2nd Annual Winter Bike Workshop

Bicycling on snow covered roads = Suicide.

Strikes me as a good idea. One of the things that I find astonishing about Minneapolis/St. Paul is the sheer volume of bicyclists on the road in the winter... snow and ice be damned.

These sites talk about it a little:

http://minneapolis.about.com/od/travelweather/a/winterbicycling.htm

-and-

http://www.rideboldly.org/2007/09/12/plan-now-for-winter-cycling/

I ride year round. People write off winter cyclists as crazy, but we accept skiing and snowboarding without that stigma. If you dress similarly warm to how you would to go skiing/snowboarding, you won't have any problems.

My tips:

Coaster Brakes/Fixie (brake cables ice up in winter sometimes)
Fenders (you want the slush on the road, not your pants)
Tires - Thin to cut down to pavement, tread to grip the road

You'll probably also want to be mindful of how often you're lubricating your chain and that the grease in your headset, bottom bracket and hubs doesn't wash out with the slush-water.

It's not as big of a to-do as you think, though.

Happy riding!

Now living in Mpls, "2nd most bike-friendly US city", I too ride my bike much of the winter.

However, important 'insurance' here is the presence of bike racks on all buses (& the light rail) . . . as in Portland OR, "#1 most bike-friendly city".

Has there been progress in Bflo getting bike racks on buses, an essential component of making Bflo 'most bike-friendly NE city'?

you are a sick, sick f*&$.

Extra wide grille? And its on the front as opposed to those rear grilles? You should be real proud. Not for making threats, not for driving a truck. But for knowing that a grille is on the front, and for opting for the extra wide grill! Will you post a picture of your sweet ride for us?