Winter routes.

Hello  everyone, 

 

  Looking to continue biking through the winter here and had a few questions for you vets. I snowboard avidly and I think Ill be able to handle the cold, but I was wondering if you avoid the lsp during the winter and opt for the streets. I have seen a few post about the black ice out there and want to know if that's something that could be avoided by riding down halsted and wells. 

 

Also feel free to throw any other tips or suggestions my way. Ill be riding a single speed with one brake, so I think I'm going to do this to my back tire to get a bit of a snowmobile effect going. 

 

Thanks in advance for the tips!

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Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 12, 2011 at 4:28am

Bike Winter link.

 

Icebike link.

 

You'll rarely ride on ice and snow if you stick to main streets that get plowed first. Biking through the winter is more a matter of dressing properly than modifying your bike. If you'll pardon the expression, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on October 12, 2011 at 5:32am
Unless you're riding fixed, I suggest you have a brake for each wheel, especially during winter.
Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on October 12, 2011 at 6:11am

This will be my 3rd Winter.  I use Halsted/Lincoln/Wells year round.  No problems yet.  Use the same tires year round.  Street are almost always more clear than the sidewalks.

Let common sense rule.  You'll know if you shouldn't be out there...

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Fran Kondorf on October 12, 2011 at 7:04am

Yep. The Bike Winter site has all the info you'll ever need.

Remember; Snow's not the problem- it's the wind that blows.

-f

Permalink Reply by Poptart on October 12, 2011 at 7:12am

Yes I'll be riding fixed, and growing up riding trials motorcycles has me confident enough to give it a try. 

Fran- for sure I find myself already opting for the streets during high wind days. 

Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 12, 2011 at 7:16am

Thanks for those links. 

 

This will be my first winter commuting.  So, I am very interested in effective clothing and lights recommendations as well.

Kevin C said:

Bike Winter link.

 

Icebike link.

 

You'll rarely ride on ice and snow if you stick to main streets that get plowed first. Biking through the winter is more a matter of dressing properly than modifying your bike. If you'll pardon the expression, there's no need to reinvent the wheel.

Permalink Reply by Liz on October 12, 2011 at 7:58am


Even fixed brakes are always a good idea, if you are not fixed I hope you would have brakes regardless of season. 


Kelvin Mulcky said:

Unless you're riding fixed, I suggest you have a brake for each wheel, especially during winter.
Permalink Reply by Poptart on October 12, 2011 at 8:29am

H-awesome!

 

and yes people I will be riding with a brake. Always with a brake , and a helmet. 

Permalink Reply by in it to win it 8.0 mi on October 12, 2011 at 8:52am

LFP Oak Street curve is not maintained throughout the Winter.  There are days you cannot pass through.



h' said:

The forum search feature is kind of frustrating, but there were a few "lakefront trail condition" discussions last winter that gave a pretty good picture (probably the best you might find on the webs) of the condition the LFP was maintained in last year-- worth looking for (or maybe one of our crack archivists can help.) I don't use it but I had the impression that it was plowed on almost as high a priority as the streets.
Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on October 12, 2011 at 8:55am

I use the LFP almost exclusively in my year-round commute.  Generally, the park district is very good about plowing the LFP pretty quickly.  Not surprisingly, when things get crazy (e.g., with last winter's blizzard), the LFP does not get as prompt attention. 

Ice can be more of an issue on the LFP.  As I commute from the south side, ice on the LFP is not as big an issue for me as it might be for those that ride LFP from Fullerton to Navy Pier.  Still, I typcially have enough ice related issues by January that I decide to break out the studded tires.  The ice related issues I have occur much more often on the LFP than on roads.

Of course, given the predictions of this coming winter being the worst winter in all of recorded history, who knows what will actually happen.  Active Trans' LFP twitter feed (see: here) can be a great source of information about current LFP conditions.  That feed seems to be much more active in the winter months, when the conditions are much more likely to be worthy of comment.


h' said:

The forum search feature is kind of frustrating, but there were a few "lakefront trail condition" discussions last winter that gave a pretty good picture (probably the best you might find on the webs) of the condition the LFP was maintained in last year-- worth looking for (or maybe one of our crack archivists can help.) I don't use it but I had the impression that it was plowed on almost as high a priority as the streets.
Permalink Reply by Ricardo J Rivera on October 12, 2011 at 9:32am
This will be my first winter riding also. I appreciate the links. :)
Permalink Reply by marcus on October 12, 2011 at 10:38am

Before riding through my first winter, I sat Bike Winter's how-to class.  I highly recommend it if you want face-to-face instruction in addition to reading stuff online.

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