The Ride - by Andy

As Katie pointed out in the previous blog, I chose to bike to work the day after our big snow. I got all bundled up in about 4 layers, including a huge insulated jacket from work. I figured biking in the snow would be tough - there's snow, ice, cold and potentially drivers that are out of control. All this coupled with the fact that I would be riding at 5:30 in the morning when it is dark. None of it phased me. I had to complete at least one ride in the snow. So I packed my regular backpack goodies consisting of work clothes for the day, my lunch, a towel for my locker at work and a few extras for this day: mail to drop off down the street and 3 library books to return (the library is about 3/4 of the way to work). I scooted out into the street towards the mail box and muttered to myself, "this is gonna be fun." Sarcastically, of course. As I traveled down Minter Bridge Road, the main cross street to ours, I realized that the street itself is shaped a lot like the back of a spoon: the road rises in the middle. And therefore, about two blocks down this street, Accident #1 happened. My tires decided to slowly drift out from underneath me. As I saw the inevitable crash, I turned my back wheel out to lay the bike down (similar to how they do with motorcycles in the movies). I hit the ground sliding and stopped after about 20 feet. There was nobody else on the road so I just picked myself up and continued on. From this, I learned a very important lesson: Although the center of the road may look safer, it's actually in the snow on the side of the street that you get the most traction. Here I would try to remain for the rest of the trip. I tootled along at a blustery 11 mph and concentrated oh-so-hard at the road in front of me. I found that if my attention wandered, the odds of hitting a small bump that would send one of my tires sliding out from underneath me was high. At my halfway point (3 miles from home), I turn onto what is essentially the main drag between work and home. I expected to see some better clearing in the street (not necessarily plowed streets, just those nicely dried out tracks from numerous cars going down the road), but what I found was actually more snow than any other street of the ride. Apparently people were avoiding this street. I traveled on and made it to the library (about 4.5 miles from home and 1.5 miles to work). As I turned in to the driveway (oh-so-slowly, I could see the ice), I learned another important lesson: you don't turn your bike when you're riding on ice. You stop, turn the bike and continue riding straight. At this point, along came #2. I took the turn as wide and slow as I could, but the bike started to slide on the ice again. I put a foot down to help stay upright, but my foot went sliding along with it. So down I went again. I returned the books and made it to work. The ride got slightly easier as I neared work because the streets are busier (as if that's a good thing) and more snow was melted.

The ride home was less eventful and I even hit a break neck speed of 16mph! I went down one more time once I hit the spoon-shaped Minter Bridge Road and therefore banished myself to the sidewalk on the wrong side of the road, where the best traction-forming snow was. I made it home and made Katie take a picture of me.

The ride overall was a good one. For my three crashes, there was a countless number of close calls and none of them thankfully involved cars. I can now say I rode in the snow and I can make the educated choice not to. Especially not without the right equipment (my tires are mostly slick with only a few slits cut in them for traction. The snow quickly filled these slots and essentially turned my tires into racing slicks). The only casualty of the whole trip was my $10 side mirror that cracked during crash #3. Bummer. Below are pics of me in all my glory. I made it!

And for those of you concerned, I always have a front light, two rear lights and my cell phone for emergencies. :)

Note from Katie: Andy has been riding his bike to work most days since September. To date, he has ridden more than 600 miles to and from work and saved hundreds in gas money!