Fun morning. Poor guy in front of me went down like a sack of turnips on the sandybeach/riverpark hill. Always nortoroiuos with the thaw/melt but with a cover of dnow it was scary. Walked down most of the way. Other than that it was nice. Took the red sled (called this as it is my sled dogs pull bike) with big knobbies and single speed based upon afternoon snow accumulation. But we will have to wait and see. I hear car traffic was bad??

My studded tires served me well this morning, not even a hint of a slip. And there were lots of ice under snow sections. I even  had the front tire inflated at 65lbs. I'll be going down to 15lbs for the ride home tonight, don't want to push my luck with hard tires on ice/snow.

I set out for a night shift yesterday night and was surprised at how much the snow pushed my bike around.   Driving during the night shift was good, and biking home this morning was even better!   Everyone out there seems really stoic and cooperative.   Everyone at work remains skeptical of my choice in transportation.   I try to tell them I don't plan on changing, and that there are advantages...

- I don't have to warm my bike up every time I want to take it somewhere; don't have to plug it in

- it doesn't get stuck in the snow unless I'm doing it really... really... really wrong 

- crashes are much more hilarious than with vehicles

- the pathways get cleared at or before normal roads, and it's often faster to bike for many routes

- the other clear benefits of normal everyday cycling still apply.

I try to tell them with jokes like "Oh man!  I just locked myself out of my bike while I was letting it warm up!", or that it's been really expensive to fuel my mode of transportation lately.    It's funny how people can take the skeptical side of things when they see it empowers someone.   

And if you do get stuck, you just pick it up and move on. Try that with an SUV!

And what I consider the most important: in snowy conditions it is very, very difficult to kill or maim someone with your bike, or destroy thousands of $ worth of property, unlike with a car. 21 injury and 280 non-injury collisions yesterday.

And on a day like today: faster.

I don't need to be at the office until a little later so I am going to miss the morning crawl hour. The pathways should be in good shape by 10:30 or so.

One would have been nice to have in the shower.

Shovelling the walks and driveway followed by riding to work today made for quite a work out.

Northbound the wind played a big role and the streets varied from clear on down hill north facing slopes to drifted and rutted on the lee side of those same slopes.

The portion of paths I use looked smooth and unbroken but really were just drifted smooth over yesterday evenings pedestrian tracks. So you're rolling along thinking "i found it" that perfect smooth rool in snow and then bump bump bump and you're searching for it again.

Finally had a chance to take our Salsa Mukluk demo out for a test ride in real winter conditions - what a blast!  Rode for about 2hrs yesterday and then back into work this morning.  Was able ot clean the Quarry Trail going up last night and absolutely flew down it this mornign - so much fun!

Anyone is welcome to take it for a test ride, just call ahead and book it.

Here is a little video - http://youtu.be/J2Pp0FAt7Ew

Shoveled all the sidewalks before leaving the house. Then tried to ride the neighborhood streets, gave up and jogged pushing the bike - ahhh, the bike path, what a relief, nice and clear and easy to ride. Then the beltline - yikes - was on and off the bike more times than I can remember, did the half run half ride scenario, finally made it to work a bit late but close enough. I hate to say it but I will anyway - running in sand is much more pleasant!

Wet asphalt, deep fresh snow, packed snow, and brownsnow

Pathways were good except for Crescent Heights hill. Why is that never cleared???

Here's hoping for not much of the brown stuff on the way home.

The ride in on the MUP was much better this morning. But keep your head up on the MUP as there are lots of icy patches! I kept the wheels down all the way in, but there were a few spots where I was doing alot of 'hoping' as I cruised across a slick bit. Also, it felt chillier than the reported -9°C.

Wow, what a difference a workday makes.  The ride to work this morning was deep brownsnow on some of the residential streets.  Tough slogging.  But it magically disappeared over the course of one day, and the streets were bare (albeit wet) when I came home!  What a great surprise.  I am still baffled at how fast that melted.

Last night, I had an atypical commute. I left the office at midday and took the train, with my bike, to Crowfoot for an appointment. Afterwards, I rode through a corner of Scenic Acres, down through Silver Springs to the old bus trap, through Varsity Estates and home, all on the roads. Except for the little bit of cul de sac on the Varsity Estates side of the bus trap (not actually a trap anymore), the roads were wet and clear of snow. The trip down 53rd St. confirmed what others have said about the state of the bike lane. It looks like it was cleared by the plows half or more of the width, but then the city sidewalk plow came along and pushed the sidewalk snow back into the bike lane. Less than 1/3 of the lane was usable.

This morning, the MUP was in pretty good shape. While there were many icy patches, they were small enough to be able to roll across with momentum and care. Nice morning today and looking forward to a pleasant homeward commute on the path later today.

So strong I hardly had to pedal the 5km to work.

Saw this along the way too - http://instagr.am/p/H69zNJLy2H/

You're welcome!