Amerika - Force of Occupation

Okay. I went out and ran my usual errands on my usual bicycle in spite of the snow. My tires are pretty thin so they tend to slice through fresh snow without getting too bogged down. However, they are less stable on frozen patches. I have to admit that it was both fun and beautiful out. All was grand. I was not cold at all. Layer, layers, layers. Good layers keep me warm without looking bulky (like a snowman). Although, the super-warm and waterproof ski gloves I wear in this kind of weather are a pain to tuck under the cuffs of my rain shell, especially when one of them is already on. I'm kind of puzzled that I did not get any strange looks, or fawning admiration from anyone. Welcome to Olympia, I guess.

Riding in the snow is fun and it's a really good way to learn how your body movements can affect your riding. How and where you move your hips when reacting to changes in stability have a direct influence on how a bike compensates. Another key to riding in the snow is to stay out of other riders old ruts, and avoiding old foot tracks. Old ruts and tracks have had time to refreeze underneath, and that ice is where the hazard is. Partially melted and refrozen snow is also relatively treacherous for the same reasons. Most of the trails are going to be pretty treacherous by tomorrow. Fresh ruts are fine since they haven't refrozen, and tires can ride on solid ground.

Snow riding also lets riders figure out how they are going to react to changes in stability. Will they panic; put their feet down; attempt to steer through it; attempt some combination of panic, feet planting, and steering? I only ate it (crashed) once, and it was a low-speed slow motion affair to which there were no witnesses to cause me less than a fun time. Actually, I still would have been laughing if anyone had been around to see me go down. Bicycle and rider are just fine. The same icy, snow-cushioned surface that made the bike tires slide also made the rider slide. I was able to lay the bike down in a controlled slide.

Perhaps I am more intrepid than I thought.