Monday, February 14, 2011

Ice Spiker Indeed!

WEATHER THERE: clear, -4C (-6C with windchill), 6 km/hr cross/tailwinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 1C, 13 km/hr tailwinds


All hail, Oh Mighty Ice Spiker tires!!


Wow. Just . . . wow. Seriously. With all the snow we got in early January, then the perpetual melt-and-freeze cycling we've been going through since then, roads and sidewalks are left covered in ice. For the first time in ages, I took advantage of the mild weather and hooked the trailer onto the bike and rode my daughter to daycare today. I was all fine and good until I got to her daycare and got off my bike, only to find that the sidewalks had been replaced by ice rinks and my shoes could barely get any traction. I walked her into the building with ginger baby steps, trying not to fall down.

Why the hell can I barely walk when biking was such a non-issue, you ask? Because I have the all-time greatest tires in the world on my bike! That's right, my friends! These Schwalbe Ice Spikers, man, I'm telling you - they are intense! I encountered many serious ice patches, some literally as smooth as an ice rink, and I didn't so much as waver - not even when pulling the trailer. I even stuck to my preferred residential route, which has much more ice cover than the main roads but makes up for it with virtually no car traffic, and there wasn't even a hint of lost traction.

By the time I got to work, I kind of wanted to make out with my tires. That's how much I'm in love with them. When it comes to icy roads, there's nothing I'd rather be on than my studded-out bike - my car has nothing on this puppy!