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Why Bike in
the Winter?
There are Three questions that come up often when you
ICEBIKE.
Why?
How can you do that?
Aren't you cold out there?
First off, let me assure you that
you have no hope of explaining this to Joe Motorhead...
Another avid cyclist might understand. Cross country skiers might
understand. Once you get beyond people who are active out of doors it can be really
hard to explain this without losing your audience. Lets face it: they think we are
crazy. You might as well just enjoy yourself and not bother explaining it.
After they see you biking through an entire winter or two they will stop asking why.
They will just look at you in that special way reserved for harmless eccentrics.
Deal with it!
You can wax mushy, singing the praises of of crisp
morning with every twig and branch fat and fuzzy with a fresh coat of gleaming white snow,
and huge snowflakes silently wafting down, and the squeak the snow makes under your tires
as you silently glide forward down a road or trail that has nary a
track.... - oops, I went off the deep end again.
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 Or you can climb up on your soap box and rail at
the mindless dependency on motor vehicles and the untold destruction they do to society,
the impairment of health, the wars for resources, the pollution. The only moral solution
being to use clean non-polluting vehicles designed on the human scale, and point out that
society better get used to it because our resources aren't going to last forever...
- hey, where is everybody going??...
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The truth can be anywhere in between those extremes, anywhere and
everywhere at the same time. Not all ICEBIKERS ride for the same reason. Some of us are
racers, others are commuters and still others are recreational riders out for a romp in
the snow.
Here are a few other reasons:
City traffic can make it faster to cycle commute even in winter than it
is to drive
Parking at the destination can be easier and cheaper with a bike than a
car
You are beset by poverty and bikes are cheap
You love the outdoors
You have a desk job and need the exercise
You have Cabin Fever, and have to get outside
You got a new bike for Christmas and can't wait five months till spring
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You hate motor vehicles and all that they do to society and the
environment
Its fun fun FUN
You work out all your aggressions and arrive relaxed
You do some of your best thinking on a bike
The weather is not that bad
Out of the way dude, its a race!
You're too darn stubborn to stop now.
Its just as easy to STAY in training as to try to regain your form every
spring
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Pictures worth 10,000
words.... Josh and Daavid Turnbull's most Excellent Winter Ride!
A high graphics page, definitely worth the download time. |
Now, we may have listed them quickly and trivially, but these constitute many of the
deeply held convictions of winter cyclists from all over the world. (Those who pick at
nits might feel compelled to point out that poverty is more often an affliction than a
conviction). Never mind, we are not here to debate the reasons, there is enough of this on
the ICEBIKE mailing list. The point is that the reasons for
winter cycling are as varied as the cyclists themselves.
If even one of these apply to you, and you like biking anyway, then winter cycling may
be for you. Give it a try.
I will never forget the arrival of spring weather the first year I cycled all winter.
The sense of accomplishment was very personal. I couldn't even explain it to any one, they
thought I was crazy anyway. After that, nothing fazes me. Yes there are miserable rides
(usually in horizontal rain, - not snow and cold), but these are rare. In subsequent
years, the sense of accomplishment is more subdued, but the pleasure of the ride is
greater, because I no longer have any doubt about my ability to do it.
Oh, in case you were wondering, my reasons were Fun, Exercise, and Stubbornness, not
necessarily in that order.
The easiest way is just don't stop.
You cycle all summer right? Just keep it up. See how late in the year you
can be out cycling, whether for commuting or recreation. There is no inherent reason to
hang up the bike at a certain date.
Don't think of it as attempting to ride all winter. Just think of it as
riding today. Possibly tomorrow, conceivably next week, but definitely today.
In fact, you probably will not ride throughout
your first winter. Most ICEBIKERS wimp out during the really harsh weather in the first
year. This is because it seems daunting, and also it takes a year
or more to figure out the clothing issues, find reliable equipment, and get it down to a
science.
You will find that the weather is really
not that bad, except when it IS that bad, which is not that often. The hardest part is
getting started each morning (if commuting). You will find that it only sucks for the
first mile. Then you are "into it", not to mention warmed up, and your
confidence is restored.
If it sucks for much longer than the first mile, you may have an equipment
problem. You may need warmer gear, or maybe you are having trouble handling the bike on
the slippery surface and studded tires would be really nice about now. It might be that
you are expecting summertime speeds into the teeth of winter gales. That too is an
equipment problem. You need to invest in a different attitude. One that says you will get
there just as reliably if only a tad later by going slower. Nothing is more uncomfortable
than working up a drenching sweat when bundled up for winter conditions.
To summarize:
Just ride on into fall,
and (one day at a time) into winter. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Pay Attention: Notice when a particular
clothing combination is too hot or too cold and make a mental note of the temperature and
wind conditions. If you are the methodical type record these and stick them in your
computer database or something.
After a while you just KNOW that when its just below freezing and expected to warm up,
that the so-called heavyweight tights from Nashbar will be about right, but don't forget
to bring the rain pants just in case, winter bike gloves, stocking hat under the helmet,
medium weight shirt under the Cannondale rain jacket. That works for me, your needs will
differ.
Don't delay getting what you need. Buy
those boots, get those winter tights, purchase
the light set, yes you feel silly in a Balaclava but it sure is warm. Improvise or Invest.
Each tank of gas costs $25 or more, so you can afford those items. You deserve them.
Don't restrict your search to bike stores.
By and large they cater to the summer crowd. Ski stores (especially cross country) know
about cold weather exercise.
Don't be a martyr. Wimp out when it is 40
below. If there are three foot drifts you might as well get some sleep till the plows
catch up. Next year you can handle these, this year you're learning.
Watch it on ICE till you get the hang of it.
Slow turns, no sudden breaking or swerving. Again Pay Attention!. Notice that what looks
slippery may not be, but that patch of shade up ahead may have a wicked patch of black ice
in it.
Ride where the traction is. The bare
looking center of the roadway may have an invisible glaze of ice on it, while the side of
the road with an inch of undisturbed snow will supply far better of traction. Test the
traction with your rear brake, short squeezes only, just till the tire breaks traction.
My favorite advice: Have a nice big cup of coffee before your start.
Finally, if you are going to fall, you are
going to fall in the winter. If you hit a 50 mph car head on while doing
20 mph there is no reason to expect a helmet to save your life. But falls are what bicycle
helmets are designed to handle. So until you are sure of yourself, when going on the
roadway in winter or on lake ice, wear a helmet even if you have a "thing"
against helmets. Don't worry about crashing in the deep snow. Its fun! But remember
there are often rocks under the snow.
More than once I've arrived dripping with sweat only to be asked
"aren't you freezing out there"? This question is usually asked by someone who
drove to work in a toasty single occupant vehicle, which was parked in a garage all night,
but never the less, they got bundled up in a down jacket for that 30 foot walk from the
car to the office.
The answer is: Not very often. You are more
likely to get too warm. Biking produces a lot of heat. If you do get cold, ride faster, it
makes more heat.
Besides, winter is not that bad, except where it is that bad, but the
folks there are tough. Mother nature is not your biggest enemy out there. Bone headed
drivers are. But you will be forgiven if you don't share this secret with your friends,
and would prefer to bask in glow of respect and admiration reserved for cycling gods. Hey
wait a minute, why did he roll his eyes to the ceiling?
Problem areas: hands and feet:
Unlike when walking, your hands and feet are locked in the same position
while biking. You can wiggle your toes and fingers if you feel them getting cold, but
this, at best, will simply delay the need to get to some place warm. If you have a long
way to go, stop for some coffee, sit by the radiator. Your hands are hard to re-warm if
they get cold, so if go for extra warm gloves and it should not be too much of a problem.
See our Clothing pages for various recommendations.
Shoes are another matter. Finding something warm enough that will still fit in the toe
clips can be difficult. Check the Shoe page.
Forget about most bike stores, they know nothing about winter cycling
(except the ones listed here on the ICEBIKE site). Walk into a
normal bike store in your cycling gear in the middle of winter and you are likely to be
asked:
"Aren't you cold out there"?
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Home of the Winter Cyclist
