PRO: A Winter Wonderland!
CON: Long stretches of pure ice.
Yes, here we are again with a blog post inaugurating a new season of winter cycling in Edmonton. Saturday night’s snowfall transformed the landscape into a mix of winter wonderland and tortuously icy roads. I’ve been for a few rides in the new conditions and I think I’m getting my winter cycling mojo back a bit more quickly than last year. Of course, we haven’t yet had a really big snowfall yet, or a real blast of arctic temperatures…
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Wow. What happened to Autumn (Fall) this year??
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Last year it was snowing before Halloween, so I shouldn’t complain.
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Holy smokes! We’re still just getting rain here in Montreal. Stay safe!
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Safety first, always! At least the snow waited until after Halloween this year.
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I bow to your winter mojo in admiration. A touch of frost is enough to put me off.
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There is a growing community of winter cyclists here to encourage me in this slightly questionably pursuit.
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How have you solved the problem of riding on ice? The stuff scares the heck out of me cause I get absolutely no indication that my bike is about to slip. One minute – cautiously pedalling. The next – laying on the ice and gripping a body part in agony.
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The quick answer is studded tires.
There are also riding techniques that are helpful. The advice on icebike.org was a real help when I first started winter riding. Check them out at http://www.icebike.org/Articles/techniques.htm .
I am currently riding with a set of these:
http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1788
When conditions worsen, I’ll switch to these:
http://www.suomityres.fi/hakka300.html
I just picked up another set, second hand (but in almost new condition) that should be great:
http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/off-road_tires/ice_spiker
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I heard you got dumped on last week! I’m surprised we have no snow yet in Winnipeg. I’m not ready for it yet.
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Your turn will come.
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I love winter cycling!
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Me too. Usually.
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Lovely shot…
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