My icy commute: How was yours?

Keeping one foot dangling whenever possible helps a lot. Dragging to a stop is definitely the way to go.

I haven’t been bike commuting much since my son came along 6 years ago, but I used to use studded bike tires and chains (“Pitbull” brand) and found them to work very well. In fact, one day I only fell when I stopped and put my foot down.

I slipped and fell pretty close to my house. After that I put the bike back in the garage and walked to the bus stop.

I had fun riding around on Sunday in the snow, but the ice this morning is pretty dangerous.

I really wanted to bike today, but I decided it just wasn’t worth the risk.

I ended up taking SE Stark most of the way into work since the tire ruts were well sanded or even clear of ice. Traffic was pretty light too. Riding the side streets was the trickiest.

Going home maybe a little more interesting, the sun and wind might make the side streets worse.

I telecommuted today. My recumbent has slicks, and the route is hilly. Plus the wind in Outer SE is howling, and with the 19° temp this morning, that’s a recipe for frostbite.

I’ll bus in the rest of the week.

I think the best tip for riding on ice is: Don’t.

I suffered the indignity of a bus ride this morning and will do so again this evening. Nothing wrong with the bus, but for those of us who are so used to our own commuting self-reliance, it’s a little like having your wings clipped. Still, better safe than sorry.

I ate it once on the way in, but not too bad. Saw a single rider – on the esplanade – but hardly another soul in sight. Peaceful and quiet 🙂

I tried this morning and ended up on my ass. I’m bruised but fine. I was riding a fixed gear using my homemade chains. Still, I went down quick and hard. Not worth it until the ice isn’t a issue in the mornings.

“I suffered the indignity of a bus ride this morning ”

Cavorting with the proles, you poor thing.

I’m contemplating an elective journey out of my telecommuting spot to a cafe. I’m debating between the mountain bike, the cross bike and the Xtracycle. I took the kid on an Xtracycle adventure (ok… just to the grocery store but still) in yesterday’s snowwy conditions. I delicately rolled along, staying on snow and avoiding shiny ice. It was really stable and easy but conditions are probably far more dire today. I fear that there’s no hiding from the ice. I have decent bike handling skills but no expertise saves you from sheet ice.

The question is which bike is optimal?

I almost bussed it this morning, but I’m actually glad I rode. I used my cross bike with mud 2’s at 35psi, and only started slipping a couple times in 6 miles. Just like in a car – do everything slower than normal, stay calm, and know your limits.

After watching the many mishaps this weekend from my apt. window of cyclists going down and struggling, I decided to rely on my ultimate all-terrain vehicle: Me. I threw on my trusty trail running shoes and had a nice jog commute into work. It was a pleasant jog, and I didn’t go down once. For best traction, I stayed on the crunchy and/or untraveled snow.
Best of luck.

the karate monster with aired down exiwolfs has done remarkably well in the snow and even on the ice. i can credit much of my survival to my crosscrusade skillz.

tonite however i am throwing my pos pearlizumi gloves into a bonfire. absolute garbage once temps fall below, say, 55 and sunny.

Left the fixie at home and took out the ol’ Schwinn Suburban with extra weight in the panniers and had no trouble what-so-ever…of course I have the advantage of being from Minnesota where the streets are like this four to five months out of the year.

Wide tires and long wheelbases give you more time correct a slide or get a foot down. Narrow tires and high pressures do have more traction, but when they slide you go down fast.

Foot dragging for stopping works well, just remember when your foot is on the ground you are taking weight off the tires and reducing traction even more.

Stay off the front brake.

I’m not so scared of falling myself- I’m not moving that fast, and I have a good helmet, but I don’t ride in icy snow, I am too afraid that someone driving a huge steel clad vehicle will hit ice and slide into me. It’s public transportation for me when it’s icy outside!

I rode in from Vancouver to downtown this morning without incident. No slipping or falling, but it was pretty scary out there. I am taking the Max to the Expo tonight, the roads weren’t bad in Vancouver or Hayden Island so my commute home shouldn’t be too bad.

So, I know y’all don’t want to hear it again, but as I said last year (and the year before): STUDS. Yep, they work, and my Sunday commute of 19 miles each way with several miles of 8 – 10% grade proved it (once again) to my satisfaction – not one wipout. Not really necessary for snow, but on the solid ice, there’s nothing like ’em. Let the whining about price, weight, and convenience commence.

I took the car option in to work today. But yesterday I took my new recumbent trike out for a spin with the help of some zip ties around the rear tire.

http://flickr.com/photos/occipital/

Click my name for pictures of the Schwalbe Marathon Winters on my winter bike. Unfortunately $75 a pop. At least they should last several winters.

http://nw-meanderings.blogspot.com/2008/11/shiny-new-studs.html

honestly, there is no shame in not biking (or NOT DRIVING) when the road is a sheet of ice. these type of conditions scream FATALITY WAITING TO HAPPEN. we do have a great transit system here in Portland, use it! consider it a mass transit vacation, read a book and relax as you are taken to your destination without risking your life.

I speak specifically of the aforementioned likelihood that a car might run you over after you take an unexpected spill. Be careful out there, folks.

the lady and I went out for a late night ride last night. just got done moving, and too icy out last night to try to trek downtown for zoobomb, so we just messed around a little bit in our new neighborhood. she took out her mini, and I brought out my 24″ bmx cruiser. I had a blast with ice-assisted power slides, including a full 180 with both feet planted, astride my bike.

today’s commute wasn’t that bad. took the lane where there was gravel on irving, traffic was moving slow and infrequent enough that I didn’t encounter a car going the same direction as me. the holy rollers I have on the 24″ are holding up pretty well. surprisingly enough, out here by the airport there’s not too much ice or snow on the streets. no buildings in the area means more direct sunlight to melt it. hopefully it doesn’t get too crazy once the sun goes down. my ride home might be significantly more treacherous.

my bike is not feelin the ice. i work at 6:30am and decided to just drive. i felt bad (not morally, just bad from not getting a morning ride in), until i was able to help my bike commuting co-workers with rides home for them and their bikes….

much respect to all who braved it on 2 wheels. i wish i had a mountain bike! be safe out there!

#4 sheet metal screws driven from the inside out through the tread lugs make a fine DIY studded tire. I used pan head screws and covered the heads with good quality duct tape. You will need to figure out how long a screw to get depending on the tire. You want about an eighth sticking out of the tire. I used cheap mountain bike tires from Bi-Mart and about 50 screws. I probably had $15 in the whole project.

I never bothered with a back studded tire, but the front gave a real confidence boost in conditions like these. I gave my last one away to the neighbor kid last winter. He got where he could do a 360 with his feet up.

Beware of studs like these. The are wicked sharp and could easily cut somebody up in a wreck.

‘spect to all that rode today. I gots skinny tires and…um…oh yeah, I HATE FALLING ON ICE. I trudged on trimet with the rest of the plebs. ugh. JUST put on my new set of Armadillos.

I rocked my Fisher 29er singlespeed both Sunday and Monday. The long tire footprint makes all the difference, I think. Granted, my commute is less than 3 miles and almost completely flat. I doubt anything hilly would be fun. But no crashes yet!

Oddly, I found the slight ride to the grocery store this afternoon with my kids to be better on bike than on foot. No school today in PDX so we are hanging out, but we needed some milk for cocoa. To the store we go. I bundled them up in the box of the bakfiets, put the canopy on and we pretty much coasted our way there, using much of the two feet sliding on the ground technique and the drag the feet to stop. The reason we went this way is that there would be less complaining when covered than in the biting wind, plus it was easier than pulling a wagon.

These are the days on which I give thanks for TriMet. I have had a couple wicked crashes in my biking career — wicked enough to know that biking on ice is just not for me, anyway. When things start to melt, I’ll be back on the bike(and on the lookout for nasty gravel patches; that’s how I crashed last time!)

Today was def challenging, I stayed up right the entire 4.5 miles. I had to stop halfway for coffee because my fingers we so cold I could barely grasp the brake. Use back brake first. Lower tire pressure is good.

A couple tips:
-If the road has a high arch (aka crown) ride in the center to avoid sliding out due to balancing on your side walls.

-Car have chewed up the main road, but on the flip side, you have to deal with traffic to ride on them.

-If it look treacherous feel free to use the sidewalk or walk.

Finally if any of you DIY people want to make studded tires check this out:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=494562

Got all dolled up for my usual beginning-at-4:10 am 20 mile round tripper, rode about 2 miles and went back home. The wind here in Hillsboro was howling, creating white-out conditions, almost blowing the bike out from under me. The Vittoria Randoneur 32cc wide tires were working great at 75 lbs – it was the wind that forced me to give up.

I’ve broken enough bones and bent enough ligaments/tendons in my first 50 years to know when it’s time NOT to take chances!

No snow or ice on my 4 mile ride through Hazel Dell this morning, after going to all the trouble of getting down to Bad Monkey Saturday to grab a headset spacer for my Mt. Bike build.

Maybe Wednesday, Thursday or Friday will bring some fun snow/ice riding my way.

It took three spills in my first 1.5 miles down SE Lincoln/Harrison for me to concede to the bus. First motorized vehicle commute in nearly 11 months. My cross bike just kept slipping right out from under me. My second fall included nearly a block of sliding down the Harrison hill.

Didn’t have any problems Zoobombing last night 🙂 I don’t think there were any serious injuries during the Macaframa Alleycat either.

This is where a fixed gear comes in mighty handy, with the right tires of course. You can control your speed completely by pedaling/resisting and you can stop without relying on a handbrake. You know exactly when your wheel starts sliding, not when it’s about to go out from under you.

After a very easy spin to the grocery store last night, this morning’s commute proved a little more eventful.

I let my front tire kick out from underneath me at 28th and Ankeny.

Whoopsiedaisy.

Luckily for my safety there was no traffic, but on the other hand that also meant that my baseball-slide-style easy landing went without any applause.

After today’s further slickening of the roads I’m thinking about strapping pillows to both hips in anticipation of the inevitable on the ride home this evening.

Rode in the snow last night and it was slow going but fine. Rode my older Raleigh so I could put my feet down, plus it has wider tires…

But this morning, like a moron, I took the Ladd’s Addition route, which was solid freaking ice. A woman passed me and then turned left. I tried to stop, and down I went. Ow. My poor left knee!

I did get to work, although I walked part of the Hawthorne Bridge because of the wind. I’m leaving my bike locked up at work and taking the damn bus home. Ugh.

I was out riding my Xtracycle last night with passenger and slim tires and it was OK. On my own, there was no brake happening on the rear wheel at all.

This morning I took a mountain bike into work. It was a bit scary. I had an appointment down town so road from SE over the Hawthorne. The approach to the bridge was pretty clear. Sandy snow on the road, mostly clear pavement on the bike path. The exit in to town was an ice chute. Down town was a mix of clear and really icy streets.

Returning east over the Hawthorne I thanked the road crew guy who was shoveling clear the ped and bike route. Ice chute again on the east end of the bridge. That was made more interesting by the lady in the minivan who made a right without stopping right in front of me. She probably couldn’t have stopped anyway.

Actually things started to look scary as the early morning caution of the drivers gave way to the more typical speeds along 7th in the late afternoon. Plenty of locked wheels when the lights changed.

It was interesting to see the Franz big rig that slid backwards and made a minor jack-knife down the hill on 7th even with chains. The worst ice by far was Ankeny from 12th to 28th.

That was fun while it lasted. I’ll be happy to take myself out of the holiday road mix and walk or bus it for the rest of the week.

biking is a bit more of a pain in the butt, but just go slow and appreciate how beautiful it is outside with whats basically become a ghost-city covered in snow.

Snowbomb last night was about as much fun as you could possible have on a bike. There was a pretty strong crowd doing runs all night. God bless the MAX running 24/7!

The ride home was easier (except for that bit in the Esplanade going up from the Steel bridge… glaze ice everywhere).

Lots of gravel in the bike lane and very little auto traffic so you could leave the bike lane and ride on a clean(ish) tire track.

On the hills, I’ve been walking instead of biking – I have chains for my shoes, but not yet for the bike. For flatter trips, the mountain bike has been great- seat low, feet as rudders, low tire pressure.
The real bummer is that it takes so long to get around. But not long enough for me to resort to digging out the subie!

The Nokian studded tires that I bought three years ago once again paid off very well.

Both last night’s Peacock Lane ride (I was the one with the lights) as well as today’s commute were completed with no falls.

My commute today was from SE 42nd & Lincoln to Goose Hollow; the MAX to Hillsboro Airport; and bike to Intel.

All was slick ice on Lincoln & Harrison to Ladd. The Nokians made a real profound difference. I only slipped once when I tried to stand and pedal hard. I caught it in time and did not fall.

I tried jamming on the back brake while going slow just to see what would happen. I did manage to skid, but only on the slickest ice and the tire regripped the ice once I let off the brake.

At no time did I come close to falling.

I gently applied both brakes going down hill with more emphasis on the front wheel.

The reverse commute back this afternoon was not much different except that I had the cold wind at my face.

For my hands, I made some home made mittons using Suprix fabric (similar to gore tex) on the outside and two layers of upholstery fabric on the inside. You notice, I said mittons. Gloves are not suitable for this type of cold. My fingers need each other to stay warm.

The trip was about fifteen to twenty minutes longer than normal as I take things slow and carefull in these conditions.

I fully intend to continue unless things get really bad (below zero temps or three feet of snow)

Luv

Cleara

I had a good time riding my Xtracycle with 2.15″ tires deflated to 30ish PSI. I rode real slow and kept my hand off the front brake altogether. I find that its important to keep my balance completely centered over the left/right axis. I could go into a well-controlled-skid by locking up the rear brake. If the back end started to swing around I just released the brake momentarily and the back end would right itself. The most difficult part of my ride is when I had to start from a dead stop at a light/stop-sign. The key is to start SLOWLY, add just enough pedal pressure to get you going, then slowly add more. I’ve noticed that people in cars are doing the opposite, when their drive wheels are spinning out, they just hit the gas harder causing their wheels to spin out more, then when one wheel finally does get some traction, they spin in a circle, and quite often crash into a parked car. The insurance companies/body shops must love these winter-storm-events.

Slightly OT but, I was crossing SE Stark @ 9th Avenue today at 11am and saw a car that had EXTENSIVE front end damage. Cops were on the scene so it must’ve happened just a bit before I saw it. The thing that gets me is, how were they going fast enough to cause that amount of damage? I would guess they would’ve had to be going at least 30MPH at the time of impact. There is a light at MLK and a light where Stark crosses Sandy. Stark still had nice coating of ice at the time. What driver would think its appropriate to accellerate to 30mph+ on a road coated in ice when they had no chains on? I slowed my normal commuting pace from 15-20mph to 6-10mph, why can’t people in cars do the same? I even saw someone driving an SUV through Ladds while yapping on a cellphone.

Patience.

The zip tie snow tires (see #48) definitely made a difference for me, even on ice. Still looking forward to putting on the studded tires I picked up for the rest of the week.

Do they not at least try to clear the snow and ice from the road ? It’s dangerous not to.

The gritters have been busy here so we have no snow and ice on our roads and cycle paths. However, the amount of salt spread around is a danger to bicycle components.

On Sunday it was -2 C ( 28 F ). I went on an 50 mile ride around the countryside with slick tyres and didn’t slip once.

I walked to work and back, but it took for freaking ever, and, unfortunately, I don’t think the bus would be much faster since I have a transfer.

I did do a 5-mi round trip at night tonight, and that actually went fine. I deflated the tires significantly, and I think that helped a lot, as well as just going really slowly, braking well ahead of the intersections, and not making any sudden movements. I stuck to the back streets even though they were icier just because I didn’t want to have any car interactions. I did end up biking east on Weidler from 15th to 24th. There weren’t many cars and the bike lane was iced over, but the lanes were clear, so I rode to the right of one of the lanes and even though there was a whole entire lane on the left, THREE cars passed me without moving an inch in that 9 blocks! I should’ve just taken the whole freaking lane.

Tuesday report from Wilsonville, ice all over. careful if you ride or walk, today at I-5 and wilsonville truck even watched it turn to walk and still drove in front of me.. pointing to his head!, crazy people! question of the day why are some
auto drivers just clueless? fun ride/walk into day.

rode in today without incident. managed to fit my michelan cyclocross mud2 on my rear of my track frame. a little ice, nothing insane, left a bit early and didnt and saw maybe two people on bikes (could have been due to my early depature).

todd

my bikes (pedal and motored) are all garaged for the duration.

Too slippery for bikes, not enough to ski on. This weather blows.