During my 2-day 'Riding Your Bicycle During Winter' crash-course..

Trailer

eMMI wrote:

compared to my walking, my ice skating skills create a new meaning to the word 'crappy'.

also, when they get around to sanding (as in throwing sand around) the streets they're kind of rough to skate on.

Okay then... personally I would sled all the way there.:D

vedder_soup

buy some snow tires for your bike

CHANGEinWAVES

eMMI wrote:

he just had a snowbeard.

I like the sound of that:D

eMMI

vedder_soup wrote:

buy some snow tires for your bike

yeah cause I'm just made of money. :rolleyes:

eMMI

Trailer wrote:

Okay then... personally I would sled all the way there.:D

I'm just going to stick to cycling. but thanks for the input.

sledding would do nicely if there were more downhills.. for the time being there is only one per way.

polaris

* windproof gear
* booties cause my toes (after hands) are one of the first things to get cold
* wear ski goggles - do not worry about you look
* if you live in the city - watch for tracks that get slick
* other slippery spots are on the side of roads where dirt accumulate and turn into like an oil slick ...
* at certain temperatures - your derailer may not work
* avoid sharp turns

Riverrunner

This is sort of related to the topic - it happened in winter and it involved falling. My husband went mountain biking on Saturday morning with some friends. He was showing off in the parking lot before they even got into the woods, by riding a wheelie. He went over backwards with his feet still clipped in. He landed on his back on the concrete with the bike on top of him and his feet still in the pedals. I bet it was a funny sight. However, his back is very sore. And he is 46 years old, by the way.

eMMI

Riverrunner wrote:

This is sort of related to the topic - it happened in winter and it involved falling. My husband went mountain biking on Saturday morning with some friends. He was showing off in the parking lot before they even got into the woods, by riding a wheelie. He went over backwards with his feet still clipped in. He landed on his back on the concrete with the bike on top of him and his feet still in the pedals. I bet it was a funny sight. However, his back is very sore. And he is 46 years old, by the way.

ouch! bet it did look funny though.

this involved no cycling but happened in the winter. last winter to be quite exact. no.. it was the winter before that.

I was on my way to the busstop and was going to take a shortcut through this little forest, like I always do. this required me to walk beneath a clothesline and there's usually no ice there. but this time there was.

I went (quite literally) flying on my back. I hate the moment where you feel your legs (or bike) going from under you and you know you're gonna fall over. all breath left my lungs and I heard my back crack.

so I laid there for a while, catching my breath and cursing quite loudly before I decided to try getting up. and when I did get up, I could hear all the bits in my back slowly taking their usual places and realign themselves - a bit freaky I must admit. luckily my bag was on my lower back so the ol' kidneys and tailbone were pretty safe.

I came out ok and luckily and can now laugh at the thought of it all would've sounded/looked like to a bystander. just imagine it, nearly pitch black, the snow reflecting enough light to see a path in the woods. then, footsteps proceeding towards the path when suddenly *THUD*. a few minutes of silence then heavy cursing. some huffing and puffing, the sound of snow being brushed of clothes. a few more swearwords and then the footsteps head out.

Collin

Oh how many times I've crashed during shitty winter weather. All these cobble stones don't make it any easier.

eMMI

Collin wrote:

Oh how many times I've crashed during shitty winter weather. All these cobble stones don't make it any easier.

damn! luckily no cobblestones on my routes. just sand roads but not too much of those either, depends which way I'm taking.

The Stugots

I'm handling the cold fairly well, you need to pay special attention to your face, feet and hands. I'm using a balaclava, booties and good gloves. At some point I may try goggles instead of the clear glasses I've been using.

I'll plug the tights and jacket I picked up this year. The Icebike tights, any wicking tshirt and the Frosty Boy are all I need (22 degrees this morning and I still sweated a bit).

http://www.coldlizard.com/cgi/wc.dll?GEKKO~catalog~DETAIL~36

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-detail-FRO-WIN.htm

Riverrunner

eMMI wrote:

ouch! bet it did look funny though.

this involved no cycling but happened in the winter. last winter to be quite exact. no.. it was the winter before that.

I was on my way to the busstop and was going to take a shortcut through this little forest, like I always do. this required me to walk beneath a clothesline and there's usually no ice there. but this time there was.

I went (quite literally) flying on my back. I hate the moment where you feel your legs (or bike) going from under you and you know you're gonna fall over. all breath left my lungs and I heard my back crack.

so I laid there for a while, catching my breath and cursing quite loudly before I decided to try getting up. and when I did get up, I could hear all the bits in my back slowly taking their usual places and realign themselves - a bit freaky I must admit. luckily my bag was on my lower back so the ol' kidneys and tailbone were pretty safe.

I came out ok and luckily and can now laugh at the thought of it all would've sounded/looked like to a bystander. just imagine it, nearly pitch black, the snow reflecting enough light to see a path in the woods. then, footsteps proceeding towards the path when suddenly *THUD*. a few minutes of silence then heavy cursing. some huffing and puffing, the sound of snow being brushed of clothes. a few more swearwords and then the footsteps head out.

I'm not sure why falling is funny (when it happens to others), but it is for some reason - at least when you know no one got hurt!

The Juggler

eMMI wrote:

wow. didn't even cross my mind to mention that but guess it's a good thing to be put out there.

why on earth were you wearing shorts anyway?

sorry to hear you're sick though.

i have no idea. anyone who says that cold weather does not cause you to get sicks is crazy!

eMMI

The Stugots wrote:

I'm handling the cold fairly well, you need to pay special attention to your face, feet and hands. I'm using a balaclava, booties and good gloves. At some point I may try goggles instead of the clear glasses I've been using.

I'll plug the tights and jacket I picked up this year. The Icebike tights, any wicking tshirt and the Frosty Boy are all I need (22 degrees this morning and I still sweated a bit).

http://www.coldlizard.com/cgi/wc.dll?GEKKO~catalog~DETAIL~36

http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/product-detail-FRO-WIN.htm

hahaha. don't take this the wrong way, but you sure take your winter-biking seriously.

I just wear "regular" clothes (jeans..). obviously a windproof (and waterproof if possible) jacket is nice though. but I'd wear that anyway.

though with temperatures less than 0 Celsius, you are gonna want to cover your face as much as possible cause the cold hurts.

eMMI

The Jeagler wrote:

i have no idea. anyone who says that cold weather does not cause you to get sicks is crazy!

I hear ya. though I believe it's not actually the coldness (why would cold air have more bacteria than warm?) that gets you sick but that the cold slows down your immune system/body, or something, so that you get sick easier. if you know what I mean, it's hard to explain.

though I have a friend who never wears a scarf and nowadays not even a hat (so that it won't mess up her hair) and is cold all the time.. but she's still hardly ever ill. she firmly believes this is cause she doesn't believe in getting ill from being cold. lol.

vedder_soup

it seems a former pit member from london came to grief in icy conditions as well emmi so you are not alone!

no chance of Icy roads here where i am