Winter Riding Lessons

[NicDiesel]

So this past weekend, at the request of my wife and parents, I finally bought a fat bike to ride here in the Twin Cities since my road bike with studs wasn’t getting it done. I didn’t ride on Sunday due to vision issues but I bundled up and rode 12 miles last night to see how well Bert (my new Surly Pugsley Ops) would handle my weight for a longer ride. Here’s what I learned riding in 19 degree temps with 10 mph winds (9 degrees with the windchill):

– If you wear contacts wear goggles. Feeling your contacts freezing to your face is a bizarre experience.
– Being too hot is worse than being too cold. Make sure you layer and keep extra layers with you in case you get too soaked with sweat.
– Lobster mitts are awful unless you don’t sweat. Get pogies instead, you’ll thank me later.
– 45NRTH Wolvhammers might be ridiculously expensive and have their issues but they are the best $300 I’ve spent in a long time.
– Studded tires are great but if I’m going to work twice as hard to go half the distance as I would on a road bike on dry pavement I’m doing it on a fat bike. Much more related geometry and no fear of slippage going up a hill.
– Winter helmets with retractable vents are where it’s at. Should have bought one of these years ago.
– When it’s cold you’re going to work much harder to go a shorter distance than during the dry pavement months. Refuel as needed.
– Get insulated water bottles. Nothing is more annoying than taking a water break and finding out your bottle froze solid.

I’m really starting to love winter riding, even with it taking 30 minutes to an hour to get ready to ride, much more so than I do the worst summer riding. Sure, I can’t ride as far in the same amount of time but I’ve learned to really enjoy the sounds, smells, and sights of winter like I never have before.

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[mcfarton]

Never thought about bottles freezing. I have gone on some cold rides but that never happened.

sent from your mom’s house

[Harry Meatmotor]

@mcfarton 100746 wrote:

Never thought about bottles freezing. I have gone on some cold rides but that never happened.

sent from your mom’s house

two things to try:

stuff your bottles into your jersey pocket under whatever jacket/coat you’re wearing.

or,

try wearing a hydration pack under your jacket/coat.

I’m also going to mention something that we, down here in the mid-atlantic, don’t need to worry too much about. Biking in temps well below freezing in less populated areas should bring with it a few precautions:

– definitely bring food, no matter how short the ride may be. enough food for more than a snack, like, a decent sized sandwich or several energy bars/candy bars.
– if you’re using bar mitts, definitely bring an extra pair of gloves in case of something on the bike requires repair. fumbling around with metal things when it’s cold will suck the heat out of your hands in no time.
– always take a headlight, no matter if you’re starting your ride in the afternoon or early in the morning.

remember, if it takes a while to bike a certain distance and something goes wrong on the bike, it’s certainly going to take you a lot longer walking home. it also gets dark and really cold before you know it.

all that being said – riding in the cold and snow is a heck of a lot of fun!

[Orestes Munn]

@mcfarton 100746 wrote:

Never thought about bottles freezing. I have gone on some cold rides but that never happened.

sent from your mom’s house

Back when I used to go winter climbing and snowshoeing, water had to be carried inside one’s parka and stored in or under one’s sleeping bag overnight. Probably still true, come to think of it.

[Author]

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