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You are here: Home / Sidesaddle Blog / HOW TO COMMUTE DURING THE DEEP FREEZE.

HOW TO COMMUTE DURING THE DEEP FREEZE.

December 4, 2015 By Whitney McKiddy 4 Comments

There’s cold, and then there’s winter bike commuting. 

SnowyDay

On snowy days, take the time to stop and smell the frostbite.

 

Coming from Montana, I thought I could handle any weather that Vermont blew my way – but when wind chill kicked the temperature down to almost 40 below zero last year, I was a bit out of my element.

When you commute during this cripplingly cold season, you need more than great gear (my recommendations can be found here) you also need some serious mental discipline. As your wheels are spinning it’s easy for certain thought patterns to pop up in your head:

  • I wonder if I’ll still have fingers when I get to work…
  • At what temperature will my eyelids freeze together?
  • Has time – along with everything else – also frozen?

And although there’s no way to completely kick those thoughts, here are some of my tricks for feeling the warmth of gratitude towards your icy trudge.

  • Remember all of the bugs you encounter during the summer? Well that isn’t a problem now.
  • What about the insane bike traffic, dogs on leashes and toddlers toddling – nope, none of that anymore either.
  • Nose continually running? That’s okay! There’s no one else on the bike path to interfere with your air-hanky.

Winter commuting is a different beast. It’s slow going, so remember to stop (or just ride slowly, so as not to freeze) and appreciate that you have the opportunity to be here with crisp air in your lungs and wind in your hair.

20150119_080859See you out there!

Whitney McKiddy

Filed Under: Sidesaddle Blog Tagged With: bicycle adventures, Fat Bike, Mental Conditioning, Surly Pugsley, training tips, Winter Cycling, women and Fat bikes, women's cycling


Comments

  1. Carlyn says

    December 6, 2015 at 9:27 am

    Invest in a fatbike!

    Reply
  2. Nancy says

    December 6, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    Great article!

    Reply
  3. Gayda says

    December 6, 2015 at 4:38 pm

    Your link to the great gear didn’t work on my computer. Otherwise, excellent article from a former bicycle commuter who has only ridden once in the snow.

    Reply
    • Whitney McKiddy says

      December 6, 2015 at 8:52 pm

      Gayda, thank you! We have repaired the link and very much appreciate your feed back.

      Reply

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