Attn hard-core SNOW riders! We'd love to hear your stories!

Please share your stories from yesterday and this morning. Did anyone commute? Did you do the Super Bowl snow ride? Also, any pictures? Please share them here. We'd love to feature some snow-riding Chainlinkers in our upcoming newsletter. 

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Permalink Reply by John on February 2, 2015 at 5:58am

Riding last night was beautiful and quiet; it is one of my favorite times to ride.  Easy to find a place to lock up, and bus drivers always give a courtesy toot before passing.  There was very little traffic, and I saw at least six other cyclists on the road.  Every pedestrian was walking in the street as they were more navigable than the sidewalks.  I rode down Damen from Wilson to Division and back, but only saw one car stuck in a drift.

Permalink Reply by David Beazley on February 2, 2015 at 6:16am

I love riding in the snow and making first tracks is especially fun.  So, I woke up crazy early and headed out for a Sunday morning snow ride at 4:23am in the early stages of the big storm.  After passing by a few snowplows out on Green Bay Road, I rode up the Green Bay Trail from North Evanston to Highland Park and back and encountered nothing fresh snow criss-crossed by various sorts of animal tracks.  Was back at the house before anyone else was awake and had a big smile on my face all day long as everyone else (especially my mother-in-law) looked at me like I was completely crazy.  She's probably right about that---I went out for a ride this morning as well (although it had to be confined to already plowed roads).  I love the peace, solitude, and beauty of snow rides--they're just the best. 

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on February 2, 2015 at 8:57am

What size and type of tires do you guys recommend for this kind of riding?  What would you say is the minimum width?

Permalink Reply by Tim Heckman on February 2, 2015 at 9:59am
I rode three miles yesterday morning to pick up bagels, mostly on less traveled streets in Oak Park. I did this on a Surly Cross Check with a 35mm knobby in front, and a 38mm Marathon Supreme in back.

This morning, I did my regular commute to Bellwood. I probably made a bad decision in not sticking with Madison, which had a little too much traffic for the level of clear street that I was seeing when I started. Six miles later (and one hour), including probably 1/2 mile of shouldering the bike through the unplowed commuter lot and across the pedestrian bridge/cemetary accessway to the Maybrook courthouse, I made it safely to my destination.
Permalink Reply by David Beazley on February 2, 2015 at 11:14am

Not a recommendation per se, but I'm riding a Surly Cross Check with 700x42mm Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires. I rode last winter with 700x35mm knobby non-studded tires.  Both have worked well (although the studded tires obviously do much better on ice). 

Jim Reho said:

What size and type of tires do you guys recommend for this kind of riding?  What would you say is the minimum width?

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on February 2, 2015 at 4:23pm

I'm curious about how some of you guys ride.. On days like Sunday and maybe today I get nervous about riding because the bikes lanes are  cleared. So I worry about having to bike too close to the traffic to staty out of the snow/drifts?  John wasn't Damen in pretty bad shape?

Permalink Reply by Michael A on February 2, 2015 at 4:45pm

[URL=http://s1105.photobucket.com/user/mvacolnago/media/snowman_zpsx2o3p331.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h350/mvacolnago/snowman_zpsx2o3...[/IMG][/URL]

Permalink Reply by Haddon on February 3, 2015 at 2:24pm

Whole sections of the city are untouched by the plow.  I spent as much time walking the bike as riding.  As you get towards the loop / major roads then things are fine.  Outside of this it gets far more suitable for skis or a dog sled (not an exaggeration, I could have taken the latter two back from Aldi no problem.)

Permalink Reply by Tandemonium on February 3, 2015 at 3:28pm

Quick photo at end of Monday's commute:

Permalink Reply by Tim Heckman on February 3, 2015 at 5:48pm
I'm probably waiting until Thursday or Friday evening to resume my commute, but am still running a few errands by bike each day. I'm returning with Chinese takeout tonight.
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Permalink Reply by Alisa Hauser on February 4, 2015 at 1:53pm

I rode Monday, Tuesday and today, mostly on main streets for a few miles each day and it was fine, except for all the slush that got on my coat and jeans! The snow was making me nervous so I used a Divvy on Monday instead of my mountain bike. Ended up having to walk the bike b/c it was so bad on side streets. A good Samaritan shoveled the Divvy dock so I could return the bike!  At an appointment today in UK Village, the bike rack was covered in snow, so I put my bike on a little mountain to lock it to a pole.   Overall I am actually kind of enjoying riding in this weather. Feels like a big adventure.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on February 5, 2015 at 1:14am

One word:  fenders.  

Alisa Hauser said:

I rode Monday, Tuesday and today, mostly on main streets for a few miles each day and it was fine, except for all the slush that got on my coat and jeans! The snow was making me nervous so I used a Divvy on Monday instead of my mountain bike. Ended up having to walk the bike b/c it was so bad on side streets. A good Samaritan shoveled the Divvy dock so I could return the bike!  At an appointment today in UK Village, the bike rack was covered in snow, so I put my bike on a little mountain to lock it to a pole.   Overall I am actually kind of enjoying riding in this weather. Feels like a big adventure.

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