ubuntu-cyclists team mailing list archive

[Pete <teeahr1@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 9:25 AM, Fabian Rodriguez <magicfab@xxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

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> Hi all
>
> As winter starts in Montreal, I am wondering who else is biking through
> the winter.
>
> I had to get a new bike as the one I had couldn't accommodate winter
> tires, I wrote about my first week and the buying process here (French):
>
> http://www.fabianrodriguez.com/blog/2008/11/29/23851-km-de-moins-en-voiture-lhiver-commence/
>
> I have a BionX on my bike ( http://www.bionx.ca ), apparently not many
> people use that through the winter. I just decided I would try and
> document whatever happens - which may mean donating it to science as it
> may not survive.
>
> If anyone has winter-biking web resources I'd be interested in knowing
> them. Perhaps we can have a wiki page with those ?


Damn straight I'm riding. Minneapolis MN here, we just got our first real
snowfall Saturday night (as opposed to "fake" snow that is gone by morning).
This will be my second winter on the bike. Last year taught me me a lot of
(expensive) lessons. Everything Justin said elsewhere in this discussion is
spot on. I rode my street bike (21 speed Marin hybrid) last year, brand new
last October, and my entire gear assembly needed to be replaced by spring.
Rear cassette, derailleur, chain, you name it. But everything else (brakes,
rims, etc.) came through perfectly fine. Ended up costing me a fortune, but
I consider it an expensive lesson. Get a single-speed. I cannot stress this
enough.

As to his comment on tires not making a difference, I agree. I had one minor
spill last year which was the result of me trying to hop a curb downtown
(oh, and I hit a snowbank because I thought I could plow through it; MASSIVE
FAIL). Other than that I had zero problems on street tires all winter long.

Also (maybe I should have just replied to Justin's message), yes, take the
road. I don't know what the laws are in your area, but here I count as a
vehicle and it is not only my right but my obligation to take the lane. It's
not often enforced in the summer, but I've heard of people getting tickets
in the winter for riding on the sidewalks and stuff. And just in general,
it's the way to go. Looking back on the times I've almost bought it, pretty
much all of them were when I was trying to get tricky with the sidewalks or
the parking lanes or something. Cars are always more attentive to bikes in
the winter. Don't worry about them, it's their job to worry about you.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned in much detail is your brakes. Keep an
eye on them, the cold will cause the cables to contract, and as Justin said
they also will be a crap magnet, gunk and road salt and all manner of
nastiness. Practice riding on a quiet street on a cold day so you get the
feel of how your brakes react in the weather. Flex them out every morning
before you leave. Your front brakes are officially worthless as soon as you
have standing snow, so don't even bother with them. Use the back brakes,
adjust them weekly, examine them often to make sure you don't get ice
buildup on the pads or near the cable housing, and plan to replace the pads
mid-winter.

Keep a spare pair of pants at work. You'll thank me the morning it
unexpectedly gets above freezing and you're biking through some sort of
snow-soot-dirt soup that's halfway up your shoes.

Bundle up. It's always colder on the bike than off it. My face and torso
never really get bothered by the cold (if it's too cold you're too slow,
that's my motto), but it's murder on my fingers. Wear good gloves, but make
sure you can still manipulate the handlebars and brake levers with them on.

And the real trick, the secret weapon for winter riding: Don't ever quit.
Never let there be a day when you say "okay, today it's too cold." It's
never too cold, it's never too windy, it's never too sloppy, it's just that
some people are too weak. Put on the man pants and go to work. There's
nothing that warms me up on a -15F day than the slackjawed look I get from
people in their cars when I blast past them, singing along with Kid Rock at
the top of my lungs, drumming on my handlebars. Like they've never seen a
badass before or something :) Have fun with it. I do.

p.daniels