisture anyways!

I haven't yet gotten myself to buy some of the recommended clothes for winter biking, and this year that is going to change. I keep saying I want to ride in winter, then I go out a few times and get fed up with how cold I am or how stiff my muscles feel and how much faster I get winded. I end up letting the bike sit, and then in March I say why did you do that? Especially this year, because we had such a warm winter and I feel like I wasted it. I like snow but have never biked in it.

Proper gear makes all the difference in comfort. Also do not forget it takes a couple weeks to really get your body used to riding in really cold temps. If you ride daily you will adapt rather quickly. I also believe in the "ride cold" method when getting ready for winter riding. In the fall as temps slowly start to drop purposely ride a with a little less clothing than you would to help get your body ready for colder temps.

Very True about how your body adapts. I lived in wisconsin and when I biked in the winter. I noticed about a month of cold weather in and I took off the ski goggles. I was like "why did I even wear them to begin with" when I took them off. But I still ride with a ski mask.

This is my first winter I plan to commute by bike. So far I've figured out that 15C (60F) is my low tolerance for a t-shirt, and 10C (50F) is my low tolerance for shorts. It's all in the testing phase now, what to wear and not to go too heavy. I also learned to F***ing hate windy days. :lol:

haha, windy days are the worst, not only does it make you colder but unlike climbing, you get no reward for the extra effort.

I've not really done much winter cycling to speak of. This year, though, I've been getting some gear that'll allow me to do some cold weather riding. I've got tights and some bibs, but am still looking for a jacket. I'm sure I'll identify other stuff too, which I'll get as I go.

I got a Surly Moonlander this summer so for the first time in my life I am looking forward to winter. That bike is so much fun to ride in the warm weather and I just can't wait to ride it in the snow.

I've been a year round commuter for a while but I have never looked forward to the winter half of the year. I endure it and I use riding as a way to give winter the finger. This year I'll try to lovingly embrace it.

Please post your experience with the Moonlander. They look like a ton of fun! Are you going to get studded tires, like the bad boy Dillinger from 45NRTH?

But you got snow, right? Here in NJ, we sometimes have winters with no snow at all. And of course, last winter was one of them. I wanted to try riding on snow and ice with my knobby tires, but no such joy.

Looks like I get my first taste of winter tomorrow, 2-4cm of snow forecast. It will probably be slush and may not even be much accumulation. I'll throw the studs on tonight just in case there is some ice as they mention a risk of freezing rain. The studs will be on 2 days max as they are calling for +15C Fri/Sat then +18C Sun/Mon.

Instead of a Surly Troll I'm getting a Pugsley. I'm going to try getting a set of Dillingers for it. By tomorrow I'll know if my LBS can get them or if I'll have to order from the US. Ice is the predominate winter condition here, so fat knobby tires alone probably won't cut it.

Go Pugsly! Once you get it make sure to let us know how the Dillingers do in ice!

Tom, I know your pain. I moved across the country in search of snow and better riding and found very little snow (luckily amazing riding though)

excited and apprehensive. this will be my first winter commuting to work. i rode in 20's-30's F , but that was just around town in March with almost no snow. my commute is partly a county route and i'm concerned about losing room on the shoulder and/or plows. we'll see.

that said, i've got the Nature Boy set up with fenders, 300 lumens up front and a spare snows wheelset. getting studs for at least the front to have on hand.

I have a Pugsley for snow and a Troll for ice. Bring on old man winter!

I am. I am getting my bike ready and said this is the year I will keep riding through the snow and cold of MI.

It's coming round.... we've already seen some snow here locally under 1,000 feet. no accumulation yet. Still want to squeeze in a day or two of surfing before the ice makes that impossible.

studded tires mounted on wheelsets for GF and my bikes, need to go thru and lube, adjust when i swap out the wheels but pretty much ready to go.

I'm looking forward to it. I like winter riding better than summer.

Though I'll have to admit that I don't ride much when the roads are covered with hard-packed snow/ice.

This means that in most January's I only manage two or three rides. But that's pretty much okay. Driving (mostly) to work for just that one month doesn't make me feel very guilty. I think of it as a bit of rest time.

But from now until New Year and then from February onward, bring it on!