Tips For Winter Commuting on a Bicycle

Tips For Winter Commuting on a Bicycle If you live in New York City, sometimes commuting to work on a bicycle makes more sense than on public transit. It’s fast, eco-friendly, and gives you a workout. According to nyc.gov, about 490,000 cycling trips are made daily in the city. But Winter commuting on a bicycle can be challenging and sometimes dangerous. This article will give you some tips on staying safe and reducing your risk of getting into an accident while commuting.

Tips for winter commuting on a bicycle

1. Try to ride on streets and trails that have already been snowplowed. In New York, there are 1,240 miles of bike lanes, and thanks to the metropolitan’s infrastructure, the streets get plowed regularly. Try to stay in the bike lanes when you can.
2. Watch out for ice and salt on the roads. Both can cause your tires to skid, making you lose control and potentially steer into car traffic. Salt and snowplows sometimes create cracks in the pavement, so watch out for those as well.
3. Practice defensive riding by making eye contact with car drivers and being prepared to adjust quickly for someone else’s bad driving.
4. Designate one bike as your winter bike. Ice, snow, rain, salt, and frozen grit can damage bikes, so you don’t want your prized mountain bike exposed to those elements. Snag a cheap bicycle and add winter wheels, bright lights, and reflectors to it to make it winter-ready. Since it’s cheap and not your primary bicycle, making repairs and maintaining it will be easier.
5. Pick the right tires. Fat, studded winter tires provide more traction in snow and ice and ride smoothly over bumps and cracks that skinny tires could get stuck in.
6. Keep your bicycle clean and cold when you’re not using it. Store it in a backyard shed or lock it outside to keep it cold. Cold bikes are less likely to form ice on the brakes and gears.

Contact a New York bicycle accident lawyer

If you were hurt in a bike accident caused by a negligent driver, defective roadway, or another negligence, contact a New York bike accident lawyer at Hach & Rose, LLP for help immediately. Our team will be ready to stand up for you when you call 212-779-0057 to discuss your case.