Living Well With Diabetes

Back on August 30, I wrote on this blog “I’m determined not to get used to [driving] my car again.”

Well, here it is nearly four months later and I’m still commuting by bicycle and using my bicycle for other errands whenever possible. I’m afraid I have to admit to driving to work a dozen or so times since August 24, the day I returned from my bicycle tour to Alaska.

Commuting by bicycle has gotten very interesting recently too. Here in Salt Lake City, this December has been a regular rotation of rain, wind, followed by snow. It only took one ride home in a heavy snow to realize I’m going to need some different tires if I expect to stay rubber side down throughout the winter.

With that in mind, I ordered some snow tires for my touring bike. But, not just any snow tires: studded snow tires. In addition to a much more aggressive tread than my current touring tires, these new tires have a hundred and twenty grippy knobs of hardened steel to help keep me upright.

I have some concerns about them though. I’m not sure what they’ll be like on dry pavement. Winters in Salt Lake City often have periods when the roads are dry. To continue commuting by bicycle, I will undoubtedly have to ride in snowy and dry conditions. I’m not going to be switching tires to suit the road conditions, so I’m hoping these studded tires will be better overall compared to my current touring tires. My new tires should arrive soon — hopefully before the next big snowfall — and I’ll post an update on how they work.

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