article:Let It Snow: The ABCs of Winter Biking
http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness...n=winterbiking
’m just back from an invigorating bike ride. Nothing unusual about that.
I bike almost every afternoon—not only for exercise but for the mental lift that comes from feeling the wind in my face and blood pumping through my body. For me it’s a form of meditation, which sends fresh thoughts soaring into my imagination that would never take flight back at my desk.
The only thing unusual about my ride today is that it was 16 degrees (Fahrenheit, that is) during one of the snowiest and iciest winters on record here in Minneapolis. But that doesn’t stop thousands of people here from getting on their bikes each day to pedal to work, school, errands and just for fun.
I am no ultra-fit athlete. If I can do it here in the coldest big city in America, you probably can too.
Traffic counts from Bike Walk Twin Cities show that 36 percent of summer bike commuters continue to ride on clear, warm winter days and 20 percent on cold or snowy ones. Even in the midst of blizzards and Arctic cold blasts, you see intrepid cyclists navigating the streets on two wheels. It’s one reason we were named America’s No. 1 Bike City by Bicycling Magazine last spring.
