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Ever since I've fallen twice on black ice in past 4 years cycling in winter, I've been way more conservative of when I will go cycling when there's snow /ice on pavement.
I wish I wasn't but I especially think about this if I am riding on the road with cars around me. I want to be certain I can ride safely without alot of icy patches along road sides which is often.
Maybe it's getting slightly more whimpy as I get older.
Maybe you are just getting smarter.
Seems that on ice you go down super fast. And hard. I avoid ice. And usually snow. I will ski if I can't ride. And I tend to not ride on the shoulder where the ice tends to linger.
Maybe a trainer is in your future.
I don't ride when there's ice. Not since I wrapped my front wheel around my fork 34 years ago.
Even with studded tires, piled up snow hardens into ice blocks and really narrows the available roadway.
Do you have public transit available?
Have transit or I just walk.
But my body longs to cycle every day ---you know how it is when one gets cycling-drugged. :)
as we get older, we begin to realize that we are here for insanity, not stupidity. May get a trainer and put it in your patio or open garage door. Somewhere where you can be out in the fresh air without actually hitting the road. Even here in Texas I have almost wiped out on occasional unexpected patches of black ice. Be safe.
marni
In Tucson, we don't get a lot of ice but we do get snowbirds & college students. So, cycling in the winter poses its own challenges.
Maybe a spin class would be a good outlet for you? Lots of my students have found that spinning in the winter is a great way to maintain fitness & get ready for spring riding.
I x country ski or snow shoe or just plain hike/walk to get my outdoor fix in the winter. If the roads are in OK shape, I might take a short, slow ride a couple of times a month in January and February. Last year, I didn't, because we had a lot of ice. I do use my trainer and go to spin class.
The winter here is shorter than in other places, in that I can easily ride through December, until we get the first big snowfall. I also always start riding outdoors again by the first week in March, although there might still be a ski day in March, if I am lucky, or travel up north.
I don't think you are wimpy, Shooting Star. I won't take a chance with my brittle bones. And I like the break, doing something different. I love x country skiing so much, that I look forward to the 2 months I can do that, even though it usually involves traveling, as the snow just is not that consistent right in my backyard.
:LOL: My hubby would ask if there is a difference. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by marni
I get wimpy in the cold air. Just don't want to get out in it so much, and here it rains a lot in winter, so the roads are often wet. I realize many of you up north would kill for weather like I have, but I'm a pansy in cold weather - unless there is snow - if there's snow, I'll play all day in it (probably not ride, all the same).
GAWD, it's -20 degrees C (-4 degrees F) this morning!!
And not even December. No wonder why people here do go to the Arctic to work occasionally or do the oil tar sands work in northern Alberta.
I think I'm going to venture out in about 1/2 hr. before car traffic starts up alot so that I can do grocery shopping on bike.
3 wks. ago I thought I bought waaaaay too much food during lovely cycling weather. But now I'm glad.
Honest, I do feel like a squirrel, buying whatever food I can bike homeward for the times it gets too cold.
SS, I do not miss those temperatures at all.
We have a bit of frost on the ground this morning, and on the east side of the hill we are on there are the remains of some sleet/freezing rain from last night. It will all be gone in a few hours.
Be careful on that ice and bundle up!
So going out and coming back with groceries for a bike ride under 4 km. feels like a victory under such cold temperatures.
Everything must be plotted to avoid freezing too much/falling: In addition to gauging road conditions, proper clothing....right down to packing all my groceries into bags inside the store before leaving, making sure my keys and lobster claw mitts are immediately in my jacket pocket.
So that when I go outside to unlock the bike and put bike bags on, my bare hands won't freeze too much.
For a Saturday, this normally bustling grocery store was quiet today.
I could never bring myself to bike to the grocery store during winter in Edmonton. For one thing, the safe routes to the store that I used during the summer were so messy with snow that it would have been less effort to walk. Which I did sometimes in milder temperature.
SS, do you have a thin pair of liner gloves that will fit under your lobster mitts? They would still allow you the dexterity to deal with your lock and bike bags but still give you a bit of protection from handling the cold components on your bike. Then when you're ready to roll you could slip on the lobster mitts.
I figured this out after making the mistake of trying to handle my skis with bare hands at 20 below. Ouch!
Yikes...I wonder if I could brave those temperatures?
SS - what do you wear on your feet to keep them warm? I wore wool socks and my toes still froze at 38 degrees. The rest of the body seems fine. I'm still hoping to ride 20+ mile outings. Thanks!
You don't sound wimpy to me! -4ยบ?! That's brutal.
Yes, you're not getting wimpy. You just moved to a f***ing cold place. Your environment has changed, you have not.
All will be well once you have figured out how to dress for the activity and amount of time that you will be outside. I didn't work it out until my second winter, and by then I decided I had had enough.
I didn't wear wool socks which might explained why today my toes were getting cold after only 5 km. Technically one could/should wear boot covers at least. I don't like the idea of cycling in boots and slipping of the pedals.
Ventured out today at -17 degrees C. this morning. Up to -12 C (whoopee :D).
Still my fingers were cold. My lobster claw insulated mitts require I have to shove my mittened hands into them, I have them all layered up in advance.
Still, today I was glad to get home after more grocery shopping (with a stop at a bakery for a lovely pastry. They treated me well by bringing out a chair for me to sit and have a hot coffee too.). I have a case of Reynauld's syndrome in my fingers, which get cold easily even in near freezing temp.