Making the most of biking in the cold

January 10, 6:26 PMUpstate NY Alternative Transportation ExaminerAndrew Bernstein

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Buried and cold!

It's a tough time of the year for bicycle commuters here in the northeast. Not only do we have to fight the cold, roads made narrower by encroaching snowbanks, and drivers peering through windows in various states of frostiness, but we've also got local merchants and municipal crews burying our bike racks (and bikes, see right1) in snow, as I recently witnessed here in Saratoga Springs. And, all of that is to say nothing of the pain that comes when your fingers, toes, ears, and nose begin to thaw out after a frigid ride.

To help keep your wheels rolling in these, the cold months, I've got five tips for winter riding, cultivated after years of riding in conditions that send most people looking for the car keys.

1) Leave the helmet at home.

Well, leave the bike helmet at home. Those nice vents that keep you cool in the summer will leave you with an ice-cream headache all winter long, and even the thinnest skull cap will change the way your normally-comforatable helmet fits, while doing an inadequate job of keep the drafts out.

Instead, try riding in a ski helmet. Although not specifically designed for cycling, these helmets are made of similar materials, and designed to withdstand impacts at skier-speed, which easily exceeds the speeds most of us reach on our daily commutes. Best of all, they're insulated, and either vent-less or have vents that can easily closed, to keep your head nice and toasty.

2) Run treaded tires at low pressure.

Traction is key to riding in the winter, and if you live in an area where the job done to clear roadways is questionable at best, it's a good idea to invest in a pair of cyclocross tires with a low tread for your commuter (make sure you check the wheel size, and buy a compatible tire). If you ride a bike with mountain wheels, you're probably already set with a tread.

Everyone should run a litttle less pressure in their tires, to help you stay upright on snowy shoulders. A good rule of thumb is to run 10-15 psi less than you ordinarily would. You'll wind up going a little slower, but it's winter! You should be going slower anyway...

3) Cover your eyes.

This one appleis to summer riding too, but in the dark days of winter, when overcast is the rule. it's easy to forget about eye-protection and leave the shades at home. Don't. If you're riding on roads, there can just as easily be dirt flying in the air as in summer, and squirting water in your eye to clean it out is not fun when it's 10 degrees out!

If it's really cold, this can be another opportunity to break out the ski gear, and use your ski gogles, which will protect your eyes, while keeping a good part of your face warm.

4) Light up!

No, I would never advocate smoking, but I would advocate investing in a set of small lights that you can leave mounted on your bike during the short days of winter. Knog makes a nice one, reviewed here. I have two, a white one on my handlebar and a red one on my seatpost.

Either can be set to blink or to run steady. So, my rear light blinks, the front one stays on. When I'm riding to work in the morning, the lights are there and out of the way. When I arrive at work, they're easily removed to avoid theft, and easily remounted at the end of the work day.

If you're the sort of glutton for punishment who rides for pleasure during the winter, leaving small lights on your bike is a kind of insurance policy in the event you're out after dark -- because, even though we all plan to be home before dark, even the best-laid plans sometimes don't work out!

5) Don't forget to maintain.

Keeping your bike clean is especially important in the winter, when road salt and dirt abound. if you're the anal type, your probably already washing your bike after each ride. For the rest of us, it's a good idea to clean the salt of your bike at least once a week, even if that just means applying a quick coat of oil to the chain and wiping down the frame. Nothing eats a drive train like salt, so keep your bike sodium-free as much as possible.

There are lots of other tricks to riding safe and warm in the winter. Write in with your favorite winter tip!