Wow. What a day.
After my post this morning, I headed back out for a longer ride. I ran into lots of cyclists and got my first taste of urban snow-riding. Busting new tracks through the fresh powder felt awesome…but the stinging snow in my eyes wasn’t.
Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. The best tip of the day came in as a comment from a reader named Ian:
“Before departing, I attached zip-ties around the rear wheel of my trusty fixedgear – one between each spoke, wrapping around the tire and rim. Just like chaining up. It worked great, even on the packed snow.”
Great idea Ian.
The other great idea comes from everyone who made it up to Washington Park to join the Zoobomb crew for a day of sledding, libations, and yes, snow-bombing! I didn’t make it up to the hill, but here are my photos and notes from the road…
I camped on the East side of the Broadway Bridge for a while. I met a guy named George who was headed downtown to “just play around and have fun.” That’s the spirit George. I also snapped a shot of BTA office manager Christopher Duran, pressing on through the driving snow (at least I think that’s him).
 |
 |
Then, after checking out the scene on the Esplande, I set off for Stumptown Coffee on Third. It was pretty quiet other than a few messengers hanging under shelter waiting for calls to come in.
After that, it was off to assess the Zoobomb Pile. And there it was, just as I’d hoped…all covered in snow:
On my way home, a man named Amir and his son Adrian caught my eye playing in the snow on their bikes in Jamison Square:
 |
 |
Crossing the Broadway Bridge I ran into messenger Ayla Holland (yes, that Ayla Holland). She was pushing her fixie through the bumpy snow so I got off and joined her. It was great to share a snowy bridge walk with another cyclist.
Hope you had a fun day. Now let’s hope things don’t get too nasty overnight. If this city freezes tonight, we’re in for an interesting day tomorrow…
===
[Note: Something screwy is going on with my photo pages, so if you ever get an error message, you can always go directly to my photos on Flickr.]
Thanks for reading.
BikePortland has served this community with independent community journalism since 2005. We rely on subscriptions from readers like you to survive. Your financial support is vital in keeping this valuable resource alive and well.
Please subscribe today to strengthen and expand our work.
Hey Jonathan-
I was so focused on not wiping out that I forgot that I saw someone taking my picture this morning. I should have known it was you. Who else would be laying in the snow on the Broadway Bridge taking pictures of passing cyclists 🙂
Chris
Yup, it was a hell of a lot easier coming over the Broadway bridge this morning than it was going home- I had to push my bike from the bottom of the Lovejoy ramp to Flint before I could saddle up again. After that, no problem! (Although I gotta get me some of those zip ties.)
jonathan, nice shot of the lone cyclist heading over the RR down to the Esplanade – captures the essence of a Portland snow day.
That was my first day of snow biking, and it was so much fun! It was a lot easier going in to work than coming home, but coming home wasn’t too bad on the right roads. I hope tomorrow isn’t worse than it was tonight.
I’ll walk until the snow melts, then we’ll see how long it takes PDOT to clean up the gravel in the bike lanes this time around…
Tomorrow is shaping up to be pretty icy – I’ll ride on snow, but ice is another beast entirely – I’ll have to wait and see what the morning brings, of course, but tomorrow may be a walking day -esp. because I have no zip ties with which to augment my snow tires . . . Ian deserves a “Toeclips” award just for that idea!
It’s a great idea if you ride fixed or disk brakes but it’s not going to work for rim brakes. I really think it’s a cool idea though.
Indeed, it was a lot easier this morning on the untracked snow then it was later. The car tracks, and foot prints on the waterfront especially, were pretty challenging. But the climb up Mississippi was easier than expected.
Gimme more!
Regarding the eyes: I got tired of trying to find sunglasses that would do the trick. I finally realized that motorcyclists and 1920s racers had it right and got me some Bobster Bugeye 2 goggles: http://www.bobster.com/Catalog/Product.aspx?ItemCode=BA2C31AC. They’re pretty comfortable, really inexpensive given other options and reasonably anti-fog in most conditions. Plenty of similar options out there, and worth giving a shot, especially if you wear contacts or have had Lasik and your eyes are wind-sensitive.
To all those cyclist complaining of snow in your eyes today, I have a suggestion 🙂
http://flickr.com/photos/ephany/360280378/
Wow!
That ziptie idea really would have helped me out in the sloppy stuff yeseterday.
I’ve been riding on sheer ice for the past week or so up here in Vancouver. Pretty much all the other commuters I would see on my route have stopped.
The one thing I did was deflate my 700×25 tires down to about 60psi for the ice. the larger contact patch seemed to help a bit… and whenever the front end would get pushed over by an ice rut I would just shift my weight backwards and keep powering on.
I’m glad to see there are so many cyclists out and about in the snow down there =D
I love riding in the snow! It’s such a novelty here in P-town but a welcome one – few cars, lots of people out on foot, views of snow men and igloos (yes check out the corner of NE 48th and Brazee)the muffled sounds – all good stuff and definitely great from the seat of a bicycle.
I rode my cross bike yesterday and it was perfect for the conditions. My tip for riding in snow is SMILE!
Ice Bike
http://portlandor.wordpress.com/2007/01/18/ice-bike/
Watch out for the bike lane on NE Weidler between MLK and Grand. The fine folks at Washman decided to shovel all of their snow in a big pile onto the bike lane.