Traction - A rite of passage

For 15 years I lived in Seattle and did a lot of cycling. Of course moisture and Seattle go together pretty well. That being the case everyone has two bikes - a summer bike and a winter bike. The winter bike had tougher tires, better brake pads, something other than steel so it didn't rust, thicker chain lube ... and fenders.

Fenders were a rite of passage to being taken seriously as a year round cyclist in Seattle. Without fenders you were shunned to the back of the group, if they even let you ride at all. Or you'd be told to hang off the back. They served a purpose - to keep the grit and grime from the road from being splattered all over the face of the person behind you and to keep you from being completely soaked with that same spray.


I'm now doing more running here in Boulder and am in the middle of running through my first winter. It's been a new experience to say the least, much different than cycling through a winter in Seattle.

With snow falling and covering the ground I began to see posts for runs that said 'traction recommended.' I wasn't exactly sure what that meant or why you'd need 'traction' after all the streets around Boulder were pretty clear. I joined one of these runs that said 'traction recommended' and soon found out what it all meant.

The run began near Chautauqua with a destation of Bear Mountain. The first part was good with clear trials so traction still confused me. As we climbed we began to hit patches of snow and ice. They'd lost a 100 yards and then be gone. Soon though it was all snow - well mostly ice at this point since it had been tracked so many times. I was doing all I could to stay upright and keep moving up. In my clumsiness several people went flying by as if the ice wasn't even there. Ahh - traction!

They had screws in their shoes, or Yak Trax, or Kahtoola on their shoes. They had grip and stability on the ice and snow.

It wasn't long before I realized that to run a winter in Boulder, 'traction' would be a good idea. Off I went and found a pair of Kahtoola - and I have to say they are awesome! What a difference they make - traction!

I've now had my rite of passage to becoming a true winter runner in Boulder where temperature, snow and ice (almost) don't matter!