Monday, January 9, 2017

Winter rollercoaster

Stupid winter. The air temperature changes more often than politician's opinion. One day it's warmer and everything melts, then the following day it freezes again. The whole cycle then repeats again and again. The result? Ice on bike paths, like the Minuteman Bikeway I use daily. The Bikeway runs through an environmentally protected area, which means that no salt can be used there to melt ice. So basically, riding on the Minuteman this time of the year is more like ice skating.

Lesson learned. I ordered studded tires for my winter bike.

The other problem is even more frustrating. I'd much rather have a winter like two years ago when everything was completely frozen for the whole two months. Otherwise, water gets into all possible gaps during the day, then freezes overnight and I end up not only with frozen shifter cable, but also frozen storage door. This morning, I had to fight with the lock for a few freezing minutes to open my bike garage door. Riding a bicycle to work seemed questionable, at least for a while.

Honestly, it's not my kind of winter (even though it could be far worse, of course). Five American degrees (or -15) this morning, followed by 50F (11C) this Wednesday. Then down to freezing on weekend. It's a winter rollercoaster ride!

1 comment:

  1. Totally feeling you pain this winter! I put studded tires on my winter bike, too. Mostly I'm riding on the streets, not bike path, though.

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