Winter riding - not just for weirdos

[Claire]

I've been doing a lot of thinking about winter. And riding my bike. And thinking about riding my bike in winter. This process has been helped by a book I'm reading called Frostbike.

The writer hails from Calgary and came into year-round bike commuting gradually and organically. As he delves into the various ways to make this pursuit safer and more comfortable, he tries out various types of gear and contraptions and travels the world (in a limited way) to learn how it's done in real winter cities. In addition to obvious things like prioritizing cycling infrastructure and dressing right, he comes to realize there's a whole mindset problem that prevents a lot of folk from embracing winter cycling as a viable activity/commuting option for "normal" people.

Herewith, an excerpt that has me thinking... Maybe it's all just in our heads.

"When you can spend your whole day in the middle of February without encountering the weather [in this case, in the context of Calgary's "Plus-15" indoor walkway system], what does that do to your perceptions of it? Winter becomes disconnected from our lives. It becomes The Other, an ethereal villain that exists only to trouble us. The result can be seen in [a] study mentioned earlier: avoidance begets hate."

and later...

"There may also be a cultural side to this winter attitude. While there are obviously people in North America who know how to deal with winter, a different general attitude struck me most while in Europe. In Oulu, Finland, I asked almost everyone I met what they thought about winter. Back home, such questions would generate scowls and protestations of hate. But the most common initial reaction in Finland was a look of mild confusion. It was almost as if people had never given the question much thought; as if it was silly to form an opinion on something you can't control, like asking what you thought about the colour of the sky."

...

"For northern Europeans, their approach of unspoken acceptance has perhaps pushed their attitudes in a different direction, which helps explain why you see thousands of perfectly sane Danes riding bicycles through snowstorms."

[sailor]

I am currently reading "The Cyclist who went out in the Cold" by Tim Moore about his trip along the Iron Curtain route through Europe. He starts off in Northern Finland on an old East German folding 20" wheeled bike in March. Puts winter cycling in perspective.

[LouiseF]

But the most common initial reaction in Finland was a look of mild confusion. It was almost as if people had never given the question much thought; as if it was silly to form an opinion on something you can't control, like asking what you thought about the colour of the sky."

Well said. Its all in the attitude right? And I agree about embracing it and not hiding from it (despite my lack of riding - ice and crashing I do like to avoid). I've earned my winter stripes in Ottawa and Calgary! (Granted that was before I moved to HI and CA and got really soft).

Andrew and I were chatting on our 2 person TTT on Thursday morning about our shared enthusiasm for cross country skiing, particularly the skate skiing variety. I was hesitant to post something non-bike related but since Claire has opened up discussion on winter in general I figured I could slip this in

Any TS'ers who might be interested in a coordinated effort at a day (or possible weekend - bring the families) trip to Mt. W for some skate skiing in Jan/Feb let your intentions be known and we'll see what we can organize. Because there really are some other cool winter sports out there...

[Ann]

Louise, I love skate skiing too! I'd be interested in a day trip to Mt. W for that.