Winter Bike Commuters Coast Through Ice and Snow

Mark Sauerwald learned lots of tricks last year during his first winter of commuting by bike from Cumberland to South Portland. On cold days, he wears ski gloves, a Thinsulate beanie under his helmet and winter cycling boots large enough to accommodate thick wool socks. He uses a lens cleaner to keep his glasses from fogging and greases his bike chain with 30W motor oil.

Sauerwald said he stays surprisingly toasty on his 14.5-mile ride. But don't try to convince his co-workers. They peek into his office at National Semiconductor to look for the bike and shake their heads in amazement.

"They think that I'm crazy," he said.

Sauerwald and others who commute by bike in winter say that having the right gear is critical. That includes fenders, lights, reflectors, fluorescent clothing and heavy duty tires. Sauerwald uses Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires year-round. He said they give good traction on snow and ice, and he's gone 3,000 miles without a flat.

Lighting posed a challenge for Sauerwald, since his commute takes him through both rural and urban areas. He eventually settled on a hub dynamo (a generator) that powers a three-watt headlight and a small taillight. He also has a battery-powered headlight, taillight and helmet light. He recharges the batteries at work and has plenty of juice for the hour-long commute home.

Bike commuters say exercise keeps them warm enough that they need surprisingly little outerwear.

"If your commute is more than a few miles, you probably won't need anything more on your trunk by the end of it than a long-sleeved shirt and windbreaker, down to about the freezing point," says John Brooking of Westbrook, the organizer of an online network of Portland area bicycle commuters (http://bike.meetup.com/132/). "Below that, add an undershirt."

"Of more concern are ears, nose, hands and feet," Brooking said. "The face can be addressed with a headband for mild cold, or a balaclava with mouth and nose cover, with a heavier version for really cold days. For hands, winter gloves, mittens, or 'lobster' gloves, to which you can add hand warmers on really cold days. For feet, I use standard flat pedals, so I can just wear boots, with thick socks on really cold days."

Bike commuting in winter brings many of the same pluses as biking at other times of the year: saving money, staying healthy, helping to protect the environment and arriving at work invigorated.

"I smell the bakeries that I pass, " Sauerwald said. "I greet the joggers and walkers. I feel much more a part of the community when I ride through it on my bike than drive in a car."

But he does set limits. If the temperature falls below zero or there's been a recent snowfall, he'll drive.

Brooking, who works at Sappi, pushes himself a bit more each year to bike through snow.

"Last year I rode several times in heavy snow, including a storm where I had to ride in the car right tire track to make any time at all," Brooking said. "...The next morning, I ventured back out again with my 'bad weather bike,' a Huffy three-speed cruiser, and found the roads were still not the greatest."

Brooking hit a slippery patch of the shoulder and plowed right into a snow bank. Fortunately, he was unhurt.

"I noticed the pickup truck driver behind me laughing as he passed, and I just had to laugh right along with him," said Brooking. "It was like being a little kid in the snow again!"

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