What do you look forward to about winter biking?

There's just a touch of chill in the air, but the days are much shorter and fall and winter are on their way.  What do you most look forward to about cold-weather biking? 

Me, it's the amazing feeling of hot coffee on a cold ride.  I have a coffee-cup-holder mounted on my handlebars, and for my 5 mile ride to work, I have hot Alterra coffee ready to go.  Stopping at lights and having a swig of it makes my day.  And drivers and other cyclists often comment to admire this cup-holder, which my girlfriend got me at K-Mart two or three years ago.

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Permalink Reply by David Lieb on September 18, 2012 at 4:24am

Oh yes, I also love my BikeWinter ear-gaiter from Julie! I don't wear it right; I route it diagonally from the upper back of my head, over my ears, then to my chin so I can easily pull it over my mouth to warm the air intake when necessary. The fleece is the only breath warmer I have found that allows enough air to get through for me! It really made the difference for me last winter. Only skipped one half of a commuting day due to the weather (rode a spare bike home cuz I felt so guilty about not biking to work).

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 18, 2012 at 4:51am

+1

Fran Kondorf said:

Lena,

 There's a TON of information at www.bikewinter.org and in the Chainlink forum archives. Just search for 'bike winter' or 'winter biking', I'd imagine. You'll find threads about gear, outfitting your bike, clothing, techniques, etc..

 Have fun,

 -f



Lena Burkut said:

Voice from the burbs: not a chance for me to commute because of the absence of walkways/bike paths and higher speed limits, but I would love to know more about winter biking overall

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 18, 2012 at 4:52am

I NEVER knew about this.  How cool!  Evanston Bike Club does a similar contest. 

David Lieb said:

I like watching my ranking on the BikeLib.org site (http://www.leepirtle.com/lib/milelog/index.php) slowly rise as more and more of the summer cyclists stop posting miles there. Still trying to catch KangarooKathy...

Permalink Reply by David Lieb on September 18, 2012 at 5:03am

I log my miles there, 2MileChallenge.com and BikeJournal.com The BikeLIB one is supposed to be for Illinois cyclists, but we get lots of people from other venues as well. Fortunately, we have some guy downstate that always seems to lead the list to keep up the honor of Illinois ;-)

Suburban bike paths are designed to be recreational in nature and seem to actively avoid any semblance of functionality for transportation. I do use the Des Plaines River Trail to get from Glenview down to Des Plaines occasionally, but don't tell anyone or they might fix it. I

I can assure you that I feel much safer riding the streets in the city of Chicago than I do riding suburban streets. As Lena says, the traffic is moving faster in the suburbs (Rt14 might be posted as 45MPH in the fastest locations, but the traffic there is typically doing 55+), but there is more acceptance of the existence of cyclists in the city and less resentment. 

Permalink Reply by Kevin on September 18, 2012 at 6:18am

1) Wearing tights

2) Less sweating on my commute

3) Relief from being cooped up inside

Permalink Reply by Bill Savage on September 18, 2012 at 6:27am

David

Can you start late in the year and add your current total?  This is a very cool site.

Bill

David Lieb said:

I like watching my ranking on the BikeLib.org site (http://www.leepirtle.com/lib/milelog/index.php) slowly rise as more and more of the summer cyclists stop posting miles there. Still trying to catch KangarooKathy...

Permalink Reply by David Lieb on September 18, 2012 at 6:34am

Yes, you can. It will annoy all the people who are suddenly one spot lower in the standings than they were a minute earlier, but you won't be the first nor the last ;-) It isn't elaborate like BikeJournal, but I find a perverse pleasure in loitering at #27. There are no prizes, other than the satisfaction of seeing your annual total going up. No one calls you a liar (too busy wondering whether the guy from Taylorville has a life, job, family...).

Permalink Reply by David Barish on September 18, 2012 at 7:49am

i forgot to mention my absolute two favorite things about Winter biking. I missed both last year due to work issues and both are usually within a week or so of each other in December--

Amlings Toys for Tots Ride

EBC ride to the Winter Solstice Percussion Concert

 

The good vibes from these two events usually don't wear off until February.

Permalink Reply by ilter on September 18, 2012 at 12:19pm


Apparently, that person from Taylorville is a randonneur.  Looks like he does a ton of metric centuries.


David Lieb said:

Yes, you can. It will annoy all the people who are suddenly one spot lower in the standings than they were a minute earlier, but you won't be the first nor the last ;-) It isn't elaborate like BikeJournal, but I find a perverse pleasure in loitering at #27. There are no prizes, other than the satisfaction of seeing your annual total going up. No one calls you a liar (too busy wondering whether the guy from Taylorville has a life, job, family...).

Permalink Reply by Ash L. on September 18, 2012 at 1:30pm

Fleece parties, two ding Tuesdays and wave Wednesdays. You know that newbie season has started again in April when every cyclist on the road stops nodding at you in solidarity. 

Permalink Reply by Marco Rayos on September 18, 2012 at 1:58pm

Year round bicycle riding hipster ass crack here! And proud of it. Not my fault real ass cracks stole my style and choice of bike only to poularize for all the wrong reasons. I am and will always be a hipster ass-crack. The few and proud.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on September 18, 2012 at 2:07pm

For more winter bike ride photos, click here.

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