By Darius Crolle
October
is coming to an end and cyclists, like motorist, are preparing their rides for
this upcoming winter.
Biking in Buffalo has become a major
phenomenon lately and the bikers don’t seem to be intimidated by the extreme
weather during the winter, as long as they are properly prepared. “Biking in
the winter is definitely possible and is done every year by numerous bikers,”
said Tony Mueckl, sales manager and buyer at Campus WheelWorks bike shop located at 744 Elmwood Ave.
However,
without the proper preparation and tutelage, winter biking can become an
arduous task. First and foremost, choosing the right bike is essential to the
preparation process.
According to Muecki, some of the most
efficient bikes for the winter include the cyclecross, mountain, and the newly
designed fatbikes. The fatbikes stand out because of their unusually large
tires.
“The
new fatbikes are great with riding in the snow because how flat and wide the
tires are,” said Nate Hill, a bike mechanic and member of GObike Buffalo.
These
bikes, however, come at a costly price. Some of the fatbikes can equal the cost
of a motor vehicle, ranging anywhere between $1,500 and $3,000.
Hill also teaches after school biking
lessons at various elementary schools on the West Side, including, D’Youville
Porter Campus and Herman Badillo Billingual Academy.
Keeping
your bike well maintained is another prerequisite for riding in the winter.
“You
have to make sure you keep your bike clean by greasing it and lubricating it,
if not, the salt will definitely ruin your bike,” said Muecki, who has biked through
the winter for the last four years.
GObike Buffalo offers workshops on how
to properly prepare and maintain your bike through the fall and winter. Their
workshops are held at their community workshop center at 98 Colvin Ave. every
Sunday.
Although the proper bike maintenance is
an important factor for those who choose to ride in the winter, it is also very
important that riders themselves adjust to the inclement conditions. Moreover,
there are certain useful techniques one needs to know when riding their bike on
slick, icy roads.
Body
control, for one, is a way of preventing the dangers of falling off the bike.
“It’s important that you keep yourself
loose and not stiffen up when riding over icy roads. If you stay loose, the
bike just does its thing and you keep going,” said Matt Dunning, an avid cycler
and sales wizard at Campus WheelWorks, who has biked through many winters.
For some, biking through a cold Buffalo
winter may seem intimidating and precarious. Simply bundling with heavy
jackets, scarfs, gloves and hats seem logical. However, contrary to popular
belief, undressing is sometimes better for those who bike through the winter.
More specifically, fleeces and fitted thermal gear may be more preferable than a
bulky winter jacket.
“Usually
you want to wear thinner clothing like a fleece because of how warm you will
get from the peddling. You don’t want to end up too hot. If you dress for the
right weather you will be fine,” Mueckl said.
Safety concerns, like riding with the
traffic in the street, may seem more dangerous in the winter because of the icy
roads. Nonetheless, riding with the traffic in the winter can be much easier
than what people may think.
“From
my experience, drivers are actually a little more careful of cyclist in the
winter,” Dunning said.
The new sharrow lanes that are present
on numerous streets have also played a major role in people’s ability to bike
through the winter safely. The sharrow lanes, which are used to delineate the given
space between car traffic and bikers are very useful and provide bikers with their
own single lane to occupy. This single lane, though, isn’t always respected and
is sometimes disregarded by drivers who aren’t aware of their significance.
Hill mentioned the importance of educating car drivers on how to properly share
the road with bikers.
“I
think it’s important that they are educated on how to drive with bikers and how
bikers do have the right to ride along with the traffic,” he said. “Some
drivers are simply not aware and are upset when they see a biker riding their
bikes alongside of them.”
This minor setback, though, is not
enough to keep bikers off the road in the winter, further showing that the
biking phenomenon taking place here on the West Side is not just limited to the
summer and fall seasons and, instead, is starting to become a year-round mode
of transportation.
Postscript
Matt
Dunning has biked through numerous winters and has never owned a car his entire
life. He has used various bikes when cycling through the winter, including, the
cycle cross, mountain, and fatbike. Nate Hill, who has also biked through many
winters, owns a Suburu Impreza with All Wheel Drive, however, prefers to ride
his bike than drive in the winter. Hill occasionally bikes to Canada by riding
over the Peace Bridge, saying that the experience is liberating and fun.
