Winter has subsided enough here in Randolph County to allow for some road riding, sketchy road riding. Snow, Ice, giant pot holes and rabid deer looking for food are all menaces to safety this time of year. So with out further ado Joey's 10 tips for safer winter riding.
1) Lower your air pressure. That goes for MTB's and road bikes. Actually better yet leave the road bike at home.
2) Look ahead. Just like in mountain bike riding, look down the road and try to anticipate the next sketchy obstacle.
3) Be prepared and stay loose. No death griping the bars and when your wheels start sliding just go with it.
4) Move over. Give motorists plenty of room. They are dealing with poor road conditions also and are not always on the look out for cyclists this time of year.
5) Dress for the occasion. This could be an entire post in its self. Remember layers, zip and unzip as needed. Do not perspire to much: wet= cold.
6) Take extra gloves. Once again sweating in you gloves going up will make them feel awful cold coming down.
7) Warm shoes are a must. The extremities get cold well before the core. Winter riding shoes, over shoes/booties and/or shoes that are one size larger (so you can layer) all work. Remember leave enough room to allow for wiggling your toes. Keep the little piggies moving and they will stay warm .
8) Fenders!!!! Road grime in the chamios sucks.
9) Glasses. Cinders in your eyes hurt. Glasses also add a little coverage to keep your face warm.
10) Wet lube and lots of it. Keep your chain saturated with a nice high quality wet lube such as Finish Line XC lube. Also rinse your drivetrain as soon as you get back from riding. I usually just dump a bucket of hot water over the drivetrain to wash off any accumulated salt and then wipe it down. Salt leads to rust which leads to diminished drivetrain life.
There you have it, Joey's top 10 musts for enjoyable (yeah right) winter riding.
