Sunday, January 31, 2010

Back in the Ice Box

This past week was an interesting one as far as commuting goes. Temps dropped below zero again and has turned a lot of the melted snow into glare ice, making for a slick and unpredictable ride.

For awhile now I have been riding my cross-check to work. I have it set up fixed with two brakes, flat bar, road tires and rear pannier. This set up is nice when the streets are dry or there is ice on the road from an over night frost. When it is icy I feel way more comfortable slowing down by back pedaling than braking and the fixed gear keeps the skinny tires rolling through snow pretty good.

However when the temps drop below zero I ride my Vaya to work. Riding gears allows me to easily regulate my body temp and ensure I don't get too sweaty and then get too cold. My Vaya also has barmits which help keep my hands warm when it is below zero. Also when there are big snow and ice ruts in the road it is nice to coast the Vaya's big tires over any sketchy sections.

Finally, I skied again on Wed; two weeks in a row. I know this is nothing to brag about, but I am happy to be taking a day off the bike and to be outside focusing on another activity.


Now playing: Bright Eyes - Make War
via FoxyTunes

3 comments:

DMC said...

Skiing is good I hope to be back out on wednesday, It has been a week for me since I skied last but then again the trips out on the bike have been nice,,, Keep up the good work...

Ben said...

I want some pic's of the Vaya!

Ben said...

Oh yeah you doing DK 200?