Winter's Return

On November 11, Toronto was unseasonably warm. Temperatures climbed to 17 degrees. I biked downtown that day, and while I was on my way it occurred to me that it might be months before the next time I cycled without having to wear hat and gloves.

Now, ten days later, I definitely have to bundle up when I ride. Toronto recently had its first snowfall of the season, and it is more wintry out.

I don’t enjoy the cold when I ride in the winter, but what I like even less is all the salt on the roads. The salt and slush sprays up on my bike, making it filthy after only a short time. Just a few centimetres of snow fell the other day, but after my ride yesterday I had to clean a significant amount of salt from my bike.



You sometimes have no choice but to go through the slush.



A danger when snow and slush are near the curb is that cyclists will ride farther out in traffic to avoid the slush.



Only one brief ride caused this salt to be deposited on my bike. After I took this picture, I cleaned the bike as well as I could with a wet rag.

I will doubtless have to reapply chain oil soon. Without being frequently lubricated during the winter, a bike’s chain will seize up due to salt and rust in no time.