The time has come to talk about winter. Winter cycling is a wonderful experience because I enjoy the outdoors and all of its snowy beauty every day while most people hibernate. I’m really excited about my second winter cycling. Last winter was all about learning the ropes and testing my limits. (See my photo synopsis of winter 2008-09 here.) Now I know what to expect.
Me and Trisha, February 2009
Here I share my wisdom on how to dress for winter bike commuting. This advice is based on my personal experience: riding 7 miles in snow with temperatures around 20 degrees to -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Your individual climate and commute will dictate how you dress. The main take-away point is that you can wear the clothes you already have, but with more protection for you fingers/toes and less bulk for your torso. If you can walk around in the winter, you can bike in the winter.
Ourpostsaboutgrouprides nearly always draw comments like “I wish we had one of these in my city” or “I’ve been wanting to organize something like this, but . . . [insert excuse here].” I used to be one of those commenters, until the Garden Party Ride here in Nashville showed me that yes, Virginia, we could host our own cycling event.
The Nashville Garden Party Crew
You can, too! And you should. Group rides like these are a lot of fun, and in my opinion they’re even better than Critical Mass for raising community awareness of city cycling. Here’s how to get started.
Attentive readers might remember Dottie’s passing mention of us filming a how-to video when I was in Chicago two weeks ago. We decided to start with the basics and demonstrate how to start and stop properly. As befits a LGRAB production, it’s a little goofy and definitely unscripted, but we think we shared some useful information — and hey, if nothing else, you get to see Dottie’s beautiful bikes in motion! This is just the beginning of our YouTube adventures, so stay tuned: we’ve got a channel to fill. And now, without further ado, our video debut:
Welcome, Autumn! This is my favorite season with the best cycling weather.
Fall cycling: light jacket and tights
Incomprehensibly, when summer ends bike commuters begin dropping off as if they were flies and the crisp autumn air were infused with Raid. I’ll never understand why so many people think the best days to cycle are the insufferably hot ones. In light of this phenomenon, we’d like to discuss how to keep on cycling in the fall. The main trick is using light layers to combat the chill that you can remove easily if your body warms up. I am writing this from my point of view cycling in Chicago. If you live in an area with mild weather, consider this your how to dress in winter advice, or pick-and-choose what works for you.
My friend Jeremy is planning his wedding and wants to ride off afterward with his new bride on their tandem bicycle. They have a very cool set-up where they commute to work together 20 miles on their drop bar tandem, so they are experienced tandem riders (in fact, they have a whole blog about tandem cycling, Honking in Traffic). The problem is how to secure her wedding dress to prevent it from getting wound up in the drivetrain.
Extra complication: there’s a chain on both sides in the stoker’s position, drivetrain on the right, timing chain on the left. Alas, the tandem is not equipped with chain- and wheel-guards and step-through frames…
Cycling with style is easy and fun. However, I don’t want it to seem like I simply hop off my bike fresh as a spring flower and go along my merry way. If that’s what people think is supposed to happen after they read about how easy it is to ride in regular clothes, then they will be annoyed when it does not work for them and give up. So I want to be clear that I sweat. A lot. More than the average person. I have been known to sweat in the dead of winter on my bike if I wear one layer too many. My hair gets sweaty and a bit frizzy. Sometimes I get grease on my leg and curse at Betty Foy. Over time I have learned how to deal and always have a plan of action for hot rides.
For example, yesterday I rode 7 miles downtown to have lunch with a friend. The sun was at its peak and the temperature was around 80 F. I wore a breezy lined silk skirt and a cami, stowing my cardigan rolled up in my purse. I strapped my purse in my front basket with a bungie cord and put on my helmet. I then cycled at a steady but easy pace to avoid getting too hot. Twice I stopped to turn my skirt around to prevent sweat spots from building up.
In a thread on The Chainlink, a Chicago bicycling online community, I asked what one should do in the situation I was in last month. Recap: I was riding along on a quiet street, lalala, when a guy in an SUV honked continuously at me, pushed by me so closely that my fingers brushed his truck when I put my arm out for him to back off, forced me to pull off the road and then yelled, “stay off the fucking road.” I got his license plate number and description and called the police station when I got home, which told me to call 311, Chicago’s info line. I followed the prompt to file a police report, but after describing the incident calmly and using the term “assault,” the operator told me that the guy’s behavior was just “ignorance” and there was no police report to file for “ignorance.” I was fuming inside, because I know the law and the meaning of “assault” but decided not to pursue it further for my mental health.
Ethan from the Active Transportation Alliance (formerly the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation) answered with their advice on how to handle the situation.
During the summer, Chicago’s Lakefront Trail is the most popular destination in the city. People come to jog, walk, cycle, play volleyball, lounge on the beach and people-watch. The trail is a multi-use path, not simply a bike path. Some cyclists sneer at commuters who use the path in the summer because it is so crowded. (To get an idea of how contentious Chicagoans are over the path, check out the comments from a post in the Chicago Tribune’s blog.) I love taking the path because the surroundings are so beautiful, I prefer to avoid cars, and I like seeing smiling families and children running around. Therefore, I simply adjust my expectations when riding in the summer and behave in a manner that matches the situation.
Chicago's Lakefront Trail during my summer commute - rush hour
Unfortunately, not everyone behaves accordingly. I recently witnessed a terrible incident caused by a reckless cyclist on the Lakefront Trail during my morning commute.
People are surprised that we cycle in skirts and dresses so often, but it’s not rocket science. Over the past year, we’ve learned that almost every type of outfit works fine on bikes. Skirts offer freedom of movement and are much cooler than pants or shorts, making them especially good for summer cycling. There are some skirts and dresses that are not ideal for cycling, but those are few and far between, easy to work around or avoid. If you find yourself in a problematic skirt, be prepared to either hitch it up or hold it down with one hand. Three factors determine whether a skirt or dress is easy for cycling: structure, fabric and length.
A good dress: short but not too short, narrow but stretchy
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As two girls who practice city cycling with style and think you can too, we started this blog to share our stories, learn more about cycling and encourage others to rediscover the fun of riding a bike. All opinions and reviews are our own, and we are not paid to provide them. Check the "About us" page for more details.
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