I reached something of a milestone today.
I’ve been cycling to work, for 3 reasons; to save money, it’s quicker than getting the bus, and to get some exercise. I’ve cycled in sunshine, in cloud, in light, and (a lot) in the dark, on roads, on paths, in rain and wind, in freezing fog, on black ice… and now finally, in snow.
It was not quite as dangerous as I thought it would be. Contrary to the belief of most of my office, cold is not a major issue on bikes, if you’re wearing the right kit. For me, that means base layer, flourescent jacket, cycle shorts if it’s wet, a hat under the helment, a buff (or scarf would do), and MOST IMPORTANTLY a decent pair of gloves. Seriously though, wear the right kit, and the temperature and precipitation’s just not an issue.
Wind is annoying, and can be scary if you think you’re going to get blown off into a car, but a bit of aggressive riding counters that. It just makes things a bit harder work.
Ice, however, is where the fun starts. A few weeks ago I made the mistake of breaking harshly on some black ice, and my bike skidded out of control. I managed to stay on it, and not crash into anything, but it was scary, pulled about half the muscles in my body, and has slowed down my riding down hills on frosty days. In the slushy snow there was inevitably a bit of skidding, but to be honest, it’s nothing all that exciting. The off-road cycle path in edinburgh was a bit dodgy, not gritted and very slushy/icy, but it was virtually deserted when I was coming home today, so there was no fear of crashing into anything.
In fact, I felt suprisingly safe, even in the midst of the gentle blizzard this evening. The snow reflects so much light, I could see well, and barely needed the lights.
Something of a baptism of snow then, into the community of all-weather cyclists.
