Winter Commuting

I've been cycling regularly since April of this year after many years of not
exercising much. I'm having a good time and have also found it a great way
to deal with stress - I've also dropped 40lbs!

I'd like to keep riding through the winter, but am not sure what to expect.
I don't mind the cold - enjoy sledding and such with the kids. I've poked
through the newsgroups and found a few sites that discuss winter riding. I'm
still not sure what to expect though.

I'm in Buffalo, NY - we get some snow from time to time...

I commute to & from work. distance varies from 8 - 12 miles each way. 12
miles if I take the bike path.

I have a decent parka and snow pants. I plan on wearing boots & wool socks.
Got gloves too. I understand the "layered approach".

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through 6-12"?

Anything else to look out for?

I hope these questions aren't too silly - I appreciate any help!

Thanks,
Doug

A studded tire on the front is nice for remaining upright if there's
ice hidden on the road. A studded tire on the rear I guess would
be nice too but isn't vital. It's nice to be able to swap the
unstudded wheel back on when there's no ice because studs are noisy
and slow you down on dry pavement. They cost a lot.

The hardest thing to ride in is snow rutted by cars; plain snow is
okay, though a little slow. A large gap between fender and tire is
needed for snow or it will fill up with packed snow.

If you don't have fenders, the salt spray will get you.

A mud flap on the front fender is a good idea to keep the salt
mostly off the chainwheel, where it will be aimed directly otherwise.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

I live north of Albany NY and rode all last winter. I do not ride in the
snow however so can't offer any advice. If it snows, I ride the trainer
till the next day when the roads are again plowed.
Cold is relative....some people can't stand under 50, I rode as low as zero
althought I admit that was hard on the toes. Layers is a must. Hands and
feet are the hardest to keep warm. Plenty of headgear to choose from that
will keep your head toasty.
The thing I learned the most is how hard the road salt and crap is on your
bike. In one winter, 2 freehub bodies and totally rusted out my front fork.
Very hard to keep the bike clean and the salt kills..Keep that in mind if
you have a really really good bike you want to keep for awhile
"Doug" wrote in message
...
I've been cycling regularly since April of this year after many years of
not
exercising much. I'm having a good time and have also found it a great way
to deal with stress - I've also dropped 40lbs!

I'd like to keep riding through the winter, but am not sure what to
expect.
I don't mind the cold - enjoy sledding and such with the kids. I've poked
through the newsgroups and found a few sites that discuss winter riding.
I'm
still not sure what to expect though.

I'm in Buffalo, NY - we get some snow from time to time...

I commute to & from work. distance varies from 8 - 12 miles each way. 12
miles if I take the bike path.

I have a decent parka and snow pants. I plan on wearing boots & wool
socks.
Got gloves too. I understand the "layered approach".

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through
6-12"?

Anything else to look out for?

I hope these questions aren't too silly - I appreciate any help!

Thanks,
Doug

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 00:40:14 +0000, Doug wrote:

I've been cycling regularly since April of this year after many years of
not exercising much. I'm having a good time and have also found it a great
way to deal with stress - I've also dropped 40lbs!

Great!

I'm in Buffalo, NY - we get some snow from time to time...

So I have heard.


I commute to & from work. distance varies from 8 - 12 miles each way. 12
miles if I take the bike path.

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through
6-12"?

Several things. Around here (Philadelphia), once it snows, and thaws a
bit, the runners on the local paths churn the snow cover into a moonscape
of ice. When it freezes up again it is absolutely impassible on any bike.
If you can stick to the roads, do so. But they will lose their
shoulders, and become narrower as time goes on.

Definitely use knobby tires; studded ones if you ar going to hit lots of
ice -- like there is a chance you wouldn't.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics, I can
_`\(,_ | assure you that mine are all greater. -- A. Einstein
(_)/ (_) |

Hey Doug.

I just started bicycle commuting to school (Cont. Ed. at a local university
here in Winnipeg). I'm hoping to continue through the winter. We probably
don't get as much snow as Buffalo, but the stuff that falls in November will
still be on the ground in March, so it does build up.

I don't intend to ride in heavy snow; I'll wait for the city to clear the
roads. The little snow riding I've done (1" - 2") was slippery and the last
thing I want to do is crash on a slippery road in front of on-coming cars.

While I've not cycled in the winter, I do run outdoors year-round. Layering
is very important. It is surprising how little clothing is actually needed
when you're working hard. Keep a record of what you wear, what the weather
is like, and how it felt, so that you get a good idea of what to wear for
given conditions.

Let us know how it goes.

Jeff

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:06:42 GMT, Bob wrote:

Cold is relative....some people can't stand under 50,

40 is the point where it goes from being pleasant to being cold. Probably
as with the wind chill factor 40 makes it below freezing.

I rode as low as zero
althought I admit that was hard on the toes. Layers is a must. Hands and
feet are the hardest to keep warm.

Ski mittens do fine for the hands. Can make them too warm. It's the toes
that are hardest to keep warm.

Don donwiss at panix.com.

"Doug" wrote ...
I've been cycling regularly since April of this year after many years of
not
exercising much. I'm having a good time and have also found it a great way
to deal with stress - I've also dropped 40lbs!

I'd like to keep riding through the winter, but am not sure what to
expect.
I don't mind the cold - enjoy sledding and such with the kids. I've poked
through the newsgroups and found a few sites that discuss winter riding.
I'm
still not sure what to expect though.

I'm in Buffalo, NY - we get some snow from time to time...

I commute to & from work. distance varies from 8 - 12 miles each way. 12
miles if I take the bike path.

I have a decent parka and snow pants. I plan on wearing boots & wool
socks.
Got gloves too. I understand the "layered approach".

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through
6-12"?

Anything else to look out for?

I hope these questions aren't too silly - I appreciate any help!

Thanks,
Doug

Mittens are better than gloves for keeping your hands warm, although manual
dexterity does suffer. Pearl Izumi (and possibly others) makes a very nice
"lobster claw" mitten with two fingers that is a good balance between manual
dexterity and warmth. Some kind of glove liner inside your glove/mitten will
add warmth.

Studded tires are really nice to have on ice or hardpacked snow, they make
staying upright a lot easier. I use two Nokian Hakkapellitas, the
lightweight commuter model. Yes they are expensive, but the Nokians last a
long time and work really well.
--
mark

Don Wiss wrote:
Ski mittens do fine for the hands. Can make them too warm. It's the toes
that are hardest to keep warm.

This varies enormously depending on the person. I have the opposite, my toes
never get cold but fingers freeze in almost any mitten below about 15F. The variable
is what your body does to conserve heat. If it shuts down blood flow to a trickle
then that extremity will get cold. The best trick I've discovered is keep the
wrist warm, which seems to disable the hand shut-down, and everything's fine.
Maybe there's something similar for feet.

On feet, a nearly 100% wool sock seems to be far superior to anything else. Less
than about 80% wool doesn't do much.

http://www.carhartt.com product A111 happens to be the sock I find works,
gotten in a Meijer's (discount chain). You can find the sock with the product
search and enter A 111 in the link, but no other way as far as I can see. A
typical overdesigned web site.

About $12.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

In article ,
says...
I've been cycling regularly since April of this year after many years of not
exercising much. I'm having a good time and have also found it a great way
to deal with stress - I've also dropped 40lbs!

I'd like to keep riding through the winter, but am not sure what to expect.
I don't mind the cold - enjoy sledding and such with the kids. I've poked
through the newsgroups and found a few sites that discuss winter riding. I'm
still not sure what to expect though.

I'm in Buffalo, NY - we get some snow from time to time...

I commute to & from work. distance varies from 8 - 12 miles each way. 12
miles if I take the bike path.

I have a decent parka and snow pants. I plan on wearing boots & wool socks.
Got gloves too. I understand the "layered approach".

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through 6-12"?

Yes it is. When I was a kid, I rode to school throughout the winter
in Iowa, so I understand the snow and cold, but it was nowhere near
the distance you're contemplating. You'll need good knobby tires;
maybe studded ones if your snow gets packed into ice. You'll probably
also ride in much lower gears than you're used to in dry weather.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

"Doug" wrote in message
...

I'd like to keep riding through the winter, but am not sure what to expect.
I don't mind the cold - enjoy sledding and such with the kids. I've poked
through the newsgroups and found a few sites that discuss winter riding. I'm
still not sure what to expect though.

Check out icebike.com

What should I expect riding in snow - is it difficult riding through 6-12"?

Very, if not impossible. You can ride on packed snow with wide tires. You can
cut through some snow with skinny tires, though a foot would be pushing it.

Anything else to look out for?

Lots of people ride all year in places where it gets cold & snowy (like here
in Boston). There's a whole learning curve for dressing, riding, maintenance
and bike setup, but it's still a practical thing to do.