Last year my rule was not to bike on days when the high was below 45 degrees, but due to some recent purchases I'm going to drop that temperature down a bit. Apparently I'm not alone
Washington, D.C.,-area cycling organizations say that greater numbers of commuters take up cycling to work each year, and many continue, regardless of the cold.
My favorite new product - the Bell Metro Bike helmet with winter gear. The winter gear is the key. No more stuffing the vents with newspaper and raw panda meat, no more wearing a stocking cap underneath and pulling it down to cover the ears. The winter gear fills the vent holes and attaches nice ear muffs. You can also get a rain shield, but I don't have that. I also think a good pair of booties are key.
‘‘Drivers should give cyclists plenty of space — as much as they would give to an actual car,” said Elizabeth Preston, director of communications for the League of American Bicyclists in Washington, D.C. ‘‘Cold weather and snow and ice only means they should give even more space than normal.”
I really hope that Eric Gilliland was misquoted in that article: "Cyclists should stay on the right shoulder of the road" to allow cars to pass, he said.
Give me a break! In winter, the usable portion of the roads are narrower, the shoulders are not maintained -- often, the only safe place to ride is in the wheel tracks of a travel lane. I'd be very disappointed if WABA really is advocating that cyclists should just stay out of the way of drivers. That's what advocacy has come to?
On to equipment. I use a helmet cover to keep the cold out that has served me well. I'm considering a snow-boarding helmet for the really cold days, I'm just not sure how well I could see or hear. I find booties useless -- my last pair lasted about 15 rides before they were torn and tattered and the zipper failed. That came to over $0.15/mile for those keeping score. This year I bought winter cycling shoes which despite the initial outlay I think will be cheaper in the long run.
Posted by: Contrarian | January 07, 2006 at 10:01 AM
I too winced a bit at the Eric Gilliland quote and assumed it was just a bit out of context. Staying right in general is a good idea, but it made it seem like it was the cyclists job to stay out of the way of cars.
I had toe covers last year. They fell apart by the end of winter and didn't really keep my feet warm. The booties do keep them warm, but we'll see how durable they are. If they fall apart, I'll try winter boots.
Posted by: washcycle | January 09, 2006 at 12:58 PM