There are many cyclists who do not wish to ride their bikes in winter, blaming weather and road conditions as inadequate for bicycles. It's easy to find several good reasons why cycling in winter may be a bad idea, but I still think that winter is a great time to ride a bike. Here is why - form a commuting cyclist's perspective:
1) Drivers become more careful and slow down significantly. If you afraid to ride on some roads in the summer because you feel like all drivers are speeding, try cycling there in winter, after a fresh snowfall. Suddenly, all drivers become very polite, observant, cautious and traffic slows down significantly - all good for us, cyclists.
2) If you still feel uneasy about cycling on a road shared with cars, the Christmas season may be the best time to give it a try. The time from December 25th to January 2nd is a time many companies close and kids have no school. As a result, the road traffic gets significantly lighter. Combined with what I mentioned above, about winter road conditions means that you will see few cars on the road at the end of the year.
2) If you still feel uneasy about cycling on a road shared with cars, the Christmas season may be the best time to give it a try. The time from December 25th to January 2nd is a time many companies close and kids have no school. As a result, the road traffic gets significantly lighter. Combined with what I mentioned above, about winter road conditions means that you will see few cars on the road at the end of the year.
3) Roads get narrower. Sometimes this is not a good thing. But since everyday I ride my bike on a busy multilane street with no bike lanes, I noticed that only in winter I can enjoy my own, wide bike lane. Once the first big snowfall comes, plows push the snow away to the side piling it up at the curb. This narrows down the rightmost lane significantly, to the point where there is not enough space for cars to fit in this lane. It's simply too narrow. However, for my bike this is just perfect. Now I have my own lane where cars wouldn't go. Another advantage of winter blizzards.
4) If you are trying to get somewhere but for some reason you can't drive your car, ride your bike. It may be a much better idea than walking. Bikeyface showed us why:
Use roads, not sidewalks (Source: bikeyface.com)
5) Winter scenery can be beautiful. Well, mostly we get a wet, muddy, slushy winter. But sometimes those winter mornings are full of fresh snow, frosted trees, blue sky and some mild sunshine. It's better to experience this on a bike, than from the inside of a car.
Why do you like to ride your bike in winter?
Why do you like to ride your bike in winter?
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