Overnight freeze leads to icy roads: Use caution until the thaw

What Adam said!

Additionally, the conditions you see in your neighborhood may be considerably different just a mile or two away.

Unless your trip is short enough that you’re nearly certain that the conditions won’t change over the length of the trip, you should assume that you might very well encounter much worse conditions after you leave home.

And it only takes one section of ice or, worse, one swerving automobile, to endanger you.

I’m originally from North Dakota, and moved back there briefly 2006-7. Since I never learned to drive, and public transit was sketchy, I was frequently obliged to ride on ice and frozen slush. Here’s my advice:

1. It is always more dangerous to walk on ice than to ride on it. The rubber on your tires is far softer than on your shoes and grip far better, especially at low tire pressure. If you have to walk, either buy strap-on crampons, or else use an electric screwdriver to screw sheet metal screws into the soles of your cold-weather sneakers/mountain bike shoes. (if you do so, walk very carefully on any carpet or tile.)

2. Lower your tire pressure to about 20 psi below the minimum recommended tire pressure stamped on you tires. Yes, it slows you down, but you are much less likely to wreck.

3. As someone else on this blog mentioned, ride as perpendicular to the roadway as you can at all times, even when cornering. Use your feet for balance (but not for traction.) Pretend you are a yoyo.

4. Learn how to crash. Roll when you fall. Never use the front brake (in fact, you may want to loosen the front brake to make it weaker.) Try to hit grass or leaf piles when you crash. It helps to practice before you decide to take a long ride. Wear lots of warm padded clothing. Layer a lot.

5. As with cars, bike 10 mph slower than you normally do. Give yourself lots of extra time.

6. Studded tires help, but only so much. Low-pressure knobbies (including cyclecross tires) work best. Umma Gummas are the very best, but hard to find.

7. Aim for sections with gravel or other grit, as well as manhole covers, for best traction.

8. Avoid shifting or changing gears. Use your water bottle to clean the slush off your chain periodically.

9. Hit as many snowbanks as you can. It’s actually a lot of fun!

Happy trails!

It’s not recommended, but far be it from me to tell anyone not to ride. I’ve got plenty of experience with these conditions and probably won’t even switch to the Schwalbe studs.