Slippery roads

Annie,

I always suggest that people should practice for these conditions. Jumping right into the thick of things is good practice, but some controlled experimentation is probably less likely to cause injury. :)

Take some time to just toot around on side-streets, parking lots, etc. to see how your bike handles with snow and ice on the road. Find the limitations of your bike handling abilities, break them (and fall a few times!), then learn to stay within those limitations.

The will also help you figure out how to counteract certain situations when things happen unexpectedly. Things to try:

• Hard braking with the rear wheel locked up. See how much grip you get, how much you skid, how you can handle the bike while it's skidding, etc.
• Check the limitations of front braking. Be careful with this....once you lock up the front wheel, you're likely to go down FAST. learn your limitations, and always be ready to ease off the brake immediately.
• Lots of cornering practice. Practice slowing down before cornering, and cornering while applying a bit of braking power.
• Practice turning without leaning too much. This usually means going pretty slow.
• Snow ruts caused by car tracks are a big pain in the ass. Practice getting stuck in them, and moving laterally in and out of them.
• etc...etc...

Alot of this will just become intuitive with a bit of experience and you won't even think about it anymore, but it's a matter of getting used to it.

As for the drivers....there's not much you can do to change their habits. But make sure you always give yourself some extra space around other vehicles. The usual year-round suggestions of staying visible and predictable, and watching the behaviour of everyone else around you apply even more.

On that note....I really need to get my winter bike back in roadworthy condition!

I got lots of practice on side roads that hadn't been ploughed yet this morning, as well as bikelanes that had been ploughed into. I didn't have the guts to try all of your suggested manoeuvers though - I don't think I can bring myself to deliberately skid just to see how I handle it. I realize that means one of these days I'll probably end up skidding by accident, and quite probably under circumstances that are not as safe, but I just couldn't do it. Nice ride, though, and the streets look pretty clean now. Here's hoping they don't freeze over between now and tonight.

Its always easier to ride on dry pavement. If the bike lane is full of snow, ride in a position that lets you ride in a relatively straight line without encountering slippery patches. When its quite visibly full of snow, drivers don't (generally) get angry as they can't really expect you to ride there. When there's black ice that you can see and they can't you may be subjected to more honking :)

But to minimize aggressiveness I still like to pick routes based on snow, no bike lane roads if possible (not only do they plow snow into the bike lanes but cars NOT driving in bike lanes means the snow is more likely to stick around!) For bike lane roads still nicer to have 4 regular lanes so that cars can pass by changing lanes. For two lane roads (with bike lane full of snow) where I need to take the lane or at least ride far enough out someone needs to cross the center to pass - I will move right into dry patches to let a following car that I see in my mirror pass.

I must mention though once last winter when I was in the "streetcar" lane to avoid snow/ice, I could see in my mirror a car was gaining on me far too fast with no signs of slowing, so I had to change lanes back into slippery land to avoid him (and I ended up wiping out in the curb lane on the slippery patch)

FWIW, snow makes a good cushion. Ice does not :)

I must say implementing more of the bike plan without coming up with a winter plan for snow removal makes things much worse for winter cycling. Cars are great at moving away small amounts of snowfall.

OK, so the target audience is a bit on the wee side. While I've done well on snowy roads, I won't do icy, so I didn't ride today. From what I saw of the roads while trying to maintain my balance walking on the slippery sidewalks, I think that was a good decision for me. Not sure what to do tomorrow, though, when I'm back downtown. Our street is sheer ice, but busier streets don't look too bad. For those who were in the West end/downtown area today, how does it look?

And then there are articles like this:

http://www.thestar.com/article/549652

and I think, "Heck, this is Toronto! What am I complaining about?"

Annie asked:
"For those who were in the West end/downtown area today, how does it look"

Kevin's answer:
Downtown looked good to me today. I was on Yonge Street and on the Wellesley/Hoskin/Harbord route. Yonge was clear and bare. Wellesley, etc, had ice in the bike lane in places, so I took the general traffic lane all the way. I saw about 20 people in the bike lane and none of them fell over, but I'm still not going to risk it.

I'm glad I rode this morning. Although my street is still solid ice, the rest of my route was in much better condition than either Monday or Tuesday and I would have really kicked myself if I'd taken the subway.

I'm still in denial about this whole winter cycling thing. I don't see myself as a winter cyclist, just someone who hasn't stopped riding for the year because the conditions haven't gotten really bad yet. My lock was frozen solid this morning, as was my back brake - two issues I hadn't bothered reading up about because I never thought I'd still be riding when it got cold enough to freeze my bike. And yet I still don't consider myself a winter cyclist because - well - it's really not that bad out there yet. :)

If I do make it thorugh the winter, I'll have you guys to thank for all the advice and hand holding I've gotten on this board!

I'm a wimp, and I switched to studded tires yesterday. Maybe now roads will be clear for the rest of you.

BTW, MEC is out of stock. Sweet Pete's still has some in stock. I went with the Marathon Winters in the 26" size. I used them last winter from late dec to the end of march, and I was very happy. SP had maybe another four or so in stock tuesday, for $70, which is much less than the official price ($78 US), or what Peter White charges. They had perhaps another ten studded tires of other types and sizes.

If you carry any luggage on your bike, make sure that the load is balanced on the bike.

I was caught in a winter storm last year and my bike wasn't well-balanced. I had a folding basket on the right side of my bike, and when loaded, my bike would lean towards the left to maintain balance.

When I applied the brakes before an intersection, my bike slipped sideways under me due to the uneven weight. I landed on both feet, with the momentum launching me forward a few steps. It was quite an experience. My bike went down 3 times that snowy day.

Yeah, the lesson is, make sure the load is well-balanced on the bike when riding on slippery surfaces.

Annie wrote:
"I don't see myself as a winter cyclist, just someone who hasn't stopped riding for the year because the conditions haven't gotten really bad yet."

Kevin's comment:
That's the best way to do things. Don't start in the middle of winter, just keep on riding. I myself do not ride on ice and am VERY careful riding on snow. I'm 46 years old and simply can't take a fall the way I could when I was half that age.

The City generally does a good job clearing general traffic lanes and a lousy job clearing bicycle lanes. Even bicycle lanes that have been "officially" cleared often have ice patches on them. So I ALWAYS take the general traffic lane during winter.

Toronto car drivers are usually rather good downtown, but there is, alas, a small minority that engages in illegal and aggressive behaviour such as illegal passing of cyclists. My response is to record the license plate number, take out my cell telephone and call Toronto police to complain about each incident. I have been solemnly assured that each complaint is taken seriously and that each and every time the car owner is interviewed and counselled by a police officer and charges laid as appropriate.

Since I generally have no witnesses, I am running on the assumption that "as appropriate" means if they confess to the crime. At the very least, having the police officer arrive at their home to discuss their behaviour may make them think twice.

I presume that this behaviour modification has had some success, for I have noticed that the number of incidents is way down in recent years. I have a lot more confidence winter cycling in Toronto than before.

Hi annie,

well done, good for you! winter riding is a state of mind, and preparedness. you're doing great!

bear in mind that softer rubber compound tires stay grippy in colder temperatures, while other tires become as hard as hockey pucks when cold. this is the fundamental difference between "all-season" and winter tires for automobiles, and why Quebec has wisely mandated winter tires across their province. "all-season" tires are a myth.

studded tires work well on ice and snow, which can be softer than pavement. on concrete, studded tires can be slippery. In any situation, ice is very unforgiving. best way to navigate ice is to avoid turning or changing balance. If you have to turn or shift weight, slow down, and anticipate slipping.

your practices are excellent, and rehearsing for incidents and sudden situations is a great idea. I am so thrilled that a few fellow cyclists offered you positive, productive suggestions!

one tip I bear in mind when falling is to remember to hold on to the handlebars. the reason for this is that the handlebars can actually absorb the force of the impact that would otherwise be transferred to your fingers, hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, collarbones, etc. also, trying to fall on your buttocks is somewhat safer, as the gluteal and thigh muscles are the strongest and most dense in the body.

layers are also a secret protection, because thick fleece covered with a good nylon shell will insulate against the force of a fall, and allow you to slide better. That's why falling onto snow in snow pants is far less painful than falling onto snow in shorts!

I am continuing to ride for the fifth year in a row. It's outstanding. I have just bought a new pair of Schwalbes, and am equipping my new winter commuter bike with them. Keep it up, hope to see you on the road sometime!

cheers,
brian

I was going to buy studded tires (I'm a wimp too) - went to the store ready to spend my hard earned money -and was told that I didn't need them (which has won that particularly store my undying customer loyalty - how many stores do you know of that actually discourage you from spending money?). I was told my tires had good treads, that studded tires are for riding on ice and that the metal bits would pop out over time riding on dry roads. That's all I have to go on when it comes to tire selection. As far as I'm concerned my bike is made of some kind of metal and it has two wheels with black tires on them. :)

trying to fall on your buttocks is somewhat safer, as the gluteal and thigh muscles are the strongest and most dense in the body

Yeah, and there's all the extra padding there to soften the landing. sigh

A bit late chiming in but I rode to work on Wednesday on Queen street and found it fine in terms of lack of ice. There was some ice in the gutters but not a place you want to ride anyway :) I find if there is a patch of ice I must go over (which incidentally usually happens because some uninformed person decides to shovel the sidewalk by flinging it all into the street willy-nilly, which then gets compacted by passing traffic...) I avoid accelerating and steering - just coast straight over.

As for side streets that are sheer ice, yeah often its bad if you just look out your own window before deciding :) So sometimes if the main roads are clear and sidestreets aren't I will walk the bike to/from the main road....

Judging by sidewalks is always tricky because unfortunately the city prioritizes roads over pedestrians (that and passing traffic helps avoid ice buildup to begin with) so sometimes the sidewalks can be a treacherous undertaking while biking is peachy fine.

In the winter I like a knobby mountain bike tire in front (reduce tire pressure if slippery, probably to minimum printed on the tire) - the front tire is more important for steering so ppl that only want to buy one studded tire should put it here. It seems to give more traction than my slicks increasing confidence changing lanes across snowy streetcar tracks etc...