> Why do you ride in ice and snow? Sincere question. I'm a bit late to the party, and not the person you asked, but I have bicycled through a few winters in th

> Why do you ride in ice and snow? Sincere question. I'm a bit late to the party, and not the person you asked, but I have bicycled through a few winters in the past. The winter road conditions where I live can be anything from dry and clear to wet to slushy to snowy to icy, and various things in between. I have to admit that part of the reason was "because I can". As a kid, I was given (or at least somehow got) the impression that bicycling in winter was dangerous, and that it was a summertime activity. Once I realized sometime in my early 20's that that's not how it has to be, I liked to show myself that it could be done. (I fully realize that it can, in fact, be dangerous especially if the infrastructure for cycling isn't supportive or if you don't realize that you have to approach things differently than in dry weather, but I found I was able to do it safely where I live. You just need to keep your wits with you. There's still something nice about knowing that (or if and when) it can be done; it gives a feeling of freedom, and you also become quite mindful of your physical environment while riding.) A second reason would be that, living in a city with good public transport and decent walking/cycling infrastructure, I've never owned a car. I like it that way, largely due to the ecological costs of private driving. And while public transport is a fine option, there was something nice about riding in crisp air to start the day rather than being stuck in a packed bus or a train. Not being dependent on public transport schedules is a plus, as is the exercise. Riding in some winter conditions (even snowy or icy) is a lot easier than in others. Plowed or packed snow is fine, as are slightly icy surfaces, as long as the ice is even; studded tires help a lot. Fresh snow that hasn't been plowed, even if it's just an inch or two thick, is a lot harder to ride in unless you have pretty wide tires with good tread, but it becomes possible if you do. Packed and frozen slush are the worst because they're both slippery and uneven. I'd generally not ride (at least with the bike and equipment I had back then) for significant distances if the conditions were like that. In some sense you could say that grasping the nuances of the conditions could be a hobby in itself. One of the obvious downsides is that appropriate clothing is more difficult when you have to account for the physical exertion and the cold weather. Riding is almost inevitably slower than in dry conditions, both because of safety and because any snow makes the riding physically more strenuous. It might easily also became significantly slower than other modes of transportation, and the travel time on longer commutes might become less predictable due to variable conditions, so you might not want to commute by bike for longer distances in snowy/icy conditions unless you're pretty dedicated for some other reason. I'm also not sure I'd do it in a location where the infrastructure is bad enough to make it seriously risky.