More members than ever are riding during the winter months. Care to post your winter rides (2011/12) here in this thread?

Today and yesterday, Ms. Jamin and I went shopping all around town. On Saturday we visited Chinatown & Kensington Market. Today (Sunday) we went to the monster Korean market (P.A.T. http://www.patmart.ne...) to get supplies for our Festivus/Hungarian Xmas/Japanese New Year holiday.

To make it more interesting, Ms.J's rear brake cable snapped just as we were leaving. MacGyvered a found rubber band to fool the motor switch-off sensor, and let Ms. J. ride my identical, but problem free Nicom 500, or Emmo Urban (http://www.emmo.ca/)..., while I rode her front-brake-only machine.

We stopped by the flag-ship location for Emmo, for repairs - only to discover that they are closed until next Thursday for a managers' meeting (30+ locations) . . so a somewhat spooky outing - but at least we had a successful trip . . greener than car, infinitely better than TTC.

Are you still riding? Tell us about your adventures!

~ cheers

Well I am still commuting back and forth to work on my Eagle E-Bike. People look at me funny when I ride by with my full face helmet, snow boarding gloves, patched jeans and winter coat and my stereo blaring AC/DC or Ozzy Osbourne on my E-Bike. But I am still enjoying the ride everyday.

Ken Finch

Cool-o-matic, Ken. Good stuff, keeping your Eagle (http://www.mobilityun...) on the road as it gets colder. Can I ask what brand of gloves your are wearing? I ride with some really heavy leather mothers from MEC, which are warm, but make using controls, and signals, a bit clumsy.

Nothing new, but here is the lovely Ms. Jamin riding the icy streets last winter:



Who else is still riding? btw - i wear synthetic long-johns, top and bottom, plus cotton long johns on top on that. What do you wear to keep warm while biking?

frosty cheers

To keep hands warm, I have tried a cool new trick which so far seems to be working. I wear regular thistle gloves that cost me $2 from the dollar store. So what I did was make a quick wind guard that stops cold wind from blowing on my hands while riding. I simply got a regular wire hanger and looped one end around the my mirror handle--I then extended its length toward the brake in a somewhat square shape. I then attached a plastic bag around the square and knotted it so it dropped below the brake. Hence when I ride the ebike, the plastic bag stops wind from hitting my hand while I have my hand on the handle or accelerator. It costs next to nothing to make -- so far it seems to be wowrking.

I had someone I worked with a long time ago ride his motorcycle well into the cold weather for a long trip, about a half hour commute on a good day. He used to bundle up in a snowmobile suit and boots and found the snowmobile gear quite suited to his ride.

Great to hear many still riding,,,and why not? with this years WARM december we all should...


and if too cold? handwarmers(about 1$ each) and some warm layers, yer good to go!

I unfortunatley brought mine in on dec 3rd (thinking that would be the last day at 6 degree's, boy was I wrong...lol)for the winter where she is now warm and cozy...but wishing I didnt for another two weeks...lol

that's ok, spring now, only about 3 months away!


:)

cheers

I'm still out and about but to a lesser extent than during the summer months. I rode down to the Distillery District on Sunday to do some Christmas shopping and generally hang around. Sunday was the coldest day that I've been out in so far this winter but I have ridden my pedal bike over the winter season a couple of times back around 1992 to 1994.

I wear a full face helmet and a pair of Pearl Izumi Lobster Claw mitts for the cold and I'll add layers according to the temperature.

As far as the ebike in the winter, so far the only changes are bringing the battery inside when I'm finished for the day and charging it inside then taking it out when I want to ride, nice and warm.

Doug

My gloves are snow boarding gloves from a company called TCM. I bought them from a Value Village last year brand new for $10.00 plus taxes. They are warm and the fingers are flexible enough to operate the controls on my E-Bike. The also have a removable inner cloth glove for extra warmth as well. For really cold days I also have a balaclava for my face.

Ken Finch

Hi Everybody!
I am still riding as well - everyday to and from work (about - 30 - 45 min one way)
I bought some stuff in China - big gloves which are "permanently" - (with the duck tape) attached to the handle bars. I still use light leather gloves inside these. I also got shin/knee pads - vinyl with fake fur attached by Velcro - absolutely amazing. I did buy this week full helmet as my eyes were freezing and now I am warm and cozy. I was riding on Saturday, Sunday and wasn't cold at all.
I do not plan to ride when the snow will hit the ground.
Cheers

I'm still riding both bikes most days this month. My rules are that 1 C is warm enough for the gas bike (Suzuki GS500), and if I can't see any ice I'll put up with temperatures down to -5 C on the electric bike (Emmo G550A).

I haven't really had to make any changes to my riding outfit either beyond adding a couple of layers. On either bike, I wear the following:

- An AlpineStars textile riding jacket (whose name/model I don't recall), overtop of a fleece jacket/sweater, overtop of a long sleeved T-shirt, overtop of a over a short sleeved T-shirt.
- Cortech Vice riding gloves.
- Jeans over long underwear.
- Icon SuperDuty riding boots.
- A helmet whose brand I don't even recall overtop of a balaclava.

Only place I'm a little cold is the hands - I should probably get some textile glove liners to wear with them.