Those of us who commute by bicycle during the winter take (justifiable, I believe) pride in pedaling through cold, wind and, in some cases, snow.
I respect any year-round cyclist in any climate with variable seasons. However, I'll admit to feeling a bit more hardcore than someone who rides year-round in, say, Portland or Los Angeles. At the same time, I give "props" to year-round riders in Boston and points north, and in most European countries.
On the other hand, most of us have nothing on winter commuters in Montreal. On one of my visits there, I read or heard that the 'burg Mark Twain dubbed "the city of a hundred bell towers" spends more on snow removal than any other city except Moscow.
Whether or not there's snow on the ground, it gets plenty cold in The City Of Saints. One young man used a helmet cam to record his commute on a day when the mercury stood at -25C (-13F). Here is the video he produced:
I respect any year-round cyclist in any climate with variable seasons. However, I'll admit to feeling a bit more hardcore than someone who rides year-round in, say, Portland or Los Angeles. At the same time, I give "props" to year-round riders in Boston and points north, and in most European countries.
On the other hand, most of us have nothing on winter commuters in Montreal. On one of my visits there, I read or heard that the 'burg Mark Twain dubbed "the city of a hundred bell towers" spends more on snow removal than any other city except Moscow.
Whether or not there's snow on the ground, it gets plenty cold in The City Of Saints. One young man used a helmet cam to record his commute on a day when the mercury stood at -25C (-13F). Here is the video he produced:
I was told that Ottawa is the coldest capital in the world.
ReplyDeleteSteve--I wouldn't be surprised if that were true!
ReplyDelete"However, I'll admit to feeling a bit more hardcore than someone who rides year-round in, say, Portland or Los Angeles."
ReplyDeleteHey there! All I can say is try to ride in the endless rains of the Northwest for a season or two, and get back to me about "hardcore". The rains have broken the steely will of many a person from snowier and colder climes.
(As for LA, yeah, they're wimps.)
Adventure!--All right. I'll concede your point about Portland. But I stand by what I say about LA!
ReplyDeleteThat was adventurous. I hope he had a rear view mirror on his bike as he didn't check in back of him when changing lanes. Also, a parked car door may suddenly open in front of his bike one day. There was a salmon maneuver to avoid a median to get to the correct side of the road. I saw some ice on the roads so those were good tires.
ReplyDelete