Wednesday morning it started snowing, and has not stopped since. Sometimes there are big flakes, sometimes little crystals, but snowing the whole time. It has really piled up! In the fields where it has never been plowed, it is about hip height, and that is with some compression. The municipality is doing a reasonable job of keeping up with the clearing the snow, but my bike has been abandoned at the University since Wednesday afternoon when it was ankle deep on all the paths and too slippery to really get around on my aggressive-nub-but-non-spike tires.
Biking in the snow takes surprisingly few adaptations here since the roads are mostly clear. However, there are a few tricky things. Graham’s bike, for example, resists shifting and braking when it gets colder than about -7. Luckily, noe that we are working out at a gym in easy walking distance, he doesn’t need to use it much.
The tricky thing when it is this cold is what to wear, since I can’t just wear my work clothes like I did in the Fall. I got some really great SUPER BRIGHT rain pants with vents and zipper legs that fit over my work pants and keep the wind and (some of) the cold out. Pair that with a massive parka, hat and super mitts, and I am ready to go! But not too fast, because I don’t want to get too sweaty on my way to work.
Yikes.
Michelin-man (-woman) rides.