I know this is a bit out of season for us in the Northern Hemisphere (heck, in Quebec we’ve had no snow for a matter of weeks now! ;)) but I’m wondering how many people out there uni in the winter months? I know (Angelic Music) Kris Holm did that WhiteTrax movie a few years ago, and I saw a news clip of Ben Plotkin-Swing, Joey Cohn, and TheDan riding in the snow, but I’ve also seen lots of people saying stuff on the lines of “Well, now that winter is gone it’s time to start riding again…” Or maybe I dreamed it. I have weird dreams about unicycling sometimes. I’m obsessed.
Personally, I’ve managed to uni a few times a month at least since last August, inlcuding all the winter months, and only stopped this May when my uni broke and I was too broke to buy a new one…
I actually prefer to ride in the winter. Where I live (San Antonio, Texas) we had only 2 or 3 days when the temperature dropped to near freezing;) The drawback is riding in the summer, temps will probably reach over 100 degrees F. with humidity well over 80%
We uni no matter what season around here. Here’s an example of one of our epic descents last winter. Cheers
We ride quite a bit in the winter here in telluride colorado we are at just about 9000 ft elevation and we get around three hundred inches of snow. I definitly don’t ride as much but when the snow is hardpacked it’s fun to ride on. I wish the ski area here would let us ride on the mountain but so far no such luck. There are some x-country ski trails we ride on the best is called boomerang road that comes down from the mountain village into telluride and then in on the river trail, when the snow is good and hard it’s lots of fun and you can do several laps useing the gondola. The hardest seasons to ride is the spring mud season when all the snow hasn’t melted and there is mud everywhere and it keeps snowing off and on thru may. But that’s a good time to head west to the desert, Moab, Cortez, Fruita.
And here is how to combat those ice covered snowy trails …
Winter riding is great providing the snow conditions are right.
Carl
“The coldest winter I ever had was a summer in San Francisco”-Mark Twain
Seriously, during the winter it bottoms out around 50 degrees farnheight, so it just merans you have to warm up a bit more befor e your ride. Other than that, summer and winter are aobut the same except it’s windier in winter and less sun. Time for a ride!
Do you live right in the city? My brother lives in SF, at the top of the hill on Market Street. I’m going to visit him in October.
Can anyone else imagine aspenmikes pic as an inspirational poster?
Where i live in winter it only goes to about 15 degrees celcius, so thats still warm, we never get snow, so riding in winter is basically the same as riding in summer but its not so hot.
I went for a winter morning muni ride this morning at 7am. It had been so cold there was a whole bunch of frost on the grass. That’s pretty cold for Brisbane weather.
Andrew
You’re a wuss andrew 
My friends think I’m crazy for not wearing a jumper throughout the whole school year. But it’s not cold at all, England is nicer though. Man if it didn’t rain for like half the year I’d be there in a second, I far prefer the temperature, 40 degrees celsius is too much for me.
I ride most every day all winter here in Vermont. I take the 28" out on the roads at lunch time. I’ll ride at 0 deg F if it’s not too windy. They keep the roads pretty clear here. If the sun is shining it’s really quite comfortable. If there’s fresh snowfall it’s fun to take the trials uni out and go sliding around on the street. I also take the muni out to the sledding slope sometimes.
Over the last 20 years in VT I’ve nearly frostbitten my toes so many times (walking around the woods) that my feet don’t tolerate the cold any longer. So 2 years ago I got myself some heated insoles (battery-powered). They have exceeded my expectations by far, and make all the difference in my winter comfort level. The brand name is Hotronic. Expensive but worth it. The kit I bought doesn’t include the insoles. You have to glue the heating elements into your own insoles. Kind of a hassle, but works good. I wear them inside a pair of “winter mocassins”, which are nice and light. I got power cord extenders so I can run the power cord up the inside of my pants. The battery packs hang off my belt. The batteries are rechargeable and they go quite a while on a charge, depending on power level (there are 3 levels). I’ve got a spare pair of batteries so I don’t get caught short.
well to be honest i was gonna write a post on this.
To be honest i would not see the winter stoping me from muning not that it snows much here but i would see it as something different and a challenge more then something 2 stop me!
I have watched some of ryans and geffs trials videos in the snow now thats crazy! Rail riding ect in the snow no way!!!
Ben
Yeah. In the office, right next to the picture of the cat dangling from a tree limb with a caption like “Hang in there” or “We all make mistakes”
For aspenmike’s pic, I’m thinking more along the lines of, “…it could be worse…”
I enjoyed some winter riding, but not as much as I would have liked. In Maine, we had a couple weeks where the temperature didn’t get above -10 F, so being outside for more than a minute or so was dangerous.
Later in the season, however, things warmed up a bit, and I took my uni down a ice/snow covered hill next to my high school (ok, I was showing off for a girl). The wheel slipped out from underneath me, and did some pretty spectacular flips and bounces. As a result, though, the rim is a little warped, so even a 1.75 tire rubs on the frame.
I live in Bernal Heights, but I ride at the end of Market street lots. I don’t seem to remember a hill at the end of market street, although there probaly is one.
Sweet!
Sweet! It’s nice to know I’m not the only crazy one out there. I got kicked off campus last January for Uni-ing on snow
-10F isn’t that cold, even for Maine… Up here in Quebec I was riding when it got below 0F… Not a lot, since I was restricted to my driveway with the tire I had at the time, but it was quite doable. My only problem was over heating… How to dress lightly enough, but not too lightly.
I found the roads in New Hampshire no problem at all, ice and snow were almost never a factor even with my nearly slick road tire, even going up hill! 
Muni-Guy: Do those chains really work on ice?
AspenMike: SWEEET!!! That may become my new background 
When the high for the day is -10F, it’s plenty cold.
When I do ride in the snow, I might work up a sweat under my jacket and all, but my feet freeze. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I don’t ride in snowboots and the only other footware I own are sandals and Chuck Taylors…
But at least I ride in style
Re: Winter Riding
You don’t have to give up riding during winter months, but I usually
find myself doing simpler stuff than when there’s no ice or snow on
the ground. Riding on icy local roads is surprisingly secure with a
studded tire - my biggest concern is that my shoes will slip after a
UPD. Muni riding through snow is more of a challenge for me. But
I’ll be honest and admit I bought a pair of rubber ended pedals in
hopes I can find a gym that will let me ride indoors next winter.
Ken
Re: Winter Riding
You don’t have to give up riding during winter months, but I usually
find myself doing simpler stuff than when there’s no ice or snow on
the ground. Riding on icy local roads is surprisingly secure with a
studded tire - my biggest concern is that my shoes will slip after a
UPD. Muni riding through snow is more of a challenge for me. But
I’ll be honest and admit I bought a pair of rubber ended pedals in
hopes I can find a gym that will let me ride indoors next winter.
Ken