Winter Biking: Practical
Winter Biking: Practical
Image: Nora's bike, a red 1980s Bianchi frame with black and silver wheels, fenders, pedals, & seat; black Bar Mitts on both handlebars; a red and black light on the seat bar; and a blue and silver speaker hanging from the crossbar, sitting on a hardwood floor against a navy-gray wall.
This is the first of two pieces on winter biking. Click here to access the audio recording of this piece. The second, a poem I wrote in 2017, goes out tomorrow.
On a recent Saturday morning, I biked a 35-minute straight shot down Milwaukee from Avondale to arrive downtown for dance class by 9am. The streets were quiet because it was so early on a weekend. It was 25 degrees out, and I felt cozy and quite happy.
People sometimes seem to think that biking, and especially winter biking, is a feat of either martyrdom or hardcore heroism, but I know for me it is much more about pleasure and self-determination (some might say control lol). And winter can be a most pleasurable time of year to ride. So along with a few pieces of context, I’ve put together a list of practices to live by if you want to bike consistently, comfortably, safely, and happily in a city with a cold winter.
I try not to proselytize about biking to those disinterested because of the ways that contemporary commuter cycling in urban capitalism can be inaccessible and unsafe. It simply doesn’t feel like an option for many folks, whether because the way they’re dressed when they arrive at work might impact their treatment, because helmets aren’t designed to accommodate their hair, because drivers act too wild, because affordable housing isn’t built close enough to available jobs, because there aren’t bike lanes anyway, or any number of other deeply legitimate reasons. But if you already bike or are biking-curious, and perhaps uncertain about navigating the winter, this list is for you.
This is not a shopping or gear list, and I am of the mindset that we often already own at least versions of the things we need to bike comfortably. That said, most practices below do involve items you might buy. I was fortunate to have a period of my life where a partner and a close family member worked at bike shops or gear distributors, and I got a lot of free or half-price shit that way for a few years, most important of all my bike itself. But even without a hookup, versions of nearly everything I mention below can be cheaply thrifted or found for well below market price on one of the many online used stuff portals (eBay, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, neighborhood Buy Nothing groups). Even at the moments in my past decade of biking when I’ve made financial investments of, say, over $40 - like when I treated myself to more fashion-conscious waterproof pants after a few years, or bought new gloves once the old ones were worn so thin the lining was flying loose anytime I rode over a bridge - I made those choices after whatever I started with wore out, or wasn’t working well but showed me what I needed instead.
The point is, you don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of expensive stuff in order to keep riding as the cold sets in. Just try out what you already have. If it results in a wet or chilly ride, you can decide to upgrade, but you’ll do so with more certainty that you’re making the right call.
I’d be remiss to write this list without acknowledging the recent Block Club piece ominously titled “Life and Death in Chicago’s Most Dangerous Bike Lane,” which narrates both stories and hard (if incomplete) data about the risks of the aforementioned Milwaukee Avenue, and of Chicago biking in general. My list here is not a how-to-ride-as-safely-as-possible list, but what I’ll say for now is:
A little healthy paranoia goes a long way. Ride as far out from the parked cars as you can, and if you have to ride close enough that you could get doored, slow down. Slow down in general. With practice, you can learn to scan the side mirrors and driver windows for movement (along with all the other things you’re tracking in the video game that is urban cycling). Use your lights and keep them charged. Wear reflective shit even if it makes you look nerdy, and then assume people still can’t see you. Try to make eye contact with (or, when necessary, mean mug the fuck out of) oncoming drivers taking their left toward you. Glance over your own left shoulder regularly to catch cars taking a right who might clip you. And get to know the light pattern of an intersection before you bust through it.
I got doored or hit by cars 3 times in 5 months in 2014, and though one’s actions alone don’t guarantee safety in biking anymore than they do in the rest of life, I slowed down and paid attention more. It hasn’t happened since.
Alrighty, so here’s the list.
#1: Bluetooth speaker
This is an all-season suggestion, but I emphasize it for the winter for two reasons: pleasure and safety. Riding with your jams keeps your spirits up even when it’s grosser out than you bargained for, and offers delight on average rides. If you’re less grumpy, you’ll probably pay attention better. A speaker also creates an additional stimulus that drivers and pedestrians might notice before they motor into your path. This isn’t a proven theory on the driver front - I don’t know if they actually hear me blasting Barry White, let alone make a conscious choice to then give me space - but music from a small speaker still gives me the feeling that I’m creating a pleasant sensory cloud that includes the people who pass through it (as opposed to earbuds, which exclude them and in my view decrease safety). A loved one gave me this one several years ago and it’s held up well; there are plenty of portable speaker review listings and price points out there, or maybe you even have something like this lying around that could be repurposed.
#2: Crevices and layers
Instead of listing out each thing I wear, it makes more sense to me to speak to what I perceive as being the guiding principles of keeping warm and cozy: 1) close up the gaps and crevices everywhere so that wind can’t get through, and 2) add on additional thin layers as the temperature drops.
Probably my most crucial piece of crevice coverage is a fleece and polyester cloth tube (not that exact one, but close) that I pull way far up and strap into my helmet to cover all those delicate precious sensitive little nooks from earlobes and nose to the bottom of the neck. The neck nooks, truly, are key - see if you can get a couple layers of one kind or another all over that area. But the crevice/gap principle also applies to things like making sure your ankles and wrists are covered, or that your innermost upper layer is tucked into your pants so it doesn’t ride up and suddenly expose your back waist. Wind at those sensitive spots will make your whole body feel cold.
In terms of layers, people have different approaches to this, but my assessment is that thick bulky layers (puffer coats or thick sweaters or scarves) not only restrict your movement but will make many people too hot. If you have a set of thin layers - leggings, long-sleeve cotton or polyester shirts, moisture-resistant top layers - you can add or subtract one each time the temperature jumps or drops into a different 10-degree bracket, easily tuck extras into small spaces, and accommodate a range of style desires. Keep in mind that you'll warm up as you ride, so if you're slightly chilly at the start, you'll be toasty in ten minutes.
Pro tip: if I want to wear a nicer shirt somewhere but it’d be weird to bike in it, I sometimes fold it up and zip/tuck it within my outer jacket against my belly or chest, then add it on once I arrive. Also, you can lock your helmet to your bike and tuck all your random shit into it so that you don’t have to bring lights, reflective vests, speaker, gloves, etc. into the bar/show/library/club/campaign office/wherever.
#3: Make light
In general while biking, visibility keeps us safe. I consider front and back lights non-negotiable, and these days a reflective vest as well. Get lights that are USB rechargeable and actually bright. Bike shops have so many kinds, and if you find out you don’t like the ones you get, someday you will loan them to a friend who you then won’t see for many moons, giving you an excuse to buy new ones (or maybe you’ll luck out and be the perma-borrower). I haven’t yet invested in those light strings that go around wheels, but they look cool as hell in addition to seeming like they would really up your safety game.
#4: Precipitation defense
Precipitation meaning not only from above (snow, rain, wintry mix) but below (slush). Will never forget my first biking winter in Chicago when I was running late to a physical therapy appointment and stepped off my bike into 6-inch deep liquid concrete - while wearing sneakers. I’m not sure why I didn’t already own winter boots given that I grew up in Chicago and had been living in Ohio, Alaska, and Seattle before moving back?? Anyway, this was a financial investment moment for me - I went home and credit-carded those waterproof and thermal-lined guys I think they call duck boots from LL Bean, and have had them for a decade since.
The core tenets of precipitation defense IMHO are 1) waterproofish shoes/boots, 2) waterproofish pants, 3) FENDERS, and 4) maybe you don’t ride when it’s really fucking coming down.
Boots - I recommend a pair that covers the ankles, and lined-ness doesn’t hurt for warmth.
Pants - Okay you have a LOT of options here. Go on eBay and search “waterproof pants” - there are SO many out there and a lot of them are simple synthetic layers that are oversized and designed for people working in construction and other outdoor jobs, and they often cost $20-$30. Another route is to get more expensive ones that have water resistant/proof features but look more like pants a person just might wear around, like these ones I got on super-clearance many years ago and appreciate because they don’t look all outdoorsy. Whichever kind you have - the idea is you can just pull these on over one or two layers of other pants depending on how cold or wet it is, and then you stay warm and dry. In general, these kinds of pants will cut the wind, too.
Fenders - Idk man, a lot of seemingly seasoned bikers are out here without them, and I have no idea what any of those people are thinking. Fenders keep your clothes dry and CLEAN! The ones I have were cheap because they are supposedly removeable, but I just leave them on all the time. Regardless, deeply worth whatever the investment turns out to be.
Maybe you don’t ride - Everyone finds their boundary here. Mine is heavy active snow/wintry mix, or recent heaviness that hasn’t been plowed yet. Give me 10 degrees when the roads are clear and dry and I’m good, but 32 and slushed out? Nah. Speaking of which…
#5: Let the soft animal of your body take a cab sometimes
Or ask your friend for a ride - or, for sure, check the weather the night before and make a decision and then actually wake up/start getting ready early enough that you have time to switch to transit. (This is all assuming you’re someone who doesn’t own or drive a car yourself.) The reason I mention paid cars is that it is my experience that once I am used to the time it takes for me to power my own damn self from point A to point B for free, it is very, very hard to switch back to the time cushions you need to budget for transit, at least in a place like Chicago where the bus/train transfers can eat up time (let alone in this era of mass CTA wackness). Looking at it another way, if I’m always riding for free, it doesn’t feel as bad to spend on a car here and there.
But long story short - unless all the times you leave the house are truly elective - one day the weather will be too fucked to ride, and at that point you will have to have budgeted either time or money. So plan accordingly.
And that’s that. If you do want to know which kind of gloves or what layers for what temperature and so on, I’m happy to share. There are other details like keep your bike indoors if at all possible; yes Bar Mitts are worth it; no foot covers are not. But since this is all relative and everybody’s gonna have different preferences and experiences anyway, let me close by saying: I hope you ride safely and warmly, and that it brings you joy more often than frustration.
See you tomorrow for Winter Biking: Poetic.