Winter Biking

[Gary]

This image in the WSJ photos of the day inspires me to 1) get out and ride 2) build an archive of winter bike images this year. See you out there...

Caption: A woman on a bike braved traffic in a Stockholm blizzard Monday. The first major winter storm of the season blew in from the Baltic Sea, boasting hurricane-force winds, which caused traffic tie-ups, flight delays and power outages. (Janerik Henriksson/Associated Press)

[lostgears]

Torie Bunn on the way home after dinner. Bozeman, MT November 20, 2008

Me, Traverse City, MI.

Scwalbe Marathon Winter Studded Snow Tires (Both 26" MTB and 700c Road x 40mm or 35mm) Make it go a lot easier.

[lostgears]

Winter Safety Hints:

THINK 10x VISIBILITY:

LIGHTS:
Cars can see less, and take longer to stop. Make sure you are seen. You must have at least one bright headlight designed specifically to let people see you. Get a separate one for making the road more visible to you. One points at the near horizon, the other just a few yards ahead. I leave mine slightly loose so I can adjust it on the fly.

If you've done the above, you can then wiggle the handlebars in the direction of oncoming traffic to make sure they see you if that's necessary.

Have beau coups red tail lights. In my opinion YOU CANNOT HAVE TOO MANY OF THESE! One permanently mounted on the rear of the seatpost. One on your messenger bag. One on your helmet. All bonuses. Especially effective is one on your LEFT ankle. This moves up and down and makes it clear you're a bicycle and not a car in the distance. Some drivers have difficulty differentiating depth perception with immobile red lights. Try it yourself sometime. A small red light that is close to you, can also appear to be a larger one farther away, especially if it is raining or snowing.

Use the lights during the daytime too.

CLOTHING:
We talk a lot about wearing bright clothing. Even more important in the winter months.

Get reflective patches or tape to place on clothing too. A very cheap insurance policy.

If you're shopping for a messenger bag or panniers, find them with the reflective cloth already in place.

BE ASSERTIVE IN THE ROAD:
You'll always hear me say this, but in the winter you must take your place in the lane. Don't let cars push you into the curb. There is danger in the edges of the road.

Use hand signals.

BUT REMEMBER: That 4000 pound Chevy Malibu coming at you, has much less ability to stop quickly than you do in the slippery stuff. He's likely going faster and has less bite to his tires than you do. GIVE THEM ROOM.

WEAR A FREAKING HELMET!
The chances of going down on a bike in winter must go up by an order of 4 to 5 times. Most fatal and/or debilitating head injuries to cyclists occur between 5 - 10 MPH. This means City Riding. It's vital that you protect your noggin.

Keep warm and as always... STAY VERTICAL!

Minneapolis Tips

From some dude in Toronto

The Gear Junkie

[lostgears]

Check out the slide show on the main page for photos of our annual CCCC Winter Solstice Bike Ride.

[Eric Taylor]

I Bike in the stuff daily... Like every day so far this winter. Its a great challenge but stay smarter than those two ton rode hogs!!