how to ride your bike in the snow

riding in snow on two wheels? are you crazy?

i started writing this blog last winter, and just found it in my drafts folder.  i'm getting a kick out of finishing it on this day i hope to be last heatwave day of the year.

i never thought i would ride my bike in the snow, but this is my fourth winter coming up on my bike, and i have learned that snow is surprisingly sticky.

riding your bike in the snow is like walking in the snow. you need good treads and you avoid exactly the same stuff.  make no sudden moves.  you can't be in a hurry, cause you can't count on staying upright while breaking or swerving at high speed.   well, i wouldn't.   i don't when i'm on foot, and my elbows are even higher off the ground when i'm on my bike.   i like my elbows whole.  avoid bumps or steep hills, at least those hills rising up on one side of you.  take hills at a 90 degree angle.   it's really that simple if you stay clear of some specific terrains.  

there are three trouble terrains for winter riding.  i avoid very sleek ice, unless it's just a tiny patch on even ground, and i know that i can glide across without having to make the slightest adjustment.

also tricky, a very deep layer of fresh snow.  by very deep i mean  about as high as your pedals, and if that snow is the sticky wet kind even less.  it will get into your fenders or between your wheels and the body, and the heavy clumps will bog you down.  forget about it.  this is when you shimmy into the centre, ride in the ruts that drivers have kindly made for you, and show them just how much the road belongs to each and every vehicle, including you.  they can go around you - just make sure you're visible!  avoid doing this during rush hour if you can - drivers really can get homicidal.

and finally, once i rode on a very cold night behind a snow plough that was leaving behind about an inch of semi-packed snow, not hard enough for my wheels to sit on top, but not soft enough to sink into.  this turned out to be exactly like riding on a beach.  i flailed and fishtailed for about a 100 yards, before i finally gave up, completely spent and out of breath, and pushed my bike the rest of the way home.



streetcar tracks need even more attention than usual.  sometimes you can clear it with your front wheel, but the back can slip and hit the groove if your angle of attack isn't steep enough (at least 45 degrees). 

otherwise, i enjoy being outside in the winter.  i prefer it to sitting on over-crowded, over-heated buses and subways.   i like the snow on my face, being shrouded in my winter coat like a sleeping bag up around my ears, connected to the elements.

i do get a slight proprietary feeling about my bikepath, and spring is always a little disappointing when the temperature starts to rise, and i suddenly have to share with the fairweather masses.