Reflections on 1/2 a season of winter biking

It's almost the end of February, and we have reached the heart of what is the most brutal stretch of a Chicago winter. For those of you who live here, you're already well acquainted with the bone-chilling, gale-force blasts of arctic air that carry a wind chill punch of -23F or worse; you know all about overnight snow dumps of a foot or more, and well-timed whiteout blizzard conditions just in time for the evening commute home; you know that, while visually awesome, it kind of sucks. For those of you not from here who don't know these things, consider yourself lucky, unless you live somewhere like Buffalo, NY, in which case I'd feel sorry for you for the kind of hell you all have to put up with.

Despite all this apparent whining, I actually DO consider myself to be a winter person, and generally love being out in the cold; I guess I see braving the snow and ice with a smile as giving me some kind of life-long native street cred. "Oh yeah, this is how winters used to be like when I was a kid - where did you say you were from? Florida? That stinks." Part of this love for winter outdoors has extended into continuing my bicycle commutes to work as long into the season as possible. I managed to do it every day, through cold and snow, up until about the second week of this month. February has knocked me into driving mode, not so much because of the weather, but because my hibernation instincts have kicked in, and this makes it much harder to argue with the excuses I make for not biking. An extra hour in bed when it's 2F outside and still dark sounds so much better than donning the bike tights and other regalia, and hoping I don't absolutely kill myself hitting a patch of ice on the paths that lead from my street section of my commute, all the way to the museum.

These paths are my solo excuse for not riding right now. For those of you who haven't been to the museum campus, there are a series of paths that lead from Roosevelt Road, and Columbus Drive, all the way to the museum doors. These paths are very poorly maintained, so there is often a solid layer of ice or a few inches of snow that pedestrians and cyclists have to deal with. Add to this the fact that a lot of these paths go down hills and into turns, this makes them downright hazardous on morning where the areas that were salted and all melted the night before have once again refrozen into an even harder to spot sheet of black ice. Not good. All I can do now is wait for a minor thaw to get back to riding which, hopefully, will happen soon. By next season I hope to have some kind of cheap mountain bike (I want to try trail riding this summer anyway) so that I can have some studded tires with which to traverse these icy fields with confidence. Until then, I'm stuck with my 60lb steel monster with street tires which, while completely adequate on a nicely-plowed and salted street, don't really help me much when I get to ice and slush territory. Ah well, at least she's more reliable in messy conditions than my old-but-lite street bike that has skinnier tires.

It's all a learning curve, but I'm pretty happy with how well I've stuck to it so far. For a first time winter biker, I don't really see a couple week's setback as too terrible, but I can't wait to get back into the saddle!

Bike neglect

I've been cheating. The last couple work days I have driven in to work; I always pass it off as being tired - driving in allows me to sleep in an extra half hour. Before I avoided buying the cheap parking passes ($6/a pass) because the $15/day parking charge that museum guests pay is a pretty big deterrent for me driving; now I have three sitting in my center console. Thing is, it's not the weather - it's actually been warmer here in the last couple of days than it has been in months - it's that extra half hour of sleep, burrowed under the blankets and spooning with Dan. Ahhh to hit the snooze a few extra times, and know I'll still be on time. I try to make myself feel better about it by acknowledging that I'm working out a lot more and eating much better, but I still miss my bike... just not enough it would seem.

The cards seem stacked against tomorrow's ride as well; the weather forecast tells me there will be snow all night, 50mph gusts, a pre-dawn wind chill of -23, and temps won't get above -3 until after noon. Now, it's not the wind or the cold that gets me, it's the snow accumulation. I can always bundle up, but I have this fear (not completely unfounded) that on one of the hills I have to go down either to or from work, I just won't be able to brake and will slide right into traffic at a red light. I have had trouble stopping my bike before when the streets have been too wet/snowy because my old bike is quite heavy and the brakes get choked with snow; luckily I've always managed to throw my feet down and force my bike to stop in time. Still, it's been a bit hair-raising now and then. Add to that the fact that even the best flashing lights in the world don't make me more visible to the people who don't clear the snow off their side windows, run the defroster to clear their front and back windows, or are just too preoccupied with the other cars in snowy conditions to expect, notice, or even care about a cyclist on the road. Still, I intend to get back to it. Hopefully the snow will subside early enough in the evening that the roads will have time to clear. No promises, but at least the desire is still there!

Chicago Winter Biking in the News

From the Chicago Sun Times: White Wheeling

WINTER SPORTS | It takes more than a little snow to slow down Chicago cyclists

January 16, 2008

BY LISA DONOVAN ldonovan@suntimes.com

Winter bicycling in Chicago is gaining momentum. Just ask veteran cyclist Alex Wilson and he'll tell you the evidence is in the snow.

"This last heavy snow, on my way home, I was really surprised to see at least two sets of fresh tracks in front of me. It was pretty nasty out," said Wilson, whose not-for-profit community workshop West Town Bikes, 2418 W. North, offers everything from youth earn-a-bike programs to adult bike-building classes.

Up until about five years ago, Wilson was among a smallish group of familiar faces blazing the trails though Chicago's sleet, subzero temperatures, and around sidetracked drivers. (The latter, of course, is a year-round annoyance.)

But a confluence of events -- a spike in gas prices, road congestion, slow zones during CTA construction and the expansion of the city's cycling lanes -- have led to a rise in bike riding in the city, observers say. And the winter is no exception.

T.C. O'Rourke says the proof can be found off-road, too, from more winter gear on the shelves of cycling and sporting shops to dating Web sites.

"Just last night, I saw a personal ad that said they were a year-round cyclist," the 35-year-old O'Rourke said recently. His point was that year-round biking has become a lifestyle, even a philosophy. O'Rourke's eight-mile commute from his East Garfield Park home to his Loop job is done on two wheels most days. On particularly rainy or snowy days, he might opt for public transportation.

This Friday's Bike-to-Work event, from 7 to 9 a.m. in Daley Plaza, is just one of many winter cycling events aimed at educating commuters about riding in the cold. It doesn't hurt that they'll get some treats and a nice warm drink before heading to the office.

Year-round cyclists have heard the amazement in the voices of the curious -- those who say they wish they knew the secret of winter biking. And Wilson answers the question: "Confidence and commitment to do it. There's no great secret to riding your bike during winter."

Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips (Wordspace Press, $14.99) offers a concise explanation on how to ride in snow, from staying off the ice to wiggling your fingers to keep the blood circulating. Author Dave Glowacz also offers instructions on how to dress for the ride to work and how to fold work clothes to minimize wrinkling.

Winter bikers agree that the streets are plowed so quickly that you seldom have to fret over road conditions.

Margo O'Hara, spokeswoman for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, whose membership is on the rise, says this is her first winter on a bike and, now that she has her fenders -- which deflect water and mud that might otherwise end up on her back -- she's rolling along.

She admits there is a learning curve when it comes to dressing.

"The temperature was the biggest surprise," she said. "Halfway to work, I'd have to pull over and take my hat off because I was sweating."

Adds Wilson of West Town Bikes: "Some cyclists find out they put on their big parka and they're overdressed."

Julie Sherman, past president of the Chicago Cycling Club, a social cycling organization, says getting started may be a matter of just joining an organized ride to get a feel for cruising through the cold and chatting with others about how they do it.

"In winter, sometimes I think you need that motivation that there's going to be a social gathering," Sherman said.

"Then you think, 'If I can do this now, think what I can do when spring rolls around.' "

For more information on winter biking in Chicago, check out www.bike winter.org.

John Ladner makes holiday cycling a festive occasion with decorative lights. It?s all part of the motivation to keep riding during the winter.
(Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times)

RELATED STORIES Layer up for winter riding jump: Local bike paths

Fear the Door

So I finally got doored for the first time this morning. It could have been worse, but it's a wakeup call. I'm not sure there was any way I could have avoided it really. On the plus side, I was still riding my old behemoth of a cruiser, so I was going slow enough to avoid it for the most part; all that got clipped was my right hand, and I had time to put my leg down to avoid getting knocked over. It would have been an entirely different situation if there had been a car to the left of me.

For those who know the city, I was biking East down Harrison, about to emerge by the park. It's a pretty narrow street, so when it's empty I'm usually near the curb, and when there's someone parked there unloading (there's no actual parking), I have to skirt them pretty closely to avoid going into traffic. I was about to pass a smaller moving truck when the door swung open; I didn't want to swerve too far left because I was afraid someone might be coming from behind me, so I yelled out and hoped for the best. I thudded, rebounded, stopped to get my balance, and really couldn't restrain yelling "you have rear-view mirrors - what are you doing?!" He claimed he didn't see me, and I responded that he hadn't been looking and rode on. I feel kind of bad now, having yelled at him, because I have a feeling with truck mirrors (which are made to see wide) he might not have seen me considering I had to pass him so close.

That being said though, if he had looked out more than a second or two before opening the door, he would have seen me coming from further back. I don't know about you, but when I'm looking in those mirrors before opening the door, it usually takes me a few seconds to asses the situation. I guess that's all part of being a biker though - you really do become hyper-aware of these things when you get behind the wheel of a car.


All in all, I got pretty lucky and escaped relatively free of damage: just a sore hand and a bruise on my calf where my pedal dug into my leg when I had to steady myself. I guess I'm glad I wasn't clipped in as well; I would have gone right over! So, lessons learned:

- Avoid Harrison for a while - at least until it's warmer and people are expecting bikers to be on the road a bit more.
- Strap a police siren to my fender so people actually look to see where I am before opening their doors.