Hey, cool Christmas tree Max! Happy new year to you too!

Happy new year, AJC. I just stumbled across your blog and like what I see.

:)
Max

I have not yet ventured out in the snow on my Devinci. My Bontrager 700x28c tires have no discernible tread whatsoever, so I’d have to resort to something like this if I wanted to bike in the snow. I think it would require removal of the fenders first, though.

I have some kind of fancy kevlar-belt tire too… haven’t had a single puncture since getting it 2 years ago

Cool yeah for sure!

Wow, that’s dedication. I slipped on some black ice last year and I can still feel it a bit where my left shoulder hit the ground – so I’ve become a lot more cautious about cycling in freezing weather. A word to the wise – keep your hands OFF the front brake in icy conditions!

I really like the “aftermath” shot of the bike, too!

Alex, If y0u don’t mind, I’d like to put that pic in this post?

Very impressed. the one time I rode in snow, it was an accident. I see you have a Devinci – so do I – the gears stopped working when the snow started (they kept slipping) – but the tires held the road really well (I have Armadillo puncture resistant). I could not get off the bike and walk, because my bike shoes slipped on the snow, but I could bike (slowly due to gears slipping).

It’s amazing how many people with just ONE child buy minivans with 7 seats, because now they are a family and need a “family car.” Their rationale is that they may, at some point, need to transport hockey equipment or friends of the child, or camping gear … so for a couple of events that MAY happen in the distant future, they buy a car that is 3x bigger than what they really need (and of course, the possibility of NOT having a car is not even contemplated). Very odd. At one point I had kids aged 2 and 5 and no car. We got around on transit fine. But I have to admit that what did make me buy a small car was the fact that public transit in BC is SO expensive for a family, that it feels cheaper to run a small car (at least you don’t have to shell out up to 20 bucks every time you go to a movie). This coming holiday season I plan to go on outings with a friend and our (combined) 3 kids. We could transit, or we could use my friend’s car. Doing the math yesterday, we figured out that on transit we would be paying over $30 for the day – cheaper to take the car AND pay for parking! I really agree with Vision Vancouver’s notion of attracting other means of transit into Vancouver – but to really make this happen, transit has to be cheap or free. The money ultimately saved on road infrastructure (due to less cars) would ultimately pay for it.

I’ll add that excuse to my list, Ryan – hilarious! Do you remember a while ago people used to joke about the shortest books in the world? How about “Valid excuses not to ride bikes”?