Winter Distractions

It's another beautiful winter day in Ithaca, and snow drought seems like such an aughts concept. The ski conditions at Greek Peak have been terrific and the season looks promising, with lots of snow on the ground and no warming trends in the forecast for the next two weeks at least. If you're a winter sports enthusiast in the Northeast, there's nothing to complain about.


This time of year, I look at the messy, snow-covered roads, littered with potholes and contaminated with grit and road salt and am having a really hard time imagining what it was like to bike up the magical hills on my road bike only a few months ago. Sure, I could get the old beater mountain bike out of the garage and do some sloppy winter cycling, but it's just not the same. Winter cycling in these conditions is a much different aesthetic than road biking, and it just isn't as appealing as it used to be. A few years ago I turned a pair of mountain bike tires into studded tires, thanks to a helpful online tutorial. While I can't find the exact one I used, this one is essentially the same. The trick is to screw sheet metal screws into the tire so that the tips stick out, and use tire liners or just old tube rubber to prevent the screw heads from poking into your tubes and giving you a flat. It turns out that you really only need to have a studded tire on the front wheel, though it doesn't hurt to have the rear studded as well.

I think I'll just stick to skiing and the trainer, and keep following the latest crazy experiments of Lance, as he swallows thermometers to measure his core temperature and experiments with cooling vests and other high tech silliness, as Team Radio Shack looks for whatever competitive edge they can find. And then there's the snide hilarity of Bike Snob NYC, my favorite bike blog by a mile. Oh yeah, and there's EA Active, which continues to be a fantastic way to burn calories in the living room. The 2010 road cycling season is only a few months away...