Winter Commuting - Some Lessons Learned

Toronto
Tuesday January 12
-7C

Here are some observations from my first winter commute

Time - Count on adding a lot to your ride if you have to drive through any snow. I can normally cover the 13km commute in about 35 minutes. Today it took me just over an hour!

Schwalbe Winter Marathons
These tires are amazing! If you need some confidence when you ride this winter you should definitely pick up a pair of these. They may be overkill if you only ride on plowed roads but if you're like me and your commute covers a range of conditions then you can't beat a pair of these. My commute today covered everything from plowed roads to hard packed park trails to snow covered paths - not only that, I even had the chance to ride over some serious ice (there were several patches of run off that had covered the park paths creating a mini glacier effect).

• Plowed Roads - imagine riding over bubble wrap (sound wise) - its a 'crunchy' experience. The tires roll well but tend to feel squishy in the corners which is expected. Like I said, if plowed roads are all you ride then the Nokian A10's may be the better option.
• Hard Packed Snow - No problems here at all. My only problem was related to tire pressure. In order to properly set the studs Schwalbe recommends riding 25 miles at full pressure - since I've missed my opportunity to ride on dry roads to do this I decided to only inflate them to 4 bar (5 bar max, 2.5 bar min). This is way to high for hard packed snow - my wrists and ass definitely paid the price for this!
• Ice - Slow was my modo over the mini glaciers I came across. The studs definitely do their thing here but its still pretty scary. At one point my bike did the old sideways slide trick but I was able to recover without even having to put a foot down. On anything but studs I would have definitely eatin' dirt.
• Snow Covered Paths - No problem at all! I rode with complete confidence. The only thing to watch out for are the slushy patches, especially on turns. 

Clothing
It is possible to dress too warm! Seeing that the temperature was -7C I thought I should really wrap up.

• Top - My base layer is a long sleeved wool jersey, followed by a typical waffle top (also long sleeve), followed by a heavy zippered Thinsulate top followed by a thin waterproof shell. I probably could forgo the heavy Thinsulate top next time, but I wasn't sure how much heat I would generate during my ride. Needless to say I had no problems staying warm up top.
• Bottom - My bottom layers consist of a thin base (long John), followed by a cool weather tight followed by a lined athletic pant (to act as a wind barrier). My legs were perfectly warm - not too hot not too cool.
• Hands - Lets just say that my hands suffered. I wore a cool weather glove underneath a wool fingerless glove thinking I would stay warm while still maintaining good finger mobility. I had to stop 3 times to warm up my finger tips! New gloves are definitely on my wish list... 
• Head -  For my head I have 3 options (all include a helmet); no cap, cap or balaclava. On my first ride I figured my cap option would be fine - it has ear flaps to help keep out the cold. It didn't. The wind on my face was too much to handle so after 1 block I switched to my balaclava. As I mentioned above, my hands suffered. Not my head! The only downside to the balaclava is the effect it has on your glasses (fog). However, even at -7C the hot air created by your breath keeps your cheeks and eyes toasty.
  

Other Observations

• I need to adjust my seat. The entire commute I felt like I was sliding forward - a slight adjustment should fix it. The stock saddle isn't the most comfortable anyway so a new Selle An-Atomica is going to be added to my wish list for sure!
• Handle bar and hand position. Now I remember why I bought my road bike last year - a flat bar is just not comfortable. I have an extra bar similar to a Nitto Albatross CrMo bar that I think I'm going to install once I can get my hands on a Jtek Bar End Shifter - I need the real estate for the Amped thumb throttle. My wrists were sore after riding through the hard packed snow, and my hands were numb/tingly after the ride.
• Brake Levers - At -7C metal can be cold. I think wrapping or finding some foam/rubber lever covers will help in the cold hand department.
  

I'll add to this topic as I learn more from my comnutes.