Winter Biking Thread

[mskyle]

My coworker put his studded tires on over the weekend - I thought he was jumping the gun until I skidded on black ice going around a turn yesterday and whacked my head on the curb (in helmet, fortunately!). A bit banged up but no serious harm done, except my doctor advised me to not bike for a MONTH (!) in case I had a mild concussion.

I'm planning to take her advice, but it seems kind of like overkill given that this is the only time I've ever hit my head in 20 years of grown-up bike riding. It shouldn't be too bad, though, since I'll be taking days off here and there for the holidays so I won't need the bike for commuting.

I do wish I'd been wearing pants in addition to the helmet - I was wearing tights and a skirt and scraped up my knee real good.

[KCM5]

My coworker put his studded tires on over the weekend - I thought he was jumping the gun until I skidded on black ice going around a turn yesterday and whacked my head on the curb (in helmet, fortunately!). A bit banged up but no serious harm done, except my doctor advised me to not bike for a MONTH (!) in case I had a mild concussion.

I'm planning to take her advice, but it seems kind of like overkill given that this is the only time I've ever hit my head in 20 years of grown-up bike riding. It shouldn't be too bad, though, since I'll be taking days off here and there for the holidays so I won't need the bike for commuting.

I do wish I'd been wearing pants in addition to the helmet - I was wearing tights and a skirt and scraped up my knee real good.

Ouch! That no biking for a month is a bummer. Apparently its the second hit that causes problems, not the first. But really inconvenient, though!

I actually fell for the first time ever this week, too. I had my bike in to get some studded tires (new bike, new tire size) at the bike shop over the weekend but they didn't get to it. I thought I was jumping the gun, so I grabbed it without the studded tires and went down on a slick street while heading up a short, steep hill. No harm, no foul for me, though, as I hit nothing, the street was empty, and was wearing jeans.

I took it to the bike shop after work to get the studs on.

[GuitarStv]

My coworker put his studded tires on over the weekend - I thought he was jumping the gun until I skidded on black ice going around a turn yesterday and whacked my head on the curb (in helmet, fortunately!). A bit banged up but no serious harm done, except my doctor advised me to not bike for a MONTH (!) in case I had a mild concussion.

I'm planning to take her advice, but it seems kind of like overkill given that this is the only time I've ever hit my head in 20 years of grown-up bike riding. It shouldn't be too bad, though, since I'll be taking days off here and there for the holidays so I won't need the bike for commuting.

I do wish I'd been wearing pants in addition to the helmet - I was wearing tights and a skirt and scraped up my knee real good.

If it makes you feel any better, pants probably wouldn't have helped the scraped knee.  I've shredded a couple pairs of pants now after slipping on ice while cycling . . . going into my fifth year of year round riding without studded tires.  :P

[zephyr911]

I've been gearing up (with mild trepidation) for a stint of this in Dayton... amplified by the facts that 1) I haven't ridden much at all lately, and 2) I just temporarily relocated from AL to Ohio. My current location has a shorter commute with a great bike path, but it's cold as hell and what, did I just become a complainypants? Time to experience some voluntary discomfort while I'm still alive.
I was all suited up to go this morning and feeling pretty good about things, but my car repair appointment was nixed when I arrived and I felt dumb leaving it at the shop for nothing to get done, so I just drove to school.
I shoulda just ridden anyway... well, there's tomorrow.

[Kmp2]

Winter has hit in earnest here, it was colder yesterday than the coldest afternoon in the TWO previous winters! I feel like we were getting soft...

So dressed up my 3yr old daughter and we biked a mile to the grocery store at -20C (-30 windchill it was wailing!) we arrived and she did not want to go in, it was far too much fun brushing snow around in the giant frozen planters on the sidewalk... She was obviously dressed too warm. One mom stopped me and told me how wonderful it was to see an appropriately dressed kid...

I am guessing we can definitely go further next time, but ski goggles would probably help now. We have an Extracycle edge under with monkey bars, so she was able to flip around and face forwards and backwards so she was always facing out of the wind... But me, my glasses were fogged/frozen, and my eyelids were freezing up.

[GuitarStv]

If you wear glasses, you absolutely need ski goggles for cycling at -20.  The humidity comes off your face and then hits your super cold glasses lenses and it'll ice right over.  It's not just annoying, it will totally block out your view.  Goggles suck for a variety of reasons, but they're required for cycling in those temps in my opinion.

[katscratch]

I fogged up something wicked at the end of my commute tonight when I stopped to walk down my sidewalk.... It made everyone's Christmas lights look amazing, though!

Goggles are now on my list.

[mskyle]

My coworker put his studded tires on over the weekend - I thought he was jumping the gun until I skidded on black ice going around a turn yesterday and whacked my head on the curb (in helmet, fortunately!). A bit banged up but no serious harm done, except my doctor advised me to not bike for a MONTH (!) in case I had a mild concussion.

I'm planning to take her advice, but it seems kind of like overkill given that this is the only time I've ever hit my head in 20 years of grown-up bike riding. It shouldn't be too bad, though, since I'll be taking days off here and there for the holidays so I won't need the bike for commuting.

I do wish I'd been wearing pants in addition to the helmet - I was wearing tights and a skirt and scraped up my knee real good.

If it makes you feel any better, pants probably wouldn't have helped the scraped knee.  I've shredded a couple pairs of pants now after slipping on ice while cycling . . . going into my fifth year of year round riding without studded tires.  :P

Yeah, this morning as I put on the boots I was wearing the other day and saw how scraped up they there, I sort of changed my tune from "jeans would have protected me" to "at least I only tore up a $5 pair of tights instead of my favorite jeans!"

I got my studded tires a year ago and then it turned out to be an incredibly mild winter so I only put them on for a month or so (mostly unnecessarily but, you know, I had them). So I still don't really have much time on my studded tires!

[mm1970]

Lucky to live in SO Cal.  So I need to dig out gloves for the morning.  And I ordered more lighting for the evening in the dark.

[Rollin]

We hit a low of 46F this morning, so I needed to wear gloves. Truth be told I didn't ride in the 46F, but did Friday (with the gloves) as I think it was in the 60s. Brrrrrr.

Truthful, but just kidding of course. You all are hardcore and I admire that!

[Kmp2]

Yep, I put ski goggles on our Christmas lists to families.. but I am guessing that my family will consider them too practical for a gift... sigh!

I am ready for the end of this deep freeze, -15c felt warm today.

[m8547]

Yep, I put ski goggles on our Christmas lists to families.. but I am guessing that my family will consider them too practical for a gift... sigh!

I am ready for the end of this deep freeze, -15c felt warm today.

Costco has inexpensive ski goggles here in Colorado, at least.

[accolay]

Everyday I bike to work is the coldest day I've ever biked and the last two days are the first I've ever biked in the snow. Temps have been <10°F, with wind chill feeling like just below zero. I switched my route to the bike path since it's plowed quickly after snowfall.

It's going well. Riding with a skinny tire bike is like mountain biking when I have to go over the big lumps of snow and put my weight back. And have to be careful on corners. Still working on my clothing selections. Biggest problem left is finding a good pair of gloves/mitts- tips of fingers will get frostbite if I don't ball them up right now. I have two pair of cheapo mittens from a couple years before and liners, but they don't breathe and after one day of wearing they're wet from sweat. The snow pants I slip on over my jeans are great, but the front snap broke this morning after wearing them 5 times-manufacturing defect.

[Kmp2]

Congrats accolay! That is definitely getting chilly! Riding in the snow does require some adjustments, and different routes often make more sense. Be careful if you have any freeze thaw cycles... here we have regular warm ups that melt everything and it refreezes over night... it creates treacherous icy conditions. While I am looking forward to the warming (although not the wicked winds that come with it), I am not looking forward to the changing conditions.

I will definitely check out Costco for goggles Thanks m8547!

Just over a week left until solstice and then the daylight starts coming back!

[mskyle]

My ski goggles are from Amazon - they have a good selection of basic goggles too.

[Guses]

I had to give up on the bike yesterday with the 8 inches of snow we got. I got repeatedly stuck trying to do the first 50 feet since the road was not cleared *sufficiently*.

At least I got to telecommute!

[georgec]

Got some rides in with the new studded winter tires, and have to say that they are far more amazing than I expected. So much so that I feel a bit foolish for riding all last winter without them (although somehow without issue).

I was riding in 2-3" of snow without noticing it much. Plenty of traction. And when I got on some icy spots to test a few days later, I was equally amazed.

I wasn't expecting such a noticeable and obvious improvement. Without a doubt they are must-have for me from now on.

With the BarMitts, the ski goggles and now the winter tires (Schwalbe Winter), I really almost feel like all the challenge is gone from winter rides. But it's a worthy tradeoff to know that I've got my winter setup in place. I don't even think twice about cold, dark, snowy rides. I'm fine with that!

Temps will be going down to single-digits soon, which never happened last winter. I guess there are a few challenges left!

Can't recommend the winter tires enough!

[Guses]

Hey, it's -32 this morning. Wish me luck!

At least my body will be well preserved for future generations to study.

[Malum Prohibitum]

-32???  As in 32 degrees below zero?

[miked]

I've been riding this week here in Michigan. I tried on Monday but was unsuccessful due to 8" snow on a few unplowed streets, ended up car-pooling with my wife. The rest of the week has been more successful after the snow was packed down a bit.

This is definitely the coldest weather I've biked in, 4F yesterday. The studded tires have been great, lots of hardpacked snow and ice around here. The ride home today should be in the beginning of another big storm.

[Guses]

-32???  As in 32 degrees below zero?

Actually, it was -35C. But yeah, I made it!

I don't know how much colder my ride can handle, it felt like pedaling in molasses. Also, it screws your shifting due to cable tightening because of the cold.

[Jakejake]

It might be worth checking the local thrift shops for ski goggles. I have a couple pairs from there. I like to buy extra if I find them because I'm the worst for dropping glasses on pavement and scratching them. Anyway, they were in the $4-5 range, used.

[GuitarStv]

-32???  As in 32 degrees below zero?

Actually, it was -35C. But yeah, I made it!

I don't know how much colder my ride can handle, it felt like pedaling in molasses. Also, it screws your shifting due to cable tightening because of the cold.

I've found that it's important to be aware of the grease you're using in very low temperatures.  At around -25 I started having problems with the stuff that came stock in my winter bike hubs (the wheels stopped spinning as freely).  I cleaned them out and replaced it with snowmobile grease, which seems to work much better at low temperature.

[powersuitrecall]

-32???  As in 32 degrees below zero?

Actually, it was -35C. But yeah, I made it!

I don't know how much colder my ride can handle, it felt like pedaling in molasses. Also, it screws your shifting due to cable tightening because of the cold.

But it was a "dry cold" ... so not so bad, right?  :-) I found yesterday's windy ride to be worse despite the slightly balmier conditions.  Today was calm/sunny so not too bad!

[Kmp2]

Nice to see the rest of Canada in the deep freeze we have had for two weeks! It 'warmed' up breifely to -12c on Tuesday... we took advantage and picked up our Christmas tree by bike (only a mile trip and we have a long tail cargo bike). We didn't quite dress our 3 year old warm enough for the -17c windchill and being exposed on th back of the bike, but I bet she never puts her winter boots on without socks again... however the baby was toasty in the trailer and his down sleeping bag :)

And yes I had an interesting conversation with a pedestrian about my studded tires. I was explaining how they stop on black ice! And that I have made it up and down hills that I would not have been able to walk up... he told me to consider the story about the turtle and the hare. It didn't matter that a women in a wool coat and dress clothes was easily biking through the little snow we have... he was convinced winter biking is dangerous! oh well!

[georgec]

... he was convinced winter biking is dangerous! oh well!

I was convinced of this as well, until I actually gave it a try. The power of B.S. (Belief Systems) is quite strong!

[powersuitrecall]

Nice to see the rest of Canada in the deep freeze we have had for two weeks! It 'warmed' up breifely to -12c on Tuesday... we took advantage and picked up our Christmas tree by bike (only a mile trip and we have a long tail cargo bike). We didn't quite dress our 3 year old warm enough for the -17c windchill and being exposed on th back of the bike, but I bet she never puts her winter boots on without socks again... however the baby was toasty in the trailer and his down sleeping bag :)

I'm trying to picture this.  Did you do this with 2 bikes, or with one longtail + cargo/child trailer?

Regardless, NICE!

[Kmp2]

We did it with two bikes, I had the baby in the trailer, my hubby had the to long tail with the tot (she actually is very good at balancing out the tree's weight by sitting side saddled facing the non tree side) We have the monkey bar attachments so she's still pretty  secure.

The youngest is old enough and has gone in a bike seat on the long tail with our daughter, but it was just too cold to have a non talker exposed. He wouldn't have been able to tell us what was cold, or how cold, or pull up his neck tube etc.. I have been looking on kijij for a double trailer to keep our three year old just as warm, but I am undecided as to whether I would want to tow the weight through the cold and snow...

[KCM5]

Nice to see the rest of Canada in the deep freeze we have had for two weeks! It 'warmed' up breifely to -12c on Tuesday... we took advantage and picked up our Christmas tree by bike (only a mile trip and we have a long tail cargo bike). We didn't quite dress our 3 year old warm enough for the -17c windchill and being exposed on th back of the bike, but I bet she never puts her winter boots on without socks again... however the baby was toasty in the trailer and his down sleeping bag :)

I'm trying to picture this.  Did you do this with 2 bikes, or with one longtail + cargo/child trailer?

Regardless, NICE!

I have a longtail cargo bike with monkey bars that I use to transport kids in good weather. In bad weather I hook an old two seater burley on the back. No Christmas tree, though! Kmp2 wins!

The added trailer really doesn't seem to slow me down much - not as much as studded tires, anyway. I'm a pretty patient person, so that may have something to do with it. I like having the trailer option because then the only limiting factor for biking is my own tolerance for cold. The kids in the trailer really don't get cold, even at -20.

[Kmp2]

Ok kcm5, how does a long tail handle with a trailer? Or are you on a different bike with the trailer?

Can you maneuver through say a tight 90 turn on a pedestrian overpass? I have trouble with the trailer, or the long tail on the gates over the rail tracks, or some of the old pedestrian overpasses. I can't imagine both together,but wow the load you could carry? We have been lucky all the new overpasses are designed for cargo bikes :)

[KCM5]

I don't think it really handles any different than the longtail without the trailer or a regular bike with the trailer. I mean, it's long and ungainly, but it's not bad. I don't have any overpasses to go over, though. Just pretty much straight streets although I do ride on a sidewalk for about 10 meters at one point. And I take it off road for about 20 meters in a couple places (sans child). 90 degree turns feel the same on the longail with or without the trailer (challenging!). I too, am a woman who rides in dress clothes and a wool coat, so it's really not a big deal.

When you say pedestrian overpass do you mean those really tight corkscrew ones? or a slope, followed by 90 degree turn, then over? I'd take it on the latter but not the former.

One thing is that you can actually attach the burley with the newer attachment piece just as you would on a regular bike. I've seen people make these custom hitches on the back of an xtracycle, but it's not necessary and make it a foot longer. Just attach it at the rear hub - there's probably enough room.

[Kmp2]

I mean the slope and then a 90 degree turn across, I find them narrow and I always seem to hit one of the trailer tires, or the monkey bars... mostly I just slow down and kind of walk around the turn.  We don't have any tight corkscrew ones, we have a lovely wide corkscrew one that's brand new and I love it!

I will have to try attaching the trailer to the extracycle, we have a mec brand trailer. I think the lower gearing would be a help too. My commuter only really has one granny gear, and sometimes it's not enough.

[Kmp2]

And on another note, I will just leave this here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/satoru-yamada-tuktoyaktuk-journey-1.3871798

Cause that's pretty awesome winter biking!

[katscratch]

Kmp2 that article was a really fun read!

I've been on call all week so haven't biked since last weekend and therefore haven't yet biked in our subzero temps.... I did get ski goggles because my glasses were fogging terribly even after trying various google-d remedies and face-wrapping techniques.  I haven't had a chance to try them out yet!  We've warmed up to 13F today and it's currently snowing, so I'm looking forward to testing my setup this weekend.

[accolay]

Found some breathable mittens on sale. They work ok thus far, but will probably need some thin wicking polypropylene liners or similar once it gets cold again. I think I'll be set once I get those.

Wrote a song while biking the other day when it was really cold. It is titled "Fuck You, Wind." The lyrics are also just those three words repeated over and over in cadence with pedaling.

[big_slacker]

Anyone got suggestions on winter riding shoes?

Waterproof is the most important, warmth second. Northwave celsius seems to be the frontrunner.

Not interested in booties. They suck to put on every morning, tear, leak, etc.

[georgec]

I just wear a pair of regular old waterproof leather hiking boots. I've seen other recommend Muck Boots.

[powersuitrecall]

I just wear a pair of regular old waterproof leather hiking boots. I've seen other recommend Muck Boots.

I use winter hikers.  Platform pedals with little spikes helps keep the feet on.

[ender]

My commute is only ~2.5 miles so even when it was ~0F last week I wasn't too badly off.

Though I was thinking that ski-goggles would be nice as 0F and huge headwinds made it a miserable experience on my face.

[georgec]

I just wear a pair of regular old waterproof leather hiking boots. I've seen other recommend Muck Boots.

I use winter hikers.  Platform pedals with little spikes helps keep the feet on.

Yeah my stock platform pedals have slight spikes on them (nubs more accurately). Probably part of the design, it being a hybrid bike. Slightly mountain-bike-ish pedals. I've looked into upgrading but really I've never had any issues so far.

[GuitarStv]

I use ankle high insulated winter hiking boots for most of the winter with studded flat pedals.  High ankle boots feel weird to me on a bike.  (Although I'll switch over to tall heavy duty winter boots when temperatures drop below -20.  At that point need for warmth overrides all other considerations.)

Studded flat pedals are awesome.  The best traction you can get short of being clipped in.

[georgec]

My commute is only ~2.5 miles so even when it was ~0F last week I wasn't too badly off.

Though I was thinking that ski-goggles would be nice as 0F and huge headwinds made it a miserable experience on my face.

Ski goggles were a massive improvement for me. It's surprising how warm my entire body became once my face and eyes were no longer miserable. Along with Bar Mitts and now the spiked winter tires, the biggest improvements in my winter rides.

I found a pair on Amazon for like $16. brand name even. Essential.

[ender]

My commute is only ~2.5 miles so even when it was ~0F last week I wasn't too badly off.

Though I was thinking that ski-goggles would be nice as 0F and huge headwinds made it a miserable experience on my face.

Ski goggles were a massive improvement for me. It's surprising how warm my entire body became once my face and eyes were no longer miserable. Along with Bar Mitts and now the spiked winter tires, the biggest improvements in my winter rides.

I found a pair on Amazon for like $16. brand name even. Essential.

I have a friend with Bar Mitts, but my commute is short enough that even when it was below 0 (in F, not C hah) my hands didn't get terribly cold wearing my winter gloves.

I'll have to look at those goggles. I normally try to wear sunglasses but it's often not light out.

[georgec]

My commute is only ~2.5 miles so even when it was ~0F last week I wasn't too badly off.

Though I was thinking that ski-goggles would be nice as 0F and huge headwinds made it a miserable experience on my face.

Ski goggles were a massive improvement for me. It's surprising how warm my entire body became once my face and eyes were no longer miserable. Along with Bar Mitts and now the spiked winter tires, the biggest improvements in my winter rides.

I found a pair on Amazon for like $16. brand name even. Essential.

I have a friend with Bar Mitts, but my commute is short enough that even when it was below 0 (in F, not C hah) my hands didn't get terribly cold wearing my winter gloves.

I'll have to look at those goggles. I normally try to wear sunglasses but it's often not light out.

I bought some El Cheapo clear safety glasses for non-cold night rides. $2 I think.

They sell ski goggles with various lens tints, for various light conditions. I just went with clear and wear them in the day too. I wanted one all-around pair.

[big_slacker]

I think studded flats are good if you're in icy conditions and need to put your foot down but want traction. Where I'm at it's just rainy and 40's type of weather and I clip in. Not really looking to switch out my pedals just for rain.

No one uses clip in waterproof shoes?

[GuitarStv]

I think studded flats are good if you're in icy conditions and need to put your foot down but want traction. Where I'm at it's just rainy and 40's type of weather and I clip in. Not really looking to switch out my pedals just for rain.

No one uses clip in waterproof shoes?

I use shoe covers or toe covers over my cycling shoes when it's not too cold.  It's just way the hell cheaper than buying a special pair of shoes for cooler weather and also means that if it's freezing in the morning and warms up in the afternoon I don't have to have overheated feet.  :P

[georgec]

Yeah I guess not everyone has the same definition of "Winter". I had snow, ice, sub-30° weather in mind.

[Kmp2]

Ok, so we were slammed with snow over Christmas - and we rarely get this much snow outside of the odd spring dump. It doesn't look like our current chinook is going to melt any of it. So there is 20+ cm of snow on the streets, mostly snirt now. Ugh! I think we will only be biking places where we can get to by plowed bike path for now... if we are lucky we will see the side streets (where we do most of our biking) plowed within two or so weeks.... if it was just me I would take to the busier streets, but I think with kids it would be deemed to dangerous by onlookers.

[Upgrayed]

Having only commuted during the winter a couple of times last year, I had my suspicions that the trail between home and the office wasn't maintained in the winter. Well, we got about 6" of snow over the weekend and then it got real cold. Since I have a short ride (4 miles round trip), I did ride to work yesterday just to experience it. No maintenance at all and it's an icy, rutted mess. It took me nearly 40 minutes to ride the 2 miles home last night and that includes having to take 5 minutes to dig a wrench out and tighten the nuts on the rear wheel after it slipped in the dropout and jammed. It was a hell of a workout, though. Surface streets are an option, and about half the distance, but at this point it's easier to walk until it warms up.

[big_slacker]

I think studded flats are good if you're in icy conditions and need to put your foot down but want traction. Where I'm at it's just rainy and 40's type of weather and I clip in. Not really looking to switch out my pedals just for rain.

No one uses clip in waterproof shoes?

I use shoe covers or toe covers over my cycling shoes when it's not too cold.  It's just way the hell cheaper than buying a special pair of shoes for cooler weather and also means that if it's freezing in the morning and warms up in the afternoon I don't have to have overheated feet.  :P

Rain soaking leather shoes and having wet/miserable feet is the whole reason for thinking of moving to waterproof winter shoes. I have shoes covers (non-waterproof) but they're a PITA to put on/take off, one more thing I don't want to do at 5:30am before heading out. :D