I think some people need to stop bitching about the weather here in Canada especially T.O.
We are the north We live in the cold We have to accept it.
If you enjoy riding then just ride or commute to work on your ride if possible. Layers and bundling up properly can extend your season, Down filled jacket liners and gloves can certainly help retain the heat, you can definitely ride in up to -10 weather so this gives you more than 9 months of good riding in the city and perhaps all year round. I never rode in colder than -3 weather until this March when I just got fed up of waiting for milder temps. I started bundling up and managed up to -10. There are some champs on our forum that have managed much colder and harsher days, hats off to them.
One year when we had a mild winter a few years back I rode into work every month of the year at least a few days even in January and February (some days I did not for weeks as there would be snow and slush or heavy storm front). That year I never put my bike away, and my distance is from East Scarborough (close to Pickering border) to Downtown Core around 30 km each way in 9 to 5 traffic. If I was closer or going opposite of traffic like east of T.O then hell I would be riding every month almost every year.
I know some of you SS riders want to take the bends and there is snow and salt on those bends, yes you can't ride the same as you ride on a sunny July week-end, but if you enjoy riding you just have to adjust your riding and yes you can ride easily 9-10 months of the year, I have been doing this for over 8 years in T.O.
Some may cry about the salt and brine, well I'm not striving to have my bike out live me, I don't think it will disintegrate if it saw salt and brine, hell some of the SS have more plastic on them than the inside of an economy Hyundai. I want my bike to be well ridden and full of memories not a Garage Queen all sparkled up for a sunny day. Your bike is not going to fall apart if sees some salt and if it does over the years then you can claim you rode her hard like she owed you money.
I'm not here to brag or show any accomplishments as I said there are some guys here who ride harder, I just wish I would see more riders on the colder months out there enjoying their ride all year either by commuting on their bike or just taking a ride to do an errand. We have summers that are full of rain as well, so makes them shorter and if we wait for temps above 5c we are giving away some beautiful riding days into fall winter and spring.
Perhaps we should have a Sticky about riding in Colder months with advise on Gear, Techniques, etc.
As much as I hate the cold I love the ride even more, so give old man winter the middle finger and just ride.
Many times riding in the cold I think of this Quote by Albert Camus“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer"
