We were hit with a surprise dump of snow several days ago, which made for some interesting and challenging cycling.
When I woke up at 5:30, it had just started to snow. The weather forecast had called for up to 2 cm (about 1″) of snow – no big deal. However, when I left the house at 7:30, there was almost 25 cm (10″).
The flakes were huge, traffic was at a standstill when the cars weren’t sliding into one another, and cyclists were slowly but surely moving along much faster than the other traffic.
I strapped my little digital camera to my bike and slapped together the following cheesy little video of the day’s bike ride to work.
If you’re the kind of person who values warmth and doesn’t care about fashion, the Outdoor Research (OR) Windstopper Gorilla balaclava will make an excellent addition to your outdoor gear wardrobe.
Most of the time I wear this, it’s underneath my bike helmet when I’m cycling in cold weather. Not just any ol’ cold weather — really cold weather. -25C cold, usually with nasty cold wind on top of that…
Yay! There’s finally a local source for Boeshield T9 — a metal lubricant and protector developed by Boeing for airplane parts.
While I don’t really have room in the driveway for an airplane, I do have a number of bikes. T9 works extremely well as a long lasting and multi-weather lubricant for bike chains.
According to the Boeshield folks, “Road cyclists can get about 300+ miles (500Km) per application. In wet weather riding reapply after half that distance. For off road riding reapply after one quarter that distance, more frequently if conditions require. For best performance, ‘apply tonight, ride tomorrow’. ”
Lee Valley now carries the Boeshield T9 in both a bottle and aerosol can. The bottles are great, as they don’t take up much room in your pack, and a little goes a long way.
I’m looking forward to trying this lubricant in the winter, as Boeing states the T9 lubricant excels in damp environments.
For more info, visit the Boeshield Canada site, or Lee Valley Tools’ site.
Riding to work, originally uploaded by elliottzone.
There are some days when it feels like my ride will never end…
Slogging through the snow can be challenging at times, especially when it’s -25C outside, dark, windy and just plain ol’ not fun.
But, I just remind myself the alternates are to pay $26 / day to park my truck downtown, or take Calgary Transit. Transit is terrible in Calgary, so it’s always a last resort…
One snowflake by itself is a thing of beauty. When they all gang up on you, however, I’m always reminded that “there’s strength in numbers”.
Darn snowflakes…
If you’re looking for a good pair of cycling shoes for riding in cold snowy conditions, you don’t have many options. I chose a pair of Lake MXZ300 winter shoes and this will be my third winter riding in them.
First impression
These shoes are comfy! The neoprene internal liner is a nice snug fit, without being too tight or constricting. You should get a pair that are a size or size and half larger than you would usually wear. This will let you wear a pair (or two) of thick warm socks. Trying to cram your foot into a shoe that’s too tight will work against you by constricting the blood flow to your foot. Less blood flow means colder feet.
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