**As mentioned before, the “Friday Opinion” pieces are not representative of the Hub collective, but simply the ramblings of Jason X.  Feel free to agree, critique or start your own blog.  Thanks for visiting our website though!**

Is there a cycling “season”?

Sitting here in my office I can see outside and a little bit ago I could watch snow falling.  It is the end of Autumn but most folks are already calling this season Winter (though really, we have about 2 weeks of autumn left!).  ‘Tis the Season!  That is the official American phrase for December.  It can be the season for Christian or Jewish celebration.  However, even some Atheists and Agnostics still hang up lights on their homes.  However, some cyclists bring their bicycles indoors for storage, not really a point of celebration.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I do own a car and I’ve found myself using it more.  I still enjoy riding year round, but when I have to go farther than 10 miles in one direction, I find myself choosing the car.  This mile cut off point will become smaller once the snow REALLY starts to stick to the ground.  This time of year, the 50 mile round trip ride to visit my family in the suburbs becomes a much more serious decision when I choose bike or drive.

I enjoy testing the limits of the label “cyclist” and what it means as an identity.  Certainly I wouldn’t live up to the label of “car free” as many folks call themselves.   However, wouldn’t the term “cyclist” include those weekend warriors who only ride for fitness on trails?  Some of whom are now putting their bikes into storage and waiting for next “season”?  Even those of us that ride year round acknowledge that such a “season” exists for riding.  We like to pretend we are tougher than those that pack their bikes away while still silently acknowledging that we understand why folks don’t want to power their way through snow drifts and hope they don’t slip underneath a close passing car due to the ice on the road.

Well today, I want to nod my head in the direction of folks that don’t have the choice to pack those bikes away.  The folks that don’t really have the luxury of having cycling “seasons”.  The folks that are ignored when I pretend I’m so stronger than other folks for riding through the snow.  That strength doesn’t mean much when I have the choice of giving up and driving my personal vehicle (with a heating system!) when I want to.

It could be argued that folks have the option of jumping on public transportation when they can’t handle the snow, but we all know about how Michigan feels about public transportation or at least the corporate interests here feel about it.  I mean, who really uses the People Mover as more than an over-sized merry-go-round?  Our more legitimate public transportation options are a joke as well.  This came to light to me in a few ways.  First was one of my friends mentioned to me that she doesn’t know how she’ll get to work after December 12th due to SMART bus cuts to service.  The second was when I began looking at bus routes last week.  I must admit I’ve never taken the bus in Detroit, but I have in other cities.  However, even though I own a car, I share it with two of my friends.  So when it isn’t available I gotta look into other options.  I soon found that trying to arrive at a major intersection like Merrimen and Ford Road would require riding on two separate buses from downtown Detroit.  This isn’t really too bad until I saw that there was a route that went directly from Downtown out on Ford Road.  Unfortunately for me, this bus was “express.”  It brings suburban workers into the city in the morning and takes them out at the end of the work day.  It is a one way bus.  As much as I appreciate suburbanites working in the city taking public transportation, I wonder why it is designed to make it hard for city residents to leave the city if they choose.  Certainly a city resident would never have a job in the suburbs!

So what does it mean when we talk about a cycling “season”?  What does it really mean to acknowledge this phenomena of packing bikes away?  I guess I’m asking folks to not pack advocacy away either.  We can acknowledge that it isn’t unreasonable to be a fair-weather bicyclist.  Riding in boots and two pairs of socks as ice forms on the tip of your nose can be fun, but it does get old.  So if you’ve packed up your bike for the season I have no ill for you (however, I do encourage you to try winter riding)!  But lets not forget those that choose to ride and those that don’t have any other option.

If you were cheering on bike lanes this past summer, what will you do if those lanes aren’t plowed?  I know that most roads in Detroit aren’t plowed either, but I’m interested in seeing what becomes of bikes lanes once snow falls.  Call me a skeptic, but I feel our greatest chance of a plowed lane is the fact that almost all of the bike lanes in Detroit are also attached to parking lanes.  So if bike lanes get plowed, will they replace the parking lane?  Time will tell.

I know people don’t like it when I criticize bike lanes, so I’ll end this article on a personal positive story.  Here at the Hub I get the benefit of meeting a lot of cool folks from many different places.  Recently I’ve met this guy Neil who moved here from Texas.  He grew up there and recently moved to Detroit to work in the auto industry.  (Insert comment about failing industry and someone moving from Texas for a job in said industry here.)  Anyway, Neil doesn’t know much about this snow stuff.  However, he already has studded tires for one of his bikes and has been patiently awaiting winter biking here in Detroit.  To him, a new “season” of riding is just starting and he can’t wait to tackle it.
He isn’t the only one either.  I remember about three years ago riding to Back Alley Bikes to participate in a movie night folks were putting on.  I road through many inches of snow and it took much longer to get here from nearby Woodbridge than usual.  When I got to the shop there wasn’t anyone here except for Joey.  He informed me that the movie night was cancelled due to the weather.  However, he then informed me that he was excited because he could go ride in the snow!  For those of you that don’t know, Joey is from Florida and is also a really good mountain bike rider.  I followed him for a bit on my winter beater but couldn’t keep up too well.  Joey was riding up curbs, over snow banks and acting like the snow covered city was his personal winter mountain bike track.  It really was.  He was having the time of his life.  That is the kind of winter riding I like to remember.

For those of you interested in riding through the winter for the first time (or want to get better on your second or third times) check out this article from 2009 written by a past collective member, Tim, about biking in winter.

Season’s Greetings!
– jason x