Winter Riding

Howdy.

I'm seeking advice on riding in winter (with snow, ice, etc). I'm planning
on heading back to school in the fall (18 years after getting my BCSc) and,
money being tight, the daily commute will be bus or bike. I've yet to
ascertain whether there is a bike lockup at the relevant campus.

Winnipeg does a good job of snow removal on major roads, which would suffice
for 95% of the commute. But there is always some snow, sand, and salt, left
on the road.

Has anyone tried commuting under such conditions? If so, have you any words
of advice?

My primary bike is a road bike (Giant OCR3). If a mountain bike is more
appropriate, I could probably pick up an el-cheapo at a local sporting goods
store. Might do that anyways as my road bike doesn't really (and shouldn't)
support panniers.

TIA.

"Jeff" wrote in message
...
Howdy.

I'm seeking advice on riding in winter (with snow, ice, etc). I'm
planning
on heading back to school in the fall (18 years after getting my BCSc)
and,
money being tight, the daily commute will be bus or bike. I've yet to
ascertain whether there is a bike lockup at the relevant campus.

Winnipeg does a good job of snow removal on major roads, which would
suffice
for 95% of the commute. But there is always some snow, sand, and salt,
left
on the road.

Has anyone tried commuting under such conditions? If so, have you any
words
of advice?

My primary bike is a road bike (Giant OCR3). If a mountain bike is more
appropriate, I could probably pick up an el-cheapo at a local sporting
goods
store. Might do that anyways as my road bike doesn't really (and
shouldn't)
support panniers.

TIA.


You're going to commute in Winterpeg?!?! Portage and Main, 15 below!?!
Good for you! My first word of advice is, don't use any bike you care
about! Salt will destroy its appearance very quickly. I'd pick up a
clunker..a used mountain bike or a cheapie at Sportchek or something. Maybe
consider some studded MTB tires for those days when you get 4" of snow
unexpectedly..maybe mixed with some ice pellets or freezing rain. Get some
real fenders too..they are a real help. They are quite underrated
IMHO..they keep a lot of gunk off your bike and off of you. And they're
cheap and pretty lightweight. Make sure you do all the right lube things on
your bike..grease the seatpost and stem, oil all the bolts while assembling
etc. Salt is really very bad on a bike..I've seen some bikes here in
Toronto...blecchh.

Good Luck,

Scott..

Here's a webpage in case you haven't seen it yet.
http://users.rcn.com/icebike/

Last winter was my first winter riding and it was in Washington, DC, where
I'm sure the winters aren't as bad although this past winter was unusually
snowy, so I don't have a lot of experience at it. I road my Giant Cypress,
a cheap hybrid. I did change to tires that were a little more knobby for
part of the winter but part of my commute is on a path that isn't cleared so
when snow didn't melt completely and was able to freeze hard I couldn't
ride. I'll be looking into getting some studded tires before next winter.


"Jeff" wrote in message
...
Howdy.

I'm seeking advice on riding in winter (with snow, ice, etc). I'm
planning
on heading back to school in the fall (18 years after getting my BCSc)
and,
money being tight, the daily commute will be bus or bike. I've yet to
ascertain whether there is a bike lockup at the relevant campus.

Winnipeg does a good job of snow removal on major roads, which would
suffice
for 95% of the commute. But there is always some snow, sand, and salt,
left
on the road.

Has anyone tried commuting under such conditions? If so, have you any
words
of advice?

My primary bike is a road bike (Giant OCR3). If a mountain bike is more
appropriate, I could probably pick up an el-cheapo at a local sporting
goods
store. Might do that anyways as my road bike doesn't really (and
shouldn't)
support panniers.

TIA.

Wed, 9 Jul 2003 21:02:02 -0500, ,
"Jeff" wrote about Winnipeg winter:

Has anyone tried commuting under such conditions? If so, have you any words
of advice?

Get a patch of sheepskin and stuff it in your shorts.

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters have some good tips.

http://edmontonbicyclecommuters.ca/c...?action=winter
--
zk

Zoot Katz wrote:

Wed, 9 Jul 2003 21:02:02 -0500, ,
"Jeff" wrote about Winnipeg winter:

Has anyone tried commuting under such conditions? If so, have you any words
of advice?

Get a patch of sheepskin and stuff it in your shorts.

The Edmonton Bicycle Commuters have some good tips.

http://edmontonbicyclecommuters.ca/c...?action=winter
--
zk

You're on track there. When we sell (at work) products to heat protect valves
and related stuff and are unsure where the package will end up (hey, this
happens) we play it safe by specifying boxes, heaters, etc, built to "Edmonton
specs". It works. Next stop after all, is the Arctic.
I would expect Edmonton bike shorts to have more padding (by about one sheep)
than Vancouver bike shorts.
Best regards, Bernie
PS: the OP doesn't need "words or advice" - he needs words of encouragement!!
;-}

Thu, 10 Jul 2003 21:10:29 -0700, , Bernie
wrote:

Get a patch of sheepskin and stuff it in your shorts.
\szip
Next stop after all, is the Arctic.

I always figured people who liked Montreal, would love Edmonton.

I would expect Edmonton bike shorts to have more padding (by about one sheep)
than Vancouver bike shorts.

Might help if you wore them backwards.

Best regards, Bernie
PS: the OP doesn't need "words or advice" - he needs words of encouragement!!
;-}

He needs to survive a plague of mosquitos before worrying about frost
bite. Winnipeg winter snow isn't as bad as the slush and mud of
spring. But it's a great place for cycling. I didn't have a winter
bike so I rode when the weather was dry, or rather, too cold to snow.
--
zk

Brrr...

When I was in school, I rode my bike in the winter. First two years I
had a road bike with cyclo-cross tires and then a mountain bike for the
last two. Mostly the roads were plowed so the road bike was ok but it
was more fun on the mtn bike since I could take the unplowed paths and
have some fun in the snow.

I still rode on the coldest days (maybe -25 + windchill) because it
was colder but faster than walking. Not sure how long your commute
will be but make sure to wear lots of layers (which you probably
already know, being in Winnipeg but it is colder once you get on a
bike and start moving).

Also, I would imagine that any school would have lots of bike racks but
I hear that lots of bikes get stolen from them too.



--
--------------------------
Posted via cyclingforums.com
http://www.cyclingforums.com

Thanks for all the suggestions.

As I mentioned in my prior post, I'm probably going back to school in
September. The "campus" is an adjunct (basically one building) right down
town (9 miles from home), so a good lock-up area is questionable. Basically
I have three concerns:
1. Good lockup.
2. The safety of riding in down town rush hour traffic (having returned to
Winnipeg after a decade absence, I find the local driving ability to be
pitiful).
3. The safety of riding in poor road conditions in down town rush hour
traffic. I have ridden in snow, albeit years ago, but that was in minimal
traffic.

So, we'll see what happens. Personally, I don't find the winters here to be
too cold. I've run outdoors here for the past two winters. I only found it
cold below -25C (-13F). I'd like to ride, but the bus may turn out to be
simpler.

"Jeff" wrote:

1. Good lockup.

Is there a possibility of just bringing the bike into the classroom with
you? Shake the slush and water off before bringing it in the building, and
perhaps use paper towels from the bathroom to keep the bike from dripping
all over the floor.

RFM
--
To reply, translate domain from l33+ 2p33| to alpha.
4=a 0=o 3=e +=t

"Fritz M" + wrote in message
...
"Jeff" wrote:

1. Good lockup.

Is there a possibility of just bringing the bike into the classroom with
you? Shake the slush and water off before bringing it in the building,
and
perhaps use paper towels from the bathroom to keep the bike from dripping
all over the floor.

That is something I'm considering. I'll find out more on Wednesday when I
talk to the program coordinator. I'm hoping that they have a lockup in the
basement. As an alternative, the main campus is about a mile away, has a
good lockup area, and is connected by a free bus service. If the service
frequency is okay, it might serve.