So I’m getting pretty squirrelly down here. I want to ride up to Alberta or BC, but I’m mindful that a bike trip in winter can become terrible quite easily.
The age-old problem is always tires. If I put trail tires on, the bike wobbles at highway speeds. Highway tires are nightmarish on trails. I’ve got Pirelli Trail Scorpions on now, which are ~90% street, and they’re great for highways and a little bit of gravel. Add any snow, or even some rain on unpaved roads, and the Pirellis don’t like it at all. I was up in Rocky Mountain National Park a few days ago during flurries, and the bike struggled with gravel. Less than an inch of snow lay on the ground.
So, says brain, drive.
Yes, that is the smart answer. Yes, it’s wise to drive in winter. Yes, the car on snow tires handles just about anything the bike can (in snow). Yes, driving would be the smarter course.
But I don’t wanna drive. I wanna ride.