My Winter Tyers

When cycling in the winter in icy or snowy conditions, you need proper tiers. I've used Schwalbe Marathon Winter for three seasons now. You can read more about them her. They are excellent on snowy and icy roads, but they also work fine on dry tarmac. I've used different brands before, and although some of them are better in extreme conditions, I find these to be the best for my use. These tiers I put on as soon as I see a chance for black ice. I don't wait and take chances; why? because the drag is almost like summer tiers.

Some feel they need wider tiers in the winter. I disagree with that. I ride on roads that are either icy or with hard packed snow. I need a good grip, not to float on top of the snow.

Winter Cycling; My Bike

My Cannondale Classic Touring 

I've been commuting on my bicycle for some years now, and like many others, find it a very nice way of getting to and from work. Not to mention that you don't have to think about exercising later in the evening!

The winter, however, has been a challenge for me. I live in the North of Norway and we get long and cold winters. For some time I've tried to read about how others are solving the issue of winter cycling, but I've had to find out most of it for myself, and now I want to share my findings.

First I would like to emphasize that winter in my blog is when the temperature drop below zero degrees Celsius.

I'll start with the obvious: the bike! I'm using a Cannondale Touring Classic. I's a sturdy bike with cantilever brakes and space enough for both mudguards and studded tires. It also comes with a rack which makes it easy to bring along extra clothing and gear.

Everything works fine as long as it isn't too much snow. Normally the roads I'm using are normaly cleared for snow, but occasionally the snowfall is so heavy I'm forced to take the car. Sometimes that happens when I'm at work, so I have to ride my bike home, and then I wish I had disc brakes. It is just too much snow gathering around the brakes! It does not inflict with my riding, but braking becomes harder. So my next winter bike will have disc brakes.

Jeoffrey and Sylvain

They came to Cyclist's Home on 16th June, going south again after visiting North Cape. They came up through Finland and planed on doing Norway returning.
  Some cyclists come up Sweden and Finland like Jeffrey and Sylvain, but others come up Norway. If you want to do a round trip, going down Norway is the best option. Finland/Sweden is mostly forest and lakes. So when cyclists come to Cyclist's Home, they are thrilled to see all the mountains and the fjord. But when they come up Norway they are a not so impressed. The reason is that coming up Norway you are passing impressive mountains and fjords all the way. So it seems to me that coming up Finland and down Norway will be the better option.

My First Swiss

Florian is the first cyclist who has come by plain! He flew to Alta in order to start his trip as far north as possible and then to cycle south. But first he wanted to see North Cape.
  Both Florian and I learned a lesson about flying internationally. I picked him up at the airport, but none of his gear had arrived. Since he had not taken it through customs, it was stuck in Oslo. It did arrive the next day, though, and Florian was able to start his trip. I hope he spent all his bad luck at the start.

My First Canadians

5th June two very happy and charming girls turned up on my doorsteps. Marie and Eveline are from Québec Canada, my first two Canadians. If the rest are like these two, they are more than welcome! They even prepared a lunch for me, unfortunately I forgot it, and made them upset.
  They started their trip in Kirkenes (a town almost on the border to Russia) and were heading for France where Marie (she was very strict on how to pronouns the 'r' in Marie) were going to work this summer. In Québec she works in a cycling store and was proud to show off her bike. She was not too impressed with my bike, though, since it was made from aluminum. As I understand, aluminum is not the first choice for touring since it is hard to weld.
  She was giving me some very useful tip on bike maintenance when on the wheels. I will give you a detailed description in my "Good Ideas" section.

My First Englishman

Laurence Moore from England was my first guest this year. He is also my first Englishman. He came cycling to my home 3rd June and turned out to be a very nice Englishman in Alta; just as polite as you would expect.
  He was headed for North Cape, as most of my guests are, then planed on going south through Finland.
  Laurence is an experienced cyclist and it was fun listening to him when he shared of his previous trips.

The Art of Procrastination

Now it is time to start my blog again. Since Magdalene left there have been ten more cyclists visiting Cyclist’s Home in Alta. Two of them even last year. Manu Veyrat (France) in late August and Henning Grote (Germany) the first week of September. 

                I know that Manu now is cycling in North-America. You should take a look at his home page: www.manuveyrat.com  

Henning Grote

Manu Veyrat