Winter – Shifter

The most important things your city can do to make it better for winter cycling

by Tom BabinCities January 24, 2021January 24, 2021Comments are Disabled

We often think of winter cycling as a personal thing, but there’s a lot a city can do to encourage more people to ride a bike year-round. Here are three things that a city can do to make bike commuting and transportation cycling easier in winter. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. Follow Tom Babin on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Medium. …

Why I don’t use a fat bike for my winter bicycle commute

by Tom BabinWinter April 9, 2020April 9, 2020Comments are Disabled

Perhaps the most common question I get from winter cyclists these days is simple: Why don’t you ride a fat bike for your winter commute? It’s true, I don’t. I ride a built-for-winter commuter bike that has non-rusting parts and skinny tires. But fat bikes are pretty amazing winter machines, and I’ve ridden plenty of …

The best bike lights for winter 2019

by Tom BabinWinter December 5, 2019December 5, 2019One Comment

As the days get darker, it’s important to be well lit on your bike commute. So I’m testing three lights to see which ones stack up the best. The new Biolight PowerLight Mini. The Beryl Laserlight, my favourite light from last season. And a $15 wraparound handlebar light. Which one is best? Thanks to both …

Some good (and bad) parts of winter cycling in cities around the world

by Tom BabinWinter March 8, 2019March 8, 2019Comments are Disabled

I asked some winter-cycling friends from around the world to tell us what they love and, in some cases, hate about winter cycling in their cities. Bike lanes, plowing, bike parking, and reams of people riding in subzero temperatures: Here’s what they had to say in Winnipeg, Montreal, Minneapolis, Tilburg, and Oulu. Please subscribe to …

What the polar vortex taught us about winter cycling

by Tom BabinWinter February 25, 2019February 25, 2019Comments are Disabled

In the midst of the polar vortex, where frothing meteorologists competed over cold weather hyperbole, I had my most memorable bike rides of the season. My home city of Calgary recently hosted the 7th annual Winter Cycling Congress, giving me a week of bike-focused learning and activity. The congress touched on myriad aspects of winter …

An injury ended my bike-riding streak. Until others picked it up for me

by Glenn KubishPeople April 30, 2018April 30, 2018Comments are Disabled

The front tire wasn’t a front tire as much as an oversized windshield wiper clearing snow from the glass. The transformation was rapid, and complete: Now I was pedalling down a riverbank utility road, and now I was thinking how lovely it is when the brown city gets a fresh set of linens, and now …

The wonderful (and inspiring) bike lovers of the Moscow Winter Bike Parade

by Tom BabinBikes February 11, 2018Comments are Disabled

If you ever doubted the global appeal of the bicycle in winter, today’s third annual Moscow Winter Bike Parade ought to disabuse you of the notion. More than 3,000 Muscovites braved the snow and cold to ride together in the shadow of the Kremlin. For cyclists in this megapolis that is just beginning to look …

How to ride a bike in snow

by Tom BabinWinter January 17, 20183 Comments

There are plenty of challenges to riding a bike in winter, and sometimes they threaten to overwhelm its enjoyableness. But one thing that will always give the season a unique pleasure: Snow. Once you get past the fear of slipping and falling (more on this later), snow offers an experience unlike any other you’ll have …

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How to keep your feet warm while cycling in winter

by Tom BabinWinter December 11, 2017July 5, 2018One Comment

It didn’t strike like lightning. It was more like a subconscious feeling created by its absence until one day I finally noticed. Hey, I thought. My feet aren’t cold. That was a good day, as have many since then. It seems a small thing, and I didn’t realize it until I realized it, but toasty …