It Ain't the Sunshine State

DCforMe
Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:09:29 +0000

Chicago winter seems to be getting some flak on this thread, but it’s certainly doable. Personally, I bike to school every day (well closer to 4 out of 5 days considering sometimes it gets so cold my parents refuse to let me, but if I had my way that wouldn’t stop me). And hey wind chill’s not a factor since you’re always biking into the wind. You might think the first thing to crack would be my will to bike through sub-zero temperatures. nope. Instead, I went out from school one day to find that some recent precipitation had refrozen, and my lock was literally frozen shut. I had to call my parents for a ride and then go to an auto store to get some lock de-icer. As one of my classmates said, “I’m pretty sure that’s God’s way of telling you you’re not supposed to bike in the middle of January” ;)

Point being, the human body can put up with plenty. I would guess more than half the battle for a southerner coming north is that there’s an expectation that they’ll be cold. Once you eliminate that, it’s biking weather ;)