Tonight's Ride on the LFP Was Everything I Love About Winter Biking!

Around mid day today I started hearing around my office how miserable the weather would be this evening once the snow started. Lots of sighs and swearing about Chicago weather.

I was having drinks with several friends in River North after work and they suggested that I better be extra careful and think about putting my bike on the bus rather than ride home.My anxiety level was growing.

Around 8 pm I headed down Grand to the LFP.  It  was sufficiently windy that I figured I'd take Dearborn north and then snake along the zoo parking lot/Sheridan/inner drive to Uptown.  

So I took a few side streets  up to Michigan and Oak thinking I'd cut over to Dearborn. However, the traffic was sufficiently heavy, and the winds sufficiently light, that I decided to jump on the LFP.

Wow. I am glad I did.  I had just a beautiful ride home.

There was very little wind on the LFP and about 3/4 to 1" of fresh snow (see photos below).  As I had biked in on the path in the am, I knew there wasn't ice underneath the snow. It was the perfect amount of snow for steady cruising yet there was enough traction so I didn't have to worry about slipping.  

This is my fifth winter of bike commuting so I've built up the right clothing collection to stay warm.  As a result,  I find 20 degrees and above  bike riding quite pleasant (as far as winter biking goes:)

My 25" Schwalbe Winter Marathon tires gave me great grip on the snow. I'm aided by the fact that I ride a hybrid. I would never try and ride the LFP on a road bike in the winter.

Even though I was riding next to the backed up traffic on LSD, there was a wonderful sense of solitude and quiet on the path.  I passed no bikes the entire trip home and only two runners.

The fact that there was fresh snow with no ice underneath made for an incredibly smooth ride.  It was like being a kid again for the season's first major snowfall!

So I'll close with two thoughts.

One, try and not get caught up in the winter weather hysteria.  It's easy to get so embroiled  in the cold/snow talk that we make the weather more difficult to deal with than it truly is.  

Second, I know many of you are apprehensive about winter biking.  I would say with a little investment in proper clothing the concerns about getting cold are overblown and if you can ride on the streets with bike lanes the riding is not that difficult. In general at least on the NE side the city does a great job of plowing and salting.  

I for one have not had issues with ice and falls - of course I"m fortunate to ride major streets like Clark, Grand, etc.  For the most part I avoid riding at night in the winter as I don't believe that cars expect to encounter bikers.

So get out there and enjoy!