The Riding Reporter‘s Anne-Marije Rook made this video yesterday in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood:
With powdery snow on the ground and most cars staying in driveways or buried under snow in the streets, many of the adventurous souls who ventured out on two wheels yesterday described the experience as a biking paradise.
OK, maybe “paradise” is stretching things, but wide-open roads and lots of natural traffic calming bring peace to the streets. Well, so long as there isn’t an out of control car or bus sliding down the hill toward you.
People waved as I rode passed them and the handful of fellow bikers I saw riding through snowy Seattle gave me a thumbs-up.
I don’t think I have ever had as much fun bike commuting around the quiet neighborhood roads as I did this morning. Most back roads were untouched and the snow crunched under my tires as I made the first tracks of the day.
Mike Lindblom at the Times caught up with a commuter from West Seattle headed downtown on a bike because it’s “more reliable.”
Gregg Ridgeway, who normally bikes to work downtown from West Seatte, stuck with it Wednesday morning, instead of taking a bus or car. He rode down Genessee Hill — which buses weren’t using — at 8 a.m. with one hour to get downtown and open a bank branch where he’s manager.
Looking for advice making your bike more snow-friendly? Biking Bis has some great ideas. Also, Dutch Bike Co’s zip tie snow tire solution is basically famous now. Seems like every person I’ve talked to about snow biking the past couple days has mentioned it.
Today saw a lot of ice falling, and the city is warning about icy roads as night falls. Ice riding is a lot harder than snow riding, so be prepared and use your common sense out there!
Most of all, though, have fun! And be sure to send or tweet us your photos (or, of course, add them to the Seattle By Bike Flickr pool, which has some good ones already).
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4 responses to “Snow won’t stop the Riding Reporter (and many others) + VIDEO”
Based on track evidence, I was the only cyclist to ride through the new “Jungle” trail last night, after going S on slushy Boren Ave. to check on SDOT’s work around 8:30 p.m. Big mistake because the powder had turned to a frosty, impassable topcoat. And my new beachbike chain fell off 5x. Still, the long trip was fun. Hats off to people who are dogged enough to ride every day.
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I got out about 35 miles on my cross bike the last few days. No modifications needed, just rode slightly lower tire pressure on my Mud 2 tires. I had a blast.
Your guys rock. I admit it stopped me. I fell on my arse a couple times and learned my lesson!