Share your outdoor winter experiences
#52
Senior Member
#53
Sophomoric Member
I live in Michigan--definitely icy and windy, although we don't have a lot of hills here. I have always been outdoors every day, unless sick, whether on foot or on a bike, and I certainly don't have any special physical or mental attributes that make me cold-tolerant. I know the right clothing and gear to use, but anybody can learn that.
I have been carfree for at least half my life (I'm 62) and I've enjoyed myself and done as well as people who own cars. In fact, overall the carfree years were happier than the ones when I did own a car.
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"Think Outside the Cage"
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,748
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
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Somehow people survive artic climates. Cycling Can work in any environment which supports human life (people have ridden to the South Pole. Eagle Mountain man first to ride bike to South Pole | Eagle Mountain News | heraldextra.com
https://newatlas.com/south-pole-fat-trike/30245/)
That doesn't mean it works for everyone. For some the sacrifices are too great; for some, a bicycle cannot haul the loads required in the time allotted. For some the complications of transition from a form of physical exercise to other activities (people who need to dress well for work come to mind) outweigh the benefits. People with a lot of children or pets to haul often cannot use bikes.
So what? "Living car free" is not really a thing. Some people treat it like a holy state, and look down on those who occasionally get a ride from a friend ... and have complete disdain for people who actually own cars.
That's silly.
Riding a bike for transport is a choice, and the specific choice one makes bestows no moral inferiority or superiority. Evil people can live car-free. None of the world's greatest holy men even owned a bicycle.
If some days you say "It is too cold for me to want to ride" well ... good thing you have a car. If the next guy says, "I love riding when it is -7 F," well, lucky for him it is -7 F.
If you decide (and I have done this after my car-free days transitioned to car-lite) that even though it is 63 degrees, it is damp and windy and don't you don't feel like riding .... or if you think "It is a perfect day for riding ... but it is also a perfect day to drive my car," ... guess what? You are the same person either way.
I have discussed this in different places with different people ... car-free living is Often not practical, and for a lot of people even car-lite demands more than it delivers.
People who can live well without a car, or without using a car, are very lucky. Instead of looking down on others, they should look up and be grateful for their blessings.
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
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#57
Prefers Cicero
#58
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,748
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
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I wanted to second this post by Roody--
If it just doesnt work, it doesnt. But a lot of folks here might be able to provide practical suggestions to make it more practical.
#59
Been Around Awhile
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Burlington Iowa
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The only"practical advice" on making cycling work in such conditions that I remember seeing on this list are suggestions on the theme of HTFU and/or learning to enjoy adversity and bragging about it later.
#61
Sophomoric Member
It isn't for some people. But ...
Somehow people survive artic climates. Cycling Can work in any environment which supports human life (people have ridden to the South Pole. Eagle Mountain man first to ride bike to South Pole | Eagle Mountain News | heraldextra.com
https://newatlas.com/south-pole-fat-trike/30245/)
That doesn't mean it works for everyone. For some the sacrifices are too great; for some, a bicycle cannot haul the loads required in the time allotted. For some the complications of transition from a form of physical exercise to other activities (people who need to dress well for work come to mind) outweigh the benefits. People with a lot of children or pets to haul often cannot use bikes.
So what? "Living car free" is not really a thing. Some people treat it like a holy state, and look down on those who occasionally get a ride from a friend ... and have complete disdain for people who actually own cars.
That's silly.
Riding a bike for transport is a choice, and the specific choice one makes bestows no moral inferiority or superiority. Evil people can live car-free. None of the world's greatest holy men even owned a bicycle.
If some days you say "It is too cold for me to want to ride" well ... good thing you have a car. If the next guy says, "I love riding when it is -7 F," well, lucky for him it is -7 F.
If you decide (and I have done this after my car-free days transitioned to car-lite) that even though it is 63 degrees, it is damp and windy and don't you don't feel like riding .... or if you think "It is a perfect day for riding ... but it is also a perfect day to drive my car," ... guess what? You are the same person either way.
I have discussed this in different places with different people ... car-free living is Often not practical, and for a lot of people even car-lite demands more than it delivers.
People who can live well without a car, or without using a car, are very lucky. Instead of looking down on others, they should look up and be grateful for their blessings.
Somehow people survive artic climates. Cycling Can work in any environment which supports human life (people have ridden to the South Pole. Eagle Mountain man first to ride bike to South Pole | Eagle Mountain News | heraldextra.com
https://newatlas.com/south-pole-fat-trike/30245/)
That doesn't mean it works for everyone. For some the sacrifices are too great; for some, a bicycle cannot haul the loads required in the time allotted. For some the complications of transition from a form of physical exercise to other activities (people who need to dress well for work come to mind) outweigh the benefits. People with a lot of children or pets to haul often cannot use bikes.
So what? "Living car free" is not really a thing. Some people treat it like a holy state, and look down on those who occasionally get a ride from a friend ... and have complete disdain for people who actually own cars.
That's silly.
Riding a bike for transport is a choice, and the specific choice one makes bestows no moral inferiority or superiority. Evil people can live car-free. None of the world's greatest holy men even owned a bicycle.
If some days you say "It is too cold for me to want to ride" well ... good thing you have a car. If the next guy says, "I love riding when it is -7 F," well, lucky for him it is -7 F.
If you decide (and I have done this after my car-free days transitioned to car-lite) that even though it is 63 degrees, it is damp and windy and don't you don't feel like riding .... or if you think "It is a perfect day for riding ... but it is also a perfect day to drive my car," ... guess what? You are the same person either way.
I have discussed this in different places with different people ... car-free living is Often not practical, and for a lot of people even car-lite demands more than it delivers.
People who can live well without a car, or without using a car, are very lucky. Instead of looking down on others, they should look up and be grateful for their blessings.
__________________
"Think Outside the Cage"
#63
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,748
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
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#64
Prefers Cicero
#65
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 15,748
Bikes: 2015 Workswell 066, 2017 Workswell 093, 2014 Dawes Sheila, 1983 Cannondale 500, 1984 Raleigh Olympian, 2007 Cannondale Rize 4, 2017 Fuji Sportif 1 LE
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In any case ... People who need to justify themselves to others aren't doing it right.
In any case .... I think anybody who isn't already dead is pretty lucky. can we safely shake hands over that highly controversial concept?
(Ha ha ... fooled you into thinking about shaking hands with an imaginary, imagined, virtual entity.)
#66
Prefers Cicero
Actually no. It's usually true, but occasionally people would prefer to be dead already - say if they have a painful terminal illness.
#67
I have a very different perception .. and while I am clinically insane (and in fact only a figment of my own imagination (which is why I worry about You.... you keep talking to me like I am a figment of Your imagination .... but I am not here at all)) my particular psychosis is bolstered by the fact thatothers here have mentioned having this same perception.
.... I think anybody who isn't already dead is pretty lucky. can we safely shake hands over that highly controversial concept?
(Ha ha ... fooled you into thinking about shaking hands with an imaginary, imagined, virtual entity.
.... I think anybody who isn't already dead is pretty lucky. can we safely shake hands over that highly controversial concept?
(Ha ha ... fooled you into thinking about shaking hands with an imaginary, imagined, virtual entity.
…One other whimsical technique on familiar roads [to alleviate boredom] is to imagine I'm riding with a certain fellow BF subscriber from the Midwest I enjoy reading, and I'm showing him around on my route. I particularly enjoy having visitors to Boston and take them on tours…
Originally Posted by Steven Wright
”I have an imaginary friend,but he won’t play with me.”
If you’d like to go for a ride with me here in Boston, come on down...Steve is too slow.
#68
I CAN look down on people for any number of reasons related to driving, but in practice I choose to love people and forgive them for their bad habits because no one is perfect.