Slippin' and Slidin'

Haven't made an entry in a while. No matter, this blog continues to serve its purpose in keeping me dedicated and motivated to bike through out winter. I haven't missed a day and it's been cold, with temps hanging around 0 degrees F. Plenty of snow too. I get a little more comfortable with it every day and I always look forward to my ride home when I can take my time and detours. The back streets are so quiet this time of year. Regardless, I don't see myself hanging it up anytime soon. By the time Spring rolls around, I'll be closing in on one year of bicycle commuting.

In the meantime, I've been busying myself assembling the Surly Cross Check. I've decided to go the singlespeed route with this bike. Between eBay and my favorite used bike shop I've been able to keep the cost reasonable. No big hurry as I don't plan on putting it on the street until Spring. I have two other bikes to do maintenance on this winter. I'm hoping to be pretty self-sufficient on this front. Neither of my bikes have likely ever had much maintenance beyond air in the tires, so it should be fun. Come to think of it, I promised my wife I'd tune up her bike also. I best get going on this. I enjoy the wrenching as much as riding.

Enough for now. If there's anyone out there, let me encourage you to give the winter riding a try. It's better than you can imagine!

Mmm mmm good

I missed a few days from my goal of a daily post. The weather has been fairly brutal in Saint Paul, but it could easily be worse. We've had a fair amount of snow other the past week with low temps continuing at around 0 degrees F. Saturday proved that rutted, compacted snow is more of a hazard than ice. I'm calling on some of the skills gained as a kid riding off road motorcycle. Keep your weight back, speed up, and a loose grip on the bars.

For whatever reason, I'm enjoying the winter cycling quite a bit. It no longer seems like a chore at all. Dress for it and equip the bike for it and it;s a real pleasure. I've lived in this climate for along time but have never cared for winter. This helps.

I ran across a decent deal on a Surly Crosscheck and now am looking forward to building the bike up. I'm considering all possibilities in the build; singlespeed, maybe a 3-speed internal gear, options for brakes, handlebars, the list goes on and on. Winter's only begun, so I believe I'll take my time.

Trekking Handlebars

I had a chance to install the trekking style handlebars today. I wanted to have more real estate to mount lights on and to add some different hand positions for longer rides. You can see from the first picture that there's now plenty of room. I've mounted both a blinking light and a steady light to my handlebars. The strobe light really seems to get peoples attention and I like that.


I took the bike for a quick spin and so far, so good. To be fair, I should withhold judgment until I've had them on a while. It's been snowing just about every day for a week now, so the studded tires are getting a real workout. Enjoy the picts and view of life in the frozen north.

Not crazy

Now it's starting to happen. The road's been bad enough for a while and people at work pretty much seem to think you'd need to be crazy to go out in that mess on a bicycle. That's ok with me. There's a certain glamor attached to being a hardcore. No one believes that it's not that bad with the proper tires.

I don't think I can go on posting the highlights of my daily commute. It's getting boring to me. If you're following this blog you may be in the same boat. I'm thinking about maybe doing some equipment reviews, perhaps I'll share some of the profound thoughts I have while biking. We'll have to see.