The Royce Files

I've ranted on here before on inconsistent snow removal in my town. Of which Lileks says in an indirect manner:"Rant on." The Twin Towns have it a bit worse than Go. More traffic brings those things on. I couldn't imagine biking in winter in the Twin Towns unless I lived at the very least 3 miles from work. A near impossibility there with the expanse of space that exists to put up buildings clear out to the edges of St. Cloud and still call it the Twin Cities. Here, things don't get much more than 5 miles out and then you are on the tundra, alone, drifting. I've been on 4 wheels for most of the last 2 weeks. This is mostly due to trying to ward off a cold and arctic temps. But it is also due to the dumpage of great amounts of snow which typically takes 2 days to adequately move. Yet it snowed for a few days in a row. That's when shovels and plows relax a little. Traffic compacts the snow but it also creates this light ...

Over the Christmas holiday the Midwest found itself in a deluge of snow. I made it home all right but many others were stranded or unable to be with family and loved ones on Christmas. A stretch of the venerable I-94 was shut off from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day (December 26th) afternoon. The large snow accumulation kept plows busy. Unfortunately for me, when I return home to the Go ( best place to find a job as noted by CNN), a 7 foot by 3 foot high wall of snow prevented me from entering the garage. The parking lot was no better- 3 feet in most spots. Let the snow removal begin! The next morning I got ready to challenge the snow with the winter bike. Private sidewalks were pretty well cleared. The streets were decent but compacted snow was beginning to form in places and I have not put on the studded tires yet. Public walkways I use were largely disregarded. With the city planning on putting into effect sidewalk shoveling ordinances, it would be wise if the city also did its part...

I am part of an unofficial organization that I call the Icebikers. We bike through most of the winter. It is a sometimes treacherous but mostly satisfying endeavor. However there is certainly on thing that irks me most when biking in winter- inadequate snow removal. For the icebiker, staying in the saddle is the ideal. I don't like to "portage" through sections of road or sidewalk every quarter mile. The icebiker appreciates a shoveled nearly to the concrete sidewalk and dispises a "snow hump" where the sidewalk and street meet. Typically I find the streets to be more maneuverable than sidewalks due in large part the inconstancy of shoveling given to the sidewalks. The other day I made my first icebike appearance of 2009. With the addition of a studded tire, I was able to make it to work on time. On the way back I took a different route and regretted it. A whole block of sidewalk on a busy street wasn't even shoveled. In the Go the last snowflake fell on Sa...