Snow Biking @ Team Estrogen!

[Geonz]

Yes, it was so cold that the weather channel lady said "Let me go check that one!" (I could have called her and said "I saw it on the TE board, it's for real!"

That's an awesome pict ure

I feel like a total wimp now 'cause I went out in the snow this morning. More snow than *I* have ever ridden in - I though it was just flurries but they were clumping up and there was an intersection where I hit the pedals and the wheel moved in its little circle but the bike didn't. I just coasted through the rest of that intersection (making a right turn) so perhaps the drivers thought I was being a scofflaw - or perhaps they saw me skidding.

I suppose I shouldn't feel too wimpy because there weren't any road treatments to speak of. Probably would have been easier if we'd *had* an inch or two. At 18 degrees it was a nice powder except for those little clots of ice.

[Offthegrid]

Makes me cold just looking at it. No snow here yet, but we're due.

[Pax]

Yes, it was so cold that the weather channel lady said "Let me go check that one!" (I could have called her and said "I saw it on the TE board, it's for real!"

That's an awesome pict ure

I feel like a total wimp now 'cause I went out in the snow this morning. More snow than *I* have ever ridden in - I though it was just flurries but they were clumping up and there was an intersection where I hit the pedals and the wheel moved in its little circle but the bike didn't. I just coasted through the rest of that intersection (making a right turn) so perhaps the drivers thought I was being a scofflaw - or perhaps they saw me skidding.

I suppose I shouldn't feel too wimpy because there weren't any road treatments to speak of. Probably would have been easier if we'd *had* an inch or two. At 18 degrees it was a nice powder except for those little clots of ice.

I can't believe you rode today! It was so slick coming in to work this morning, I can't imagine it on a bike (not to mention it was beastly cold out). You're hard-core for sure Sue!!

[Duck on Wheels]

Some folks bike here with "studded" tires on their bikes, but I don't trust that. On a car, the studs don't help in slushy snow, they only really help on certain kinds of ice. And doesn't it take a good bit of weight for the studs to "bite" into the ice? Still, the few cyclists I've seen out there in the snow seem to be doing all right. My doctor that I had an appointment with this morning said he'd biked to work (I came running in 10 minutes late with yak trax on my boots). He said you just need those tires, and the studs have to be not only in the centre tread but also up the sides a bit.

[lph]

Duck, you have been missing out - studded tires are the only way to go!

I've been riding on studded tires since our first and very brief encounter with snow and sub-freezing temperatures in late November, and feeling like a right idiot most of the time. They add friction, bad handling and certainly add weight to my poor bike, and we've scarcely seen snow for weeks. But I've finally got used to the idea that everything just goes more slowly and now I can ride with impunity over ice that have pedestrians crawling. In fact, if you're riding up a steep icy hill you have to be pretty darn sure you can make it up, because it's a LOT harder to stay upright on your feet if you have to stop and get off.

I have several hundred studs, along the middle and liberally along the sides. They don't help much in thick snow, though, once it packs up in the tires you're skidding along like everyone else.

[mimitabby]

Yes, it was so cold that the weather channel lady said "Let me go check that one!" (I could have called her and said "I saw it on the TE board, it's for real!"

I feel like a total wimp now 'cause I went out in the snow this morning. More snow than *I* have ever ridden in - I though it was just flurries but they were clumping up and there was an intersection where I hit the pedals and the wheel moved in its little circle but the bike didn't. I just coasted through the rest of that intersection (making a right turn) so perhaps the drivers thought I was being a scofflaw - or perhaps they saw me skidding.

You rode and YOU feel like a wimp! You're fantastic because you rode!
the wimps here did not venture out today.
(I was the only one in my lab that didn't make it into work)

[evangundy]

A friend of ours (Todd) stayed home from work today, and had too much time on his hands. He sent us this picture.
I drove in, had the car service shop two blocks away come get the van and install chains. No problem driving home. Get to do it again tomorrow (I hope the picture works)
Edna

[snapdragen]

Cute snow biker!

It's raining here. Bleh.

[roguedog]

Hey Snap.. maybe it'll get cold enuf tonite to have some snow on the mtns. That always makes me smile

[jobob]

They say around the Bay area there might be snow as low as 1500 ft.

[Susan Otcenas]

A friend of ours (Todd) stayed home from work today, and had too much time on his hands. He sent us this picture.
Edna

Hey Edna,

Great photo! But I think the snow biker will be haldfthe man he is now, by tonight. Forecasted highs today are 39-40 degrees! Yippee! I hope the snow melts off so I can take the chains off my truck. We decided to drive home from work last night instead of ride. The streets were super slick. Not a problem for a vehicle with chains, but no fun for bikes...

Susan

[Jenerator]

My co-workers call me nuts, but I've been riding a lot in the snow. The snowpacked streets have been especially nice since the weather's been cold & the ruts haven't really formed like they did following the pre-Christmas blizzard. It's not quite as much fun when the snow is deep, or when it's melting and slushy. I can't keep the momentum going in deep snow (8+ inches of fresh) and handling is a bit dodgy in the slush. I'm convinced that my fixed gear bike with cross tires is the SUV of bikes - I can accelerate like mad, but don't ask me to brake in any controlled fashion

[MomOnBike]

OK, I'll admit to being a wimp. I haven't ridden in a week and I feel like, um, well, nevermind.

It's not just the icy wind. It's not just the deep icy slush on all the streets on the way to work. It's not just the sub-zero morning temps. It's not just the fact that I'm borrowing my daughter's MTB that doesn't quite fit and makes my girly bits hurt. It's all of the above all at once. I can and have handled up to 3 of the above without much complaint, but all 4 is just too much.

William is in the shop, all spiffed up and ready to come home, but there isn't a street between here and there that is safe for that big ol' 'bent - and a sretch that isn't fit for my car. (Gotta ride - the car doesn't take a bike rack. - What were we THINKING!!? Oh, yeah, we weren't)

Yes, I'm complaining. The weather can stay cold, but please, weather gods, some dry pavement would be very nice. Work on that, would you?

[East Hill]

Well, I am proud of myself for getting out and riding, yes, in the snow. I decided that as long as the streets were relatively clear, perhaps that meant that my favourite trail--Big Soos Creek--was negotiable.

Uh, no.

Actually, once I got going it was all right for the first mile and a half. After managing to make it all the way south to SE 240th I concluded that that was enough exercise for the day. I'm not young enough to want to break my leg, you know? It's definitely a different feeling, riding the bike in snow. I was on the mountain bike, by the way. I would not have gotten half as far if I had taken one of the road bikes.

But, and this is an important BUT: I did finally get out of the house, and on a real bike outdoors for the first time in 8? days.

Hurrah!

East Hill