If the ride this morning had been mid November and our first snow of the year I would have tho't "wow, so pretty" but seeing as it's been a long winter and we had the pleasure of dry pavement for a few days, this morning was discouraging. Nevertheless, did it, made it, will do it again tonight and tomorrow morning....sigh. No issues except for the dude who blew past me this morning when I was stopped at a STOP sign, then proceeded to blow thru' a red light. I guess he must have one of those special permits.

Took a good tumble on some black ice coming through the old bus trap area East of Silver Springs into Varsity. Yes that big splat mark is from my big @r$e landing heavily enough to bruise my pride, ego, and derrier. Equipment all good, but sore elbow and probable wrist sprain. This all despite running full studs (at 50psi though)

Just a great time in light of these whipe outs... there is ice EVERYWHERE and its currently covered by a real thin dusting of snow which just makes that ice even slippery-er(lol @ my word) so keep your wits about you and slow it down.

Be safe gang. You dont want to end the season with a broken anything. Summer will really suck if you do.

Yes, thanks from me too. In the wee hours I was driving into town from Invermere and consequently was unable to back up pinkrobe. Consider it a community duty for any one of you to jump in first thing Monday morning and kick off this most popular of all our forum topics!

The pathways from the NW and along the river are pretty much snow covered as of 7:30am. It's a few inches deep so it's rideable but a bit grabby on the steering in places. The south side pathway from Crowchild to Downtown is cleared but the lack of snow has exposed the underlying ice. I expect they'll continue clearing west this morning. Use caution if you are reading this before heading out.

Path north of Ogden Road to the Bird Sanctuary is snow covered with the odd slushy patch. Use caution when on the wooden trestle under the CP tracks, evidence of at least one spill already. In spite of the snow a robin was singing near the Deane House this morning, spring is definitely here.

Had to walk my bike along the narrow ridge between the airport fence and slope down to McKnight Blvd (north side), between Deerfoot & Barlow Trail. Commute took about 40% longer than if no snow (Huntington Hills to Barlow/McKnight area) without studded tires. Another few cm's of snow and this route would not be passable without a lot of walking the bike.

The detour is in great shape and maybe adds 500m to the trip. If your heading North, at 16th ave cross the train tracks travel around the east side of the golf course parallel to deerfoot (if it is rush hour you will be traveling faster than the cars and be going up hill). At 32 ave follow the path West again and reneter the Nose creek path proper at the Rockyview office. Be warned that the temporary path past the power substation is pretty beat up right now and is quite bumpy.

Any word on snow clearing along the Nose Creek pathway from the Deerfoot Bridge north of 16 Ave to Beddington? I'm hoping to take this route on the ride home tonight (5 to 6 pm ish)? I'm guessing they may not complete until tomorrow or later, but one can hope. Not sure how much snow clearing budget is left.

yet again, some goof in a big SUV just blew right through the cross walk i was standing in. worse yet, the police officer in the other lane (going in the same direction I might mention) did nothing and didnt bother to even pull the guy over for a warning or education.

thinking i might need to keep big marbles handy....

also thinking the snow is making me go insane.

grrrrr.........

I really am spoiled on my ride. The bow river path (west of DT) is in great shape as always, and makes a nice quiet second half of my ride after dealing with all the traffic and salt on Bowness Rd.

Apart from one idiotic truck driver, and a similarly stupid bus driver, this winter has been a more friendly one on Bowness Rd. I suspect that overall drivers are getting more used to seeing me on the road, or I might be becoming a better cyclist. Either way it was less stressful this year than last. Hopefully the trend continues.

It's Calgary Muck!!! Snowing & Flooding at the same time.

Riding down to do some brainstorming [!], got doused with road spray. With the snow melting due to the warmish temps, the salt concentration was significantly dilute.

aarrrggghhh!!! YIKES!..what more can I say.....right from my back door I knew it was going to be "intersting"....I almost landed on my a** at my back porch! Have to say, with that knowledge, I set out cautiously and had a pretty good ride, just a bit slow, I too saw people walking their bikes at 10th street underpass....made me pay close attention. Sooooon (I hope) we'll be out of this freezing rain/snow flurries, freezing temps.

"Interesting"

I've never ridden on a curling rink before until today. I finally pocketed my glasses after the fifth time I had to take them off to wipe the ice off. The whole front of me was covered in a sheen of ice.

Bring on some + temperatures, please!

After almost falling over twice on the trip from my back door to my back gate, I knew the freezing drizzle they were forecasting was a reality.

I almost lost my rear wheel about 10 times, but surprisingly I only saw one accident. Some poor cyclists took the corner from the Edworthy park bridge onto the bow river MUP a little too fast and went sliding across the pathway. He popped back up and said he was fine.

I did hear several emergency sirens though, and so did everyone else at work on their commutes.

Studded tires that is... Great ride this morning, studded tires and reduced speed kept me upright but I almost fell over a couple of times when stopping at red lights and putting my foot down. I need studs for my shoes! Saw a couple of cars slipping and sliding, thankfully none of them heading at me though.

Some dik in a car tried to squeeze me over into the pothole on Home Road when I was going down the hill. I was about 2" from the edge going in. Otherwise the ride in was good but I had Zero Energy. I'm blaming the high stress level at work (and maybe the crappy weather from yesterday).

I am soooo sick of winter! The weatherman is promising positive double digits next week Yeah that's right! You'd do better going down to the Stampede Casino and putting it al on Red 8.....

Speaking of potholes, watch out for the giant one at the intersection of Home Road & Bowness road (heading north on Home Road) - it is big enough to eat you and your bike.

... roads were mostly hardpack last night with numerous sections of smooth and bumpy ice. Wasn't too bad w/ studded tires but certainly had to pay attention. The goat-path to the Stoney Trail under-bridge and over the bridge was deep loose snow. Didn't dab but it was a helluva workout staying upright and working the bars and keeping the spin rpm high.

Colder than normal spring predicted by Environment Canada
By Jordan Chittley | Daily Brew – Wed, 23 Mar, 2011 1:01 PM EDT

Even though spring has officially arrived and Canadians may occasionally get a small taste of warmth, it's going to be a while before you can put away the parkas.
"Forget what the calendar says, this is Canada," says Environment Canada climatologist David Phillips. "Ten per cent of snowfall happens in spring."
Canada is the snowiest country in the world, the second coldest country and winter is the longest season.
"Last year we had the earliest and warmest spring on record," says Phillips. "It was a gift."
By the end of a nice spring, Canadians believe it's the norm and only remember the last year. However, not only does it usually snow in April, but a third of the time it snows in May. That's more of what we can expect for this spring, he says.
Phillips predicts a colder than normal April for everywhere west of the Ottawa Valley. That will include more snow and April showers. East of the Ottawa Valley he's predicting normal conditions. He says it's much of the same for May and June with it to be colder than normal in the West and normal in the East.
As for Atlantic Canada, which has been battered by storms almost every week during the fall and winter, Phillips says spring will arrive there last.
"More than a quarter of Moncton's snow comes in the spring," says Phillips. Water still has ice in it and therefore prevents the Atlantic provinces from warming up faster.
But there's some good news. Even though it's difficult to predict what summer will be like this far away, Phillips says the models show a warmer than normal summer.
"We feel we are owed warmer weather, but nature takes its sweet time," he says. While we may not be able to sit on a patio in shorts tomorrow, "everyday it becomes more difficult for winter to return."
"Spring is like the buffet of weather types, everything can happen," says Phillips. "But I'm not going to write the obituary on winter just yet."