Snow Ride

[Vibrato]

Knobbies are gold, studs only help on ice. Slick? you betcha, but fun, too. You REALLY have to pay attention, one slick spot will put the hurt on you. In snow, without momentum, you walk. The technique is to STAY SEATED for traction, let the front go where it needs to and get used to guiding the bike in a general direction, sometimes you can't "turn" corners.

Dress for the Temp's and you can ride in most stuff, Me an Nenninger did a ride on the ice off of credit island in 5 degrees last year.

(Yeah, me and nenningers looong legs on credit island...)

[Gunchie]

Snow & ice riding is the best way to improve balance on your bike. Not to mention it keeps you in shape so when spring comes you don't feel like you're dying on the first ride of the year. Dress warm, but not too warm. You heat up pretty quick. You should be a little cold when you start the ride to accommodate for this. Snow really burns the legs and since you're not moving real quick you can get overheated easily and start sweating a lot. The moisture from the sweat will really make you cold. Wearing light layers is a great idea so you can shed clothing and easily stuff them in your camelbak if you do feel you are over dressed. Studded tires do help on the ice (still not like riding on dry dirt though), but for snow a nice fat tire is the best choice.

[nu2trails]

Snow trail riding sounds pretty challenging but curosity it itching at me to give it a try. However, I'm having a hard time trying to convince myself to go and ride with how cold it is outside. I read in a post to put flat pedals on but wouldn't it be pretty slick and clipless be the way to go? Also, trying to not have too many layers on would be a hard one to dial in. As far as gloves and socks, what is the way to go on something for those areas without feeling bogged down.

[Gunchie]

Although flats do help quite a bit in winter riding so you can get you're foot on the ground as quick as possible when you need to, I do personally use my clipless unless it is really icy... but you better be good at uncliping quickly, trust me. Yes, the layer thing can be tricky and does take a bit of trial and error. Here's what I wear to least point you in the right direction. For upper body I start with long sleeve athletic shirt. It's the same kind of stuff that Under Armor makes, but mine is Reebok and much cheaper (bought them at Kohl's). You don't want the thick winter kind though, that's more for skiing and other winter sports not heavy on cardio. The material wicks away moisture wonderfully what is exactly what you want so if you do sweat a little you won't freeze. I top that with a jersey which once again wicks moisture well and provides another layer. Next depends on the temp. 40's I where a thin wind breaker jacket with vents in the pit area. 30's I where a little bit thicker wind breaker but still not too thick. Even colder weather I wear a fleece vest with the thicker wind breaker. Don't use a thick winter coat, you'll overheat. On the bottom if it's 40's I wear a wind breaker pants. 30's I wear cotton long underwear with shorts over them. Even colder and I put the wind breaker pants over the long underwear. For gloves I wear Pearl Izumi gloves that are made with a thin material so you can handler your bike easily, but are still really warm. If it's really cold I wear thicker gloves over them. For feet I wear wool dress socks with biking socks over them plus I have Pearl Izumi winter shoe covers. If you don't want to fork over the money for shoe covers wearing a plastic bag between the dress socks and biking socks does wonders. Just remember that if you're warm in what you are wearing when you start that you are over dressed. You should be cold. I know it's hard motivating yourself to go out in the cold to ride, but try it your first time in a group ride. It's a blast. I hope this helps.

[jimithng23]

Gunchie, that may be your best post ever. You *finally* contributed something to the greater good the club!

[Brandon]

As far as gloves and socks, what is the way to go on something for those areas without feeling bogged down.

As for gloves, down where Im from in Georgia all of us used mechanics gloves (or just the cheap version from Wally World or Blain's), they are much cheaper than "bike" gloves and IMO are just as good if not better, since they are made for using your hands and making sure you have good feel and touch, if that makes sense. But they do have insulated one's which I started wearing up heere, they are nice b/c they have a nice layer thin layer of thinsulate and keep your hands nice and warm, keep the wind out, and arent big and bulky by any means. O and I got mine at Wally World for $16, compared to everything online at $35+ and that was a cheaper winter bike glove. Now if I could only figure out how to keep my feet warm for cheap, Id be happy.