Christmas Eve, and the temperature outside is 17 degrees Fahrenheit.That’s 7 degrees below zero Celsius.
I am wearing trousers over sweatpants, a flannel shirt over a T-shirt, and a watch cap. That way, I am comfortable with the thermostat in our house set below 60. Church, with Christmas Eve service, is 1 1/2 miles away. There is a good, reliable car in the driveway.
I put on a fleece jacket, and over that a parka; my cycling shoes, which I bought a half-size large so they would fit over two layers of wool socks; I tuck the cuffs of my trousers into the socks; I don my bicycle helmet. reflectorized legbands and vest, lastly fleece-lined leather mittens.
I disconnect the battery for my bicycle lights from its charger and carry it out to the garage. I slip it into a pocket of the touring bag on my Raleigh Twenty bicycle, and plug it in.
The streets are almost empty. I am comfortable and warm except for the parts of my face that are not covered by my beard or eyeglasses. The exercise feels great. In 12 minutes, I am at church. I park my bicycle against a railing right in front of the door.
It took me about ten minutes to get ready for this ride. I could have gotten into the car and been at church just as soon, even counting the extra walk from where I would have had to park.
Nobody but me, of the 60 or so people at the service, arrived at the church on a bicycle. How many people would go to the trouble to take a short trip like this on a bicycle in the cold and the dark? Well, there’s your answer, for now.
As for me, why did I? Certainly not to save time. I do reflect on the irony of a worship service which makes such a contribution to use of non-renewable resources and environmental degradation, but as one among 60, I’m not doing much to turn the tide on that. I did win on comfort — I was warm from the indoor heat when leaving my home, then from exercise inside all those layers of clothing. If I’d dressed for the cold in the car, than I’d have been sweaty once the car warmed up. Mostly, though, I rode my bicycle because outdoor exercise is the only way I know to beat the winter blues.
Cold weather is not conducive to long bicycle tours, because feet might get cold, because there’s no way just to sit down and rest comfortably on a park bench or a stump by the side of the road; because most social activity happens indoors.
On the other hand, winter cold poses little problem for short cycling trips. Summer heat and humidity are much worse — ever notice how in hot countries, people switch from bicycles to motor scooters as soon as rising income makes that possible? In cold weather, though, motor scooters really lose out.
A hot climate is a serious impediment to transportation bicycling; cold weather needn’t be, as long as the streets are clear. In winter, there’s no sweat, and no need to freshen up or change clothes on reaching one’s destination — only strip off the extra layers.
Getting ready does take extra time, though, and for shorter trips this can be a concern. Ice and snow in the streets also certainly can be a problem, though there were none on that Christmas Eve. I do have studded snow tires for one of my bicycles, though I haven’t taken the trouble yet to install them. The streets get cleared soon enough here that there are only a few days each winter when I would need them.
For me, the feeling of physical well-being justifies the extra time getting ready. Yet, often I pass people at bus stops who spend more time waiting than I did getting ready for my ride, and who are stomping their feet to stoke up the warmth that I get automatically from cycling.
When I get where I am going, some people marvel at how I could brave the cold, to which I reply: people go to Vermont to ski down mountains. I’m getting as much exercise as they do, with much less wind chill!
I enjoy riding in winter, and maybe I can encourage you to give it a try if you don’t do it already. But I don’t expect to attract a massive following. Come to think of it I have read that Boston’s Hubway community bicycle program has shut down for the winter — which makes sense, I suppose, as a business decision.
I guess I don’t know I’d agree that heat is a greater impediment to cycling than cold. The four times last year I drove to work were all cold days. Black ice simply doesn’t form when it is hot. Other than that, hot and cold – it is what you get used to.
Willingness to ride in the heat depends on how much time you are willing to spend at the end of the trip, on how much appearance matters, and on whether showering and changing facilities are available. Slow rides on level terrain are less trouble in the heat. When I came in out of the cold to the church service, on the other hand, all I had to do was strip off the extra layers and tame the helmet hair.
I can’t say I have found this to be the case. There is more to put on and take off when riding in the cold, and my business attire is not season dependent. Perhaps John needs to spend a year riding in North Texas and I need to brave frigid Boston!
Isn’t it funny how even in a contemplative place like a church, people do not always think fully about the consequences of their actions?
My Ph.D. advisor, an avid cyclist for both transportation and enjoyment, goes to a Unitarian church on Long Island. He and his wife’s contribution one year, after he spent a sabbatical in Germany, was to pay to install bike parking at church. Long Island is a nearly ideal place to ride. Well, the Eastern end, anyway, which is where Stony Brook is located.
Climate extremes pose problems and intensify the need for destination facilities above and beyond a place to park. Not to mention, the need for roadway maintenance if cities insist on building bike lanes/paths/whatevers. We recently had a bad spate of black ice after a very active December storm period. This, when combined with our hills, made for some treacherous riding and pretty much made it necessary to abandon most of the fancy bike lanes we just put in. If that was the norm during winter, I would invest in some studded snows, but it so rare that I either make do with cyclocross tires or use the car. Having crashed both my bicycles and motorcycles on black ice in my efforts to use gasoline-lite transportation, it is not something I relish doing again as I get towards my sixtieth trip around the sun. But with proper equipment its not bad.
Heat here is not so bad because the relative humidity is so low. One can moderate one’s ride, even on our hills, and not work up much of a sweat and smell. I make sure my commuter bikes have wide range gearsets so I can ride comfortably at a moderate pace. I have access to a locker room and change at work out of bike clothing to preserve appearances. On the way home, I will ride hard for exercise.
Heat in Honolulu was more of a problem due too the high humidity. Anything over a couple miles of slow riding has you drenched. I had a twelve mile commute to the university, so a shower, change of clothing, and even washing and hanging out my bike togs were all required. But traffic was so heavy in East Oahu that the time commitment during rush hour worked about about a draw. Not to mention, I arrived at work fresh and happy rather than spouting obscenities at traffic.
Maybe I’m just used to it, but it doesn’t seem like that much more trouble to me. As you say, using a bike still requires much less time, and provides more independence, than using a bus. Still, I do feel somewhat like an astronaut on my winter commute, especially going home. Get all the clothing on, in the right order, then flick all the light switches (including the battery-op holiday lights on my hybrid, my “running lights”) — it’s pretty much a “pre-flight checklist”.
As you say, clothing is pretty simple in the winter. I just commute in my business-casual work clothes, add windbreaker, boots (plain pedals), mittens, and various face treatments depending on the temp. An additional thing I do that you didn’t mention is carry tissues with me, to blow my nose when I go inside, in case a bathroom stop is not convenient.
What I wish people would realize is that, while the effort of any given individual trip might be greater with a bicycle than with a car, the total effort of bicycle transportation as a habit is much less than that for a car.
Hi John,
Like you, I am what one of my Jewish friends calls a “MESHUGGINA” for riding 8-9 miles each way to work in winter (Cleveland in my case). Biggest problem after the traction issues you mention is getting salt on steel components and grit in the chain.
But I do find it invigorating, or as you say, it helps with winter blues. Few understand that.
— Fred
Hi, John. If that first comment bothers you, just delete it. No offense taken.
Which first comment? I don’t’ see an earlier one from you. Steve is entitled to his opinion. Certainly, ice and snow are a problem but cold, in my experience, is less of an issue for typical transportation bicycling than is heat.
I imagine Khal had something in mind, but I don’t imagine he was referring to my comment. We’ve had enough contact that he knows how to get hold of me if he thought I’d gotten carried away. BTW, worse than either hot OR cold is both in one trip. Between Monday and today, we had a high of 73 and a low of 27. Yesterday, it was 15F colder on the way home than on the way in to work. Unusual even for North Texas.
I’m a bike commuter – always have been. I primarily cycle to get somewhere. Not that it’s not fun, but to me, cycling just to get back to where I started at the end of the day never really appealed to me. But my point is, I commute, so avoiding cycling in winter is not really an option.
And there are lots of things to like about winter cycling. You get to experience the adventure of harsh weather, which is something most people (strangely) seem to want to avoid. You get to see animals on the commute that haven’t been startled by chattering humans, because no one is outside. You get people telling you you’re crazy for cycling in the weather, which is always a good conversation starter and a great way to sell cycling.
Yeah, it’s cold, but that’s why we invented layers and discovered the value of wool. Exercise helps to get the blood distributing heat too. It’s all good!
Since I put on about 40lbs in my 40s, these days I actually have more trouble when it’s hot.
i sent this in. I think it was an ISP problem.
Isn’t it funny how even in a contemplative place like a church, people do not always think fully about the consequences of their actions?
My Ph.D. advisor, an avid cyclist for both transportation and enjoyment, goes to a Unitarian church on Long Island. He and his wife’s contribution one year, after he spent a sabbatical in Germany, was to pay to install bike parking at church. Long Island is a nearly ideal place to ride. Well, the Eastern end, anyway, which is where Stony Brook is located.
Climate extremes pose problems and intensify the need for destination facilities above and beyond a place to park. Not to mention, the need for roadway maintenance if cities insist on building bike lanes/paths/whatevers. We recently had a bad spate of black ice after a very active December storm period. This, when combined with our hills, made for some treacherous riding and pretty much made it necessary to abandon most of the fancy bike lanes we just put in. If that was the norm during winter, I would invest in some studded snows, but it so rare that I either make do with cyclocross tires or use the car. Having crashed both my bicycles and motorcycles on black ice in my efforts to use gasoline-lite transportation, it is not something I relish doing again as I get towards my sixtieth trip around the sun. But with proper equipment its not bad.
Heat here is not so bad because the relative humidity is so low. One can moderate one’s ride, even on our hills, and not work up much of a sweat and smell. I make sure my commuter bikes have wide range gearsets so I can ride comfortably at a moderate pace. I have access to a locker room and change at work out of bike clothing to preserve appearances. On the way home, I will ride hard for exercise.
Heat in Honolulu was more of a problem due too the high humidity. Anything over a couple miles of slow riding has you drenched. I had a twelve mile commute to the university, so a shower, change of clothing, and even washing and hanging out my bike togs were all required. But traffic was so heavy in East Oahu that the time commitment during rush hour worked about about a draw. Not to mention, I arrived at work fresh and happy rather than spouting obscenities at traffic.