Welcome to Western New York. 6" of snow isn't worth getting all wound
up about. Happens all the time. Buffalo gets some, but Rochester and
Syracuse get piled on. Figure 10 FEET per year and about 30" per year.
Lot of northern cities gets lots of snow -- and I would guess lots of
cities in the Rockies do to.

The city I live in got just under 100" last year.

6" of snow isn't all the much and drivers know how to handle it. It
doesn't cause gridlock. It doesn't even cause schools to be closed.
Things slow down a bit, but that's a good thing. A 6" storm doesn't
have much effect on an expressway at all unless the snowfall is coming
down hard -- maybe over an inch an hour. That, mixed with wind, can
cause localized whiteouts which are dangerous.

Biking on packed snow -- especially snow over packed snow -- is very
tricky because the tires aren't formulated for it. The rubber is too
hard. Also, at 100 psi, you don't have enough contact with the ground.
So bikes and motorcycles go away when the snow starts.

FYI, snowshoes are about useless with 6" of snow. You really need a
foot or more to make then worth wearing -- and then only if it's virgin
snow. They don't do anything on packed snow.


Brent P wrote:
In article .com, Pat wrote:

Oh, did I mention snow storms. I can't imaging a bike on 6" of
unplowed snow on a packed snow base when it's -20F and windy. Those
car heaters sure come in handy then.

In an urban environment, if there is 6 inches of snow on the ground you
have a better chance of getting where you are going with the bicycle or
with snow shoes for that matter..... Not because there aren't motor
vehicles that could handle those conditions, but because the roads would
be stop and stop gridlock with the drivers who cannot.