The day after the Merry Little Bike Ride, it snowed all day long and well into the night in PA.  I have seen that people cycle when it snows and have been curious how my bike would handle it.  Also, I have all those lights strung on my bike and thought it would look pretty awesome in the snow, but do I need studded tires for my bike like I have read about?  Would I be slipping all over the road?  Do I need a fat tire bike?  I decided to see what would happen if I took my hybrid out for a spin.

I went out at about 1:00 PM, turned on the lights I added to my bike and was disappointed that I couldn’t see them at all when I took my bike outside. Nevertheless, the lights didn’t really have an impact on if I would be able to cycle in the snow or not (just an added bonus) so I set out.  The snow was just starting to lay on the roads so it was pretty easy to cycle.  I was worried it was going to be slippery, but it wasn’t.  What I wasn’t expecting was the way the snowflakes were pelting me in the eyes nonstop like little ice daggers.  It was so annoying that I just cycled around the block and then went back inside to try to think of a solution.

I remembered that I had some snowboarding goggles tucked away from years ago when I thought I was gonna be a snowboarder – I bought all the gear, went two times and never made it past the bunny slope.  I dug them out and they actually fit under my helmet -voila! Problem solved!

I wanted it to be dark when I went out again, so after a cat nap (literally my cat Willow fell asleep on me while I was watching TV and she looked too comfy to move!) it was a little after 5 PM when I got my bike back out.  By then it was still snowing and dark enough to see the lights on my bike.

I was more excited than I was nervous.  I turned the lights back on, hopped on my bike and set out around the neighborhood again.  The snow was so light and fluffy and it didn’t seem like there was much difference in the way the bike handled at all.  There were no cars on the roads and only a few people out clearing their cars off or shoveling.  As I cycled by I could hear them yell “THAT LOOKS SO COOL!”

The goggles worked perfectly and I wasn’t cold despite the fact that it was in the low 30’s again so I spent about 30 minutes enjoying my solo bike ride.  When I noticed there were patches of ice peaking out from under the snow I headed for home.

I arrived back home safe and sound, with frozen hair, rosy cheeks and couldn’t have been more excited with how my snowy bike ride went!  I can’t wait for it to snow again – why didn’t I try this sooner!?!  Lesson learned – be a little brave and awesome things can happen!

Anyone else cycle in the snow?  I highly recommend it!