Winter is right around the corner.
 

The arm warmers have been on for a month now, and the leg warmers have made a couple visits already. Winter is just a hop skip and jump away, and I'm can't wait to go play in the snow.

I'm hearing rumors about frost tonight. Too soon!

Bring it on....I am looking forward to it.

I'm looking forward to playing in the snow.

Going to be cold this weekend.

Alabama hit 102°F today! Winter? If that's winter, bring it on! I'm going water skiing. :twitchy:

It snowed a foot in Calgary a week ago. Am not happy

Dude, you're Looney Tunes! but I mean that in the best way possible. this is the kind of thing ppl think of but never execute. well done! you've been saving this one! thinking it's time to bring the palm plants in

I'm going to miss winter this year...just a little bit :(

I did bring a pair of lightly studded tires down to North Carolina - it will be priceless to see the looks if there is actually snow or ice :lol:

Winter is right around the cornerOn several threads, I have posted my slogan for winter riding, “Gear and Gumption,” obviously mostly clothing. For me, it takes a while to make the transition between warm and cold and vice versa. As for the bicycle, the definitive transition to winter is mounting the studded tires, early in December, and removal signals winter is over, usually in late March.

PS: And I transition entirely to the beater bike with the studded tires until a late winter storm thoroughly rinses off the road salt; then I bring out the pristine carbon fiber road bike.

I remember walking into Chapel Hill through 8" of fresh snow to try to get my brother a good calculator on closeout at the bookstore. (Missed my chance, I was #23 for about 8 calculators that were on sale.)

I also remember waiting for a bus after another snow. An idiot in a car slid to a stop at a traffic light, then spent 2-3 minutes trying to start again. He eventually gunned it, spun his tires until they melted down through the ice and hit pavement, giving him enough momentum to get rolling.

Drivers here aren't any better. My winter slogan is, "When we're playing bumper cars, I want 3,000 pounds on my side."

I can deal with the near freezing cold we've had all this month, but not in addition to the 40 to 60 km/h wind nearly every day. It is just plain miserable to ride in. 3 years in a row the fall weather has been 10C below normal, maybe its the new normal. Half the farmers crops are stuck out in the fields again due to record intermittent rain. Usually the wind is all blown out by October making for cool but pleasant riding.

I haven't let the cold temps stop me yet. I'm in Wisconsin and the last three nights have been pretty cold. I think last night it was in the high 30's when I went but it was colder the other night because it was a lot windier on the 11th. Last night there wasn't much wind. I'm right off Lake Michigan but the wind has been from the west lately.

I just bundle up and it's no big deal. But I'm only going around 2 miles for some mild exercise. Nothing like what some of you probably do. I don't plan on stopping, although I'm not really sure what I'm going to do once the roads get icy or snowy. I'm not sure I have the right tires for it or not.

I'll say this, it's been windier than normal and my legs are getting more of a workout the last few nights.

If you guys have any tips on tires, I'm all ears. My main two bikes are a chinese Schwinn cruiser with the stock tires and I also ride a mid 90's schwinn mountain bike that I put more like street tires on it. I actually feel like the cruiser tires are better when I go over gravel. They make the bike feel more stable. I think it's cuz they don't have much of a curve to them and the mountain bike tires I have on there are a lot more rounded.

Here's a pic from the night of the 12th (last pic).

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7318109838.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4740523177.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0723c039c.jpg

Yep. Got to get the wood in before snow falls. We've got 40F here at the moment. I've had to actually wear clothes. I'm usually a T-shirt guy, but long sleeves are de rigueur for the time being. I've been working on the lighting in my shop, but after that gets done, I'll start a build thread here. I want to build a bike suitable for rain and cold weather/winter.

Hey NoControl if you don't mind me asking but where in NH do you live. I believe you had mentioned in a different thread you have been on the bike path in Winchendon.

I think I started a post in the Northeast riding forum about the Winch/Gardner trail.

Today was almost 60 degrees. Quite lovely.

I'm in the Contoocook Valley Region.

You would think Michigan drivers would be more than acquainted with winter driving conditions. Nope! First decent snow results a bumper car tournament. They seem to have short memories.

You must be from a different part of Michigan. :)

Every few years, when we have snow or ice, this area shuts down for a half a day or a day to let it all melt. Then for the rest of the week, everybody from up north regales us with stories from there. There's a fleet of snow plows in every hamlet waiting to catch every snowflake. Drivers from up there know how to handle snow and ice. Everyone puts on snow tires before the first snow. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Funny thing is that, despite how much better things are north of here, hardly anyone wants to move back there. Even though there's not many of us riding bikes through the "winter," the fact that we can seems attractive to a lot of people.

The weather says we are suppose to have freezing temps and snow on the 31st. But then it sounds like the middle of November before it goes freezing again. I think I'll hold off on the studded tires a little longer.

It got up to 64F here with some sunshine today, but I've had such a wicked cold. My throat feels like its on fire after a short ride not to mention the copious flow of snot to deal with. :notamused:

Working on a winter build though! I'll start a build thread soon. :thumb:

Seems like winter is here, but will it stay. Cold enough for the 5-6 cm of snow we got to not melt. I didn't get out today because 40 km/h wind plus active snow makes for a miserable ride, what with snow immediately melting on contact with face causing rapid cooling. A brief warm up for a few days later in the week before getting colder, probably not enough to melt what we got.

I actually love this time of year. Last night my bike ride was 45 degrees and no wind. Crisp and cool and really enjoyable. The other night it was about the same temp and raining and that was actually invigorating. I prefer this over really hot. Although in the summer when I'd wait until late it usually wasn't overly hot.

I did figure something out last night, I think I'll either put my fenders back on or just ride my wifes bike in the wet. It leave less of a mess on my jacket that I wear for riding. Which I also wear for normal stuff too. LOL.

We had a few warm days in a row which left crusty ice in the alleys and shaded side streets this morning. That stuff is plenty of fun on a studded fat bike, the studs have plenty to grab onto so I can ride as hard as I want to. Reminded me of my end of season rides when everything is melting but sets up overnight. Some fresh snow / rain tonight and tomorrow, then some cold days, warms days, then back to cold.

I've held off putting the studded tires on my other bikes, but I think the ice is here to stay.