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How Hard Core Are You?
by Bike Shop Girl
With the temperatures around 20 degrees colder than the norm in North Carolina my motivation is lacking for the daily commute to and from the bike shop. In my mind I keep repeating, “Practice what you preach” and that is the one thing getting me on to a bike most days. I’m sure I could make it easier on myself, and I plan to do just that this weekend. Setting my “commuter hub” in my garage, no room for excuses and all things taken care of so I don’t need to worry early in the morning. Warm clothes laid out, lights charged and motivation brewing.
Lack of motivation lead me to re-reading this story this morning, Hard-Core Cyclist Do Not Fear Winter.
This leaves me with one question, how hard core are you? The daily commuters that read this blog, what is your breaking point and how do you keep trudging along?
Nice try jdc, but the snow and ice has disappeared after heavy rain and much milder temperatures these past 2 days, so I’m cycling to work this evening. After a month of non cycling, I’m a little apprehensive about my “fitness” for the 40 mile roundtrip, so wish me luck. Thanks for the advice, I’ll bear it in mind if the snow comes back, cheers, and happy commuting.
Black ice made me stop being so hard core years ago. Thar and recovering from boken ribs.
I have a similar situation with Tim. I went down on a ice patch and dislocated my shoulder. I’m not too hard core anymore.
I _am_ hard core and continue to bike my 25-mile round trip commute year ’round. I live in Southern Ohio, so it’s a bit more of a southern climate than Toronto, but there’s still plenty of black ice and snow hazards to avoid. I find that if you know your route, you know where to be careful for ice, and where it’s clear.
Besides, I like riding through blizzards more than rainstorms. I agree with the lobbyist – why not ride in winter?!
I try to ride no matter what the weather or temperature. I don’t have a car I can drive and bus fare has been raised and my round trip now costs $5. Right now my breaking point is ice because I keep not ordering studded tires.
Well happy to report that I managed my commute into work OK., working my nightshift now. Cheers
Snow and ice riding is just like anything else. If you do it enough it becomes second nature. Mind you, I’d say that the majority of us that do it often would much rather have warm weather, dry roads, shorts and a jersey anyday. I like being able to ride a drop bar road bike to work when the calendar still says winter, lol.
wow..
Being outside in various weather isn’t hard-core.
Get real people.
Anybody who rides on the road in traffic is hard-core though. That is where you are facing real danger.
And the woman in the article doesn’t consider herself hard core nor would she want you to consider her hard-core. Hard-core… hah.
I commute daily year-round in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My coldest ride last year was -42C with a -50 wind chill. There were two days I skied in to work because we got 14″ of snow, but otherwise I rode every day.
The key is dressing in layers and a good windproof/breathable shell on all body parts, but nothing really bike specific is necessary. When it’s super cold, super windy, or snowing hard, I put on ski goggles.
Tires are Schwalbe Snow Studs. Studs are a must if you want to do it every day.
I live in Michigan and have been bike commuting for about six years. Nothing had stopped me until I went to Nigeria for about a month during winter. Adjusting to the Michigan winter after the 90 deg F Nigerian sun was difficult. Fortunately, I am back on the bike.
I commute year-round. I’m in St. Louis, so we get some ice, snow, rain and wind in the winter. Yes, studded snow tires are a must if you plan to do it year round because it takes mental energy to always be looking down at the road ahead, trying to judge if it’s ice or not. With studded tires, I can just pay attention to my route and to traffic and not worry about the road conditions so much. I take back roads and side streets whenever possible. I don’t think of winter bike commuting as any more “extreme” than winter snow skiing. It’s just another activity in the cold, darker months. I do agree with the “commuting hub” making it easier to stay organized and motivated.
You know, I’ve never thought studded tires were all that much of an advantage – maybe I just had the wrong tires. On ice, they seem to slide just as much as anything else.
So knowing my route intimately has worked better for me in the long run.
Studded tires most certainly do work, but they are expensive if you want the ones worth owning. I use 26×2.35 freeride tires on an old steel, fully rigid, singlespeeded Miyata XC race bike. I run slightly lower tire pressure to give cushion and grip.
I find riding a fixed gear is the best way to combat funky road conditions. Of course I have a brake too, but being able to slow with your legs is helpful. This winter I put 32mm knobby cross tires on and it’s been pretty much perfect. We’re not so good at clearing the roads here in Rhode Island, but compared to Vermont where I grew up–it’s balmy.
The recent snow actually drove me to getting on my bike and riding to work. With the roads to dangerous where I am, I rode in and found it very enjoyable. Whether I keep it up of course now the snow has gone…
I commute year round to Boston, 17 miles one way. 2-6 trips per week. Studded tires are a must, they work really well. Nokian M&G for the mt bike, Nokian 106’s for the winter beater road bike. Hard core is when your eyelid freezes shut( last week), hardcore is when your gatorade freezes to slush. Love the fresh air. The nokian M&G 160’s are 26×1.95 and WEIGH 930 grams each.
I’ve heard that riding a fixie in winter is good because you can apparently “feather” the cranks on sketchy terrain. I’m actually in the process of converting one of my old road bikes to fixed. Might have to borrow the tires off of my Tricross, lol. (I built one of the new Langsters for the shop today btw….nice bike for the money)
JDC –
Back when I lived in Boston I switched to a fixie for ice/crap weather. You can control the bike a lot better, and when your brakes freeze over… you can still stop!
In that case, I may have to “fix” my currently singlespeeded commuter road bike as well. Have you seen how smooth the Formula fix hubs are? Amazing bearings for the price.
Everyone has a breaking point and I seem to be in good company when I say mine is black ice. I live in Portland, Oregon and commute to Beaverton (about 14 miles away). The temp can be 5-6* colder in Beaverton so a nice morning rain at my house can turn into crazy ice by the time I’m close to work in Dec/Jan. You fall down and hit your head/shoulder/whatever hard enough and driving from time to time ain’t such a bad idea. That said, I will still ride at least 3+ days per week cause I just can’t drive every day.
I’m in La Crosse, Wisconsin and I commute year round.
The city here doesn’t much like to plow so they do as little as they can and the roads get pretty ugly. Sometimes I find myself aiming for the black ice because at least it’s flat and icy. No problem unless you need friction for turning or stopping.
I’ve never used anything but my regular commuter treads. The cars will always clear some pavement and I figure with studded tires I’ll be riding 100% of the time with tires I’ll only need for 10% of the ride. easier to go slow and take it easy for that 10%. Of course my commute is mostly flat. I’m sure I’d feel differently if I had real hills to deal with.
I live in Toronto and I don’t know too many people who use studded tires. The thing about cities which regularly get snow in the wintertime is that they’re also usually pretty good at clearing that snow from the main streets. So for most of the winter (here anyway) the real obstacle is cold, not snow. A good balaclava and good gloves are the keys to making it on really cold days. I usually wear my regular rain pants over jeans and that blocks the cold sufficiently to keep my legs warm. I just keep telling myself that my friends snowboard and ski all day in this weather, so how hard can it be for me to do a 30 minute ride across the city?
I live about 45 minutes away from Toronto, and I’ve found that regular wind pants over my street wear is perfect. I’d go so far as to say that it’s better than my thermal tights, and less hassle since I don’t have to get dressed twice. I have a well worn old pair of Louis Garneau Lobster Claw gloves that are the best cold weather glove I’ve ever had. I’d probably cry if I lost them. We stock studded tires at the shop, but rarely sell them.
This questioning has come up a lot recently in Portland with the rainy, wet weather. About a month ago, the Portland Tribune did an article about the wet weather of which I was interviewed for: http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=126161037338697100
People think that I am weird when I ride in the pouring down rain, that I’m trying to pull a “better than thou” approach or whatnot. My response is always the same: “I’m not trying to save the world. I’m not proving a point or making a statement. I’m just trying to get from point A to point B and have a budget of zero!”
And why was my response delete?
Pintsized
Hmm.. I haven’t deleted or spammed any comments from this post. When did you leave a comment that went missing?
Hardcore is…
Getting on the bike day in, day out, when its nice, when its not, when you feel like it, when you don’t year in and year out. Consistency is hardcore.
By that definition, I am pretty softcore but I’m trying.
I will ride to work no matter how cold or raining or snowing, I have the gear to handle most conditions. As long as it isnt icy on the roads,I will ride. I dont have studded tires, but the biggest concern I have is drivers sliding around uncontrollably.
Eric
http://www.thebikesaddle.com
hard to say that riding a bike is hardcore at all, compared to some of the other horrible things people endure. I abandon my 20-mile r/t commute in New Hampshire when the mercury dips below zero (fahrenheit). Fenders, 32c cyclocross tires, much-too-expensive lights, and heaps of warm but breathable clothing make it rather enjoyable the rest of the time. sometimes its the most fun i’ll have all day.
Ride all year round here in WI and while we get some extremeness, now and then:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/afbach/3208863564/in/set-72157612622472954/
it usually no worse than single digits. A few layers is more than enough (a hooded sweatshirt and almost anything) for the trunk, a pair of long johns and jeans (snow pants for single digits) – the hard part is fingers and toes. A decent pair of boots and a couple layers of socks and 5 dollar “Farm and Fleet” leather-ish mittens:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/afbach/3208017917/in/set-72157612622472954/
and, if only for 5 miles, it’s more than doable. But in the 20s, it’s nowhere as hard as you might think and even the snow and ice isn’t too bad; slow down, don’t make any sudden turns and … practice your shoulder rolls.
Sorry Andy Bach, but I just don’t get this….
“..ice isn’t so bad, slow down, don’t make any sudden turns and practice your shoulder rolls.”
I’ve had 3 major falls on ice, I think it’s dreadful stuff, each time I didn’t have time to react at all, so no matter how much I may have practiced my shoulder rolls etc., it wouldn’t have made a jot of a difference. There’s no way I’m hardcore enough to risk cycling when ice is about.
By the way, your surname means boy in Welsh.
@welshcyclist – no problem. I ride on snow and ice nearly every day late Nov through early March – I’ve had my falls too. But it doesn’t stop me – the worst (as in slipperiest) snow is the plowed/packed stuff *on top* of ice. Yes, the bike does go down fast and there’s not much you can do about it. On plain ice (as where the snows melted during the day and the track has become a skating rink at night) you can get over it by just going straight until, you hope, the pavement returns. A slight turn and boom, so dropping both feet (braking is bad too) and skidding to stop is a valid approach too. I’m lucky enough my current commute is only 5 miles and very limited traffic. Just saying it’s doable. “Bach” appears to be a Welsh adjective “little” too (”bachgen bach”, “ty bach”), in German, it’s ’stream’.
As the proverbial ‘they’ say, “There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing.”*
(*Okay, biking in driving rain when your bat-blind without glasses can be a challenge. I do it anyway … slooooooooooowly.)
I love winter riding (especially on my roomie’s sproingy, fat-tired mountain bike
) — I enjoy the challenges of navigating ice and snow (it’s probably worth noting that I also enjoy icy downhill ski runs and moguls — yes, I’m that guy, the one who doesn’t like fresh powder).
It’s the summer riding that’s miserable for me! Of course, I live in Louisville, KY, where the air in summer is hot, swampy, and heavy-laden with ground-level ozone that sets off my asthma. We have some of the worst air quality in the U.S. in summer: it’s not the heat, it’s the pollution :::sigh:::
Admittedly, I’m always a little shocked at how chilly the first 20 F or lower ride of the year is — but, then, I’m also always shocked at how quickly I acclimate.
Now, if I can just rustle up one of those Korean anti-pollution bike ninja masks, I’ll be set for summer, too ^-^
Agreed. Winter riding is easy once you get your head around it…and then it can actually become fun. Picking your lines through rutted snow is sort of like riding rough singletrack. I’m looking out the window and we had a huge dump of snow last night…but it’s VERY mild temp-wise this morning and the road looks like a deep slushfest. Should be “fun” lol. My sister lives in Kentucky.