It's quite likely that one week of snow is all Whatcom County will have this winter, but the wind continues stronger and longer than usual. One storm produced gusts up to 65mph; sustained winds of 25-35mph are normal, with gusts in the 45-55mph range. My lights flickered once during a storm, and last Monday the electricity was out for about four hours, but that turned out to be because someone has messed with the main switch outside my apartment.
So now that spring is on the way, here are some lessons I've learned about riding in snow:
Most days I was loading my bike on the bus to get in to work, then riding all the way home at night, when there is no bus service to Ferndale. One night the eight-mile trip home took almost two hours, instead of 35-40 minutes; then I was awake past midnight because I was so fired up from the ride. Riding in headwinds slowed me down, too. A couple of times I had to stop on the road because the headwind was too strong to fight, and on freeway overpasses I had to put my head down to my handlebars to keep from getting blown sideways.
Wear lots of layers and cover your head and face. Wicking inner layer, at least one fleece layer, wind and rain resistant tights, leg warmers, with baggy rain pants and a rain jacket over all. Plus layers of gloves and socks, but not too tight. I gave up on cycling shoe covers and wore a pair of Totes rain boots, which were fine in the snow but not so good in rain. Put your pants cuffs over your boots or shoe covers, otherwise rain or melted snow will run straight into your shoes.
Stay in middle gears and keep your speed steady, don't try to accelerate, stop or turn suddenly. On fresh snow or smooth packed snow on level ground, you can get to ripping along pretty fast with very little effort, which is really fun. Then just as you're thinking, "Hey, this is easy. I'm GOOD!" a car will pull out or a light will turn red close in front of you and you'll discover how suddenly you lose control.
Ride with your lights on, even during the day, and don't assume car drivers are in control. I mentioned before how instructive it can be to examine the tire tracks of cars sliding on the road - sometimes gravity and momentum take over. Watch out for the other guy, don't try to beat cars through intersections, listen for cars coming up behind you, and be ready to get out of the way if they seem to be drifting toward you.
If one of your tires is worn or has smoother tread, put the one with more tread on the front wheel. My first thought was that I'd want more tread on the rear "drive" wheel, but you need it on the front "steering" wheel.
A few years ago, when I was riding between Lakeway Center and Slater Road, a late snow storm came up in the afternoon, so I rode home without really being well prepared for it. Along the way, I noticed my bike seemed to be skipping a few beats - I was pedaling steadily, but the rear wheel didn't catch sometimes. After about five miles, I could only pedal a few strokes before I'd be spinning my feet around with the back wheel just drifting, not engaging at all. By this time I was in town, near the Broadway fire station, so I just walked the last mile or two home. My best guess was that the rear hub wasn't sealed properly; as I rode friction melted the snow piled up around the gears, and water seeped inside until the wheel and the gears didn't engage at all. This turned out to be an $85 repair job, which I could probably do myself now, if I bought the tools as well as the parts.
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