Treacherous

People carry some funky things in their bike bags. Obscure-looking tools, 15mm wrenches. C02 canisters. Books of poetry. Condoms. Spare underwear.

Now, it seems, I need to start carrying a pair of ice skates.

I mean, really. The Willie B last night was like riding on a sheet of window glass.

I felt the traction going, thought, okay, I am gonna take this very slow, and if it gets bad I will get off and walk it. So when the rear wheel starts to slide out from under me, I manage to keep control but decide to be smart and not court broken bones. But, yo, for real, I could barely keep myself and the bike upright while walking, with one hand on the guardrail and the other holding the bike.

After a whole lot of very slow walking and some very careful riding, I got home late, cold, and weirded out. So today I took the day off. I worked on some fiction (not as much as I had planned, though my nightshift-oriented day is still young), made some soup (it came out really, really good), comforted a friend who's sick via text message and telephone, and bought some minor groceries (essentials: jam, milk, and tangerines).

I carried an umbrella and thought about how much more pleasant it is to be on a bike when it's raining (assuming one is suitably Gore-Texed) than on foot (sans Gore-Tex). But I still didn't want to go for a ride.

I had thought I was just being wimpy about it, but then I read this*. Even the redoubtable Bike Snob thought it was bad out.

One of his commenters had a good idea - 311. I think a serious cyclists' onslaught of 311 complaints about the bridges is decidedly called-for. Whether or not it will do a damn bit of good is highly questionable, but the situation has been ridiculous this winter. It was like watching some kind of weird gravity-challenged ballet out there, as cyclist after cyclist went down, hard, falling on their sides with their bikes sliding out from under them. And then walked along, slipping and sliding on their feet, with their bikes sliding out from under their hands - not even enough traction to wheel them along.

Seriously, folks, they used to clear these paths. The bikeways on bridges maybe got plowed and salted a little bit later than the car lanes, but they were treated, and they were usually in decent shape.

Riding through the winter used to merely be a matter of having suitable clothing and equipment, and a certain amount of true grit. Now it's taking your life in your hands anytime there's a hint of moisture and the temp gets into the 30s (the thermometer on the bank sign as I neared home still read 34 degrees F - or a little above 0 for you Celsians).

*For the record, I started writing this post before I read the Snob's, so the ice skates remark was a case of great minds, or at least similar experiences leading to the same conclusion.

PS. The DOT's automated phone message says flat out that they are not clearing or salting any of the bicycle and pedestrian paths this winter due to budget cuts. In other words, they are openly sacrificing safety for money. This ought to be enough to knock NYC right off the "most bicycle-friendly cities" list. I guarantee you any of the cyclists who rely on their bikes for real-life daily transportation would sacrifice fancy covered bike parking shelters for a bit of road salt.