Monday, December 28, 2009

Winter Bike Commute

One of my long overdue goal is to commute in winter at least a couple of times a week. The bike commute from Capitol hill to Redmond is about 18 miles and takes me anywhere from 50 minutes to 1:30 hours.

The hard things in Seattle winter are rain, cold temperature and the short day light. I’m summarizing below the list of things i need to do in order to be ready for this hefty goal (other than getting motivated :)).

The ride

I’m planning to finish building the the touring bike I started to build with Chris earlier this season. I would require a good frame for the same. I’m planning on putting cyclo-cross tires on them, fenders and of-course use the panniers from Seattle to SF ride.

The lights

This is tough and expensive category. I need light to-see and to-be seen.

Experienced cyclists recommend the Niterider as a backlight and MagicShine as a helmet lite.

For blinkers REI sells the planet bike blaze (1W), and the planet bike super-lasher.

Clothing

I guess i would need to buy -

  • Facemask
  • Incandescent Jacket
  • Thermal Gloves (Gauntlets?)
  • Thermal bike wear – Performance bike wear?
  • Rain pants – (I have them already?)

Shoes

Waterproof shoes is a hard thing. I’m planning to use booties over my current bike shoes. Some folks recommend the Shimano MT60’s.

Anything I missed?  Please leave suggestions in the comments. I’m specifically looking to buy multipurpose gear and equipment. I already have too much of it from my climbing and snow-boarding.