Rethinking Lifestyle

In previous columns Gary Snyder and Pat Marten have written about why they cycle through the winter. Both of them need to get to their job every day and this needs to happen reasonably efficiently. This need affects their approach cycling, particularly winter cycling.

I am in a different situation. I am retired. I don’t need to get to a job, nevertheless I still want to get around reasonably efficiently. I also want to be physically fit, I want to live comfortably within my means, and I want to do my part to pass a friendly world on to my children and grandchildren.

I frequently encounter people who express incredulity when they hear I am cycling in wintertime. My response is that when moving between two points within Steinbach, you have four options:

1. Get into a cold car, and arrive at your destination cold (with no sense of accomplishment),
2. warm up your car for 15 minutes, get into a warm car and get to your destination warm (also with no sense of accomplishment),
3. walk to your destination appropriately dressed, arriving warm and invigorated, but late, or
4. bike to you destination appropriately dressed, arriving warm, invigorated and on time.

Cycling in winter is not as challenging as it appears to be. The longest winter run I make in winter  is less than 5 km. This allows me to get from my house to any point in Steinbach. For that I do not need special clothing, and the only adaptation I need with respect to my bike is fenders (for those slushy days). Before I leave home I decide what I am going to wear. If I decide well, I am comfortable when I reach my destination. If I decide poorly, I’m either hot or cold. The clothing that would keep me warm walking will also keep me warm cycling. Actually, because cycling requires more physical exertion than walking, I frequently wear slightly less when I am cycling.

Face protection is essential. I now prefer a wool scarf to a belaklava. The scarf covers the lower half of my face and a good tuque drawn well down covers my forehead. I cover the scarf and toque with the light hood on my ski-jacket, draw the string tight, and am ready to face all but the coldest, strongest north wind.

But wind is a challenge – not because it is cold, but because it drifts snow. Cycling after a light snowfall is no problem, but needing to cycle through drifted snow, may be reason enough to park the bike and walk. Fortunately the City of Steinbach is very good at plowing both our streets and sidewalks. Once the streets have been plowed and the intersections sanded, cycling is really no problem.

The occasional wipe-out when cycling in winter is inevitable. Rutted streets are especially bad. But the chance of injury as a result of a wipe-out in winter time is low. Packed snow is not nearly as hard as concrete or gravel, and winter clothing gives significant protection. Icebike, a biking website, did a survey of winter cyclists and found that all had had unplanned encounters with the ground, but where this happened in winter time, less than 1% of such accidents required hospitalization.