Help us make free warm items for our upcoming Winter Skill Share’s gear swap!  You are also welcome to make warm things for yourself. We have sewing patterns, fleece fabric, and some supplies to share. No crafting experience is needed.

When/Where:

Saturday, October 25 from 12:30-4:30pm. You can stay for part or all of the event.

Hosmer Library, Room L02. 347 E 36th St, Minneapolis

Please bring if you can:

A face mask, sewing machine, cutting mats, fabric scissors, rotary cutters, pins, needles, thread, extensions cords, etc.. 

We will provide some snacks. Food and covered beverages are allowed in this room of the library.

If you are on Discord, please send Sarah Francis a Discord message with any questions, or post in the Grease Rag events channel. If you are not on Discord, please send any questions to the Grease Rag email address (greaseragmpls@gmail.com).

HELP NEEDED:

We need 2 people to help set up and 2 people who can stay to help clean up. We need at least 3 people to bring sewing machines. Comment in the Grease Rag events channel if you can bring a sewing machine, or if you have one we could borrow for the day. If you are not on Discord, please send an email to us (greaseragmpls@gmail.com).

Masks are required. Spare N95 masks will be available. Please stay home if you have any flu or cold symptoms.

Winter biking is joy! We loved seeing live feedback from members who shared their favorite things about winter biking.

Our first session was “What to Wear”. Mittens (she/her) reminded everyone that you do not need to be a badass to bike in the winter, and to always start with what you have.

If you’re a spreadsheet human (like me), you might find it helpful to make a spreadsheet that lists weather conditions, what you wore, and how you felt. I have found this to be a really helpful way to figure out what clothes to put on before I ride! It’s also a helpful way to figure out if you need different gear. The slides from Mittens’s presentation are here.

After a short break, Max (he/they) and Catherine (she/her) presented about riding, routing, and safety. They showed us some great photos of road conditions in the winter to remind us that the snow and ice creates an entirely different environment. Key takeaways were to slow down around corners, change your route if needed, ride where you feel comfortable (including options to “take the lane” and/or ride safely on the sidewalk), and use public transit when you need or want to! There is never any shame in choosing a different transportation option if you’re not feeling up for biking. Combining transit with biking can also make for a safer and more flexible trip!

We also gathered some great tips from members. Check them out!

For our third session, Cali (she/her) shared some bike maintenance wisdom. If you’ve ever heard of checking your “ABC’s” before riding, Cali modified that to “ABCD” for winter biking. A is for air in your tires. Make sure your tires are firmly inflated. If you can feel the tire move when you squeeze it, you need more air! Tires often need to be inflated more often in the winter, depending on temperature fluctuation. B is for brakes. Make sure they work! Your brakes may accumulate grit and gunk during the winter, clean them as needed. C is for chain. Check that it spins smoothly, and grease it if it looks dry or squeaks. D is for “don’t forget the frame!” This was one of my favorite bike maintenance tips. Accumulated snow and gunk on your frame can hide cracks in your frame. This type of damage is not common, but it is a serious safety concern that you should check for regularly. Cali sent us home with a nice handout of winter bike maintenance tips.

Between our sessions, Megan (she/her) led us in some simple stretching routines to warm up for winter biking, and to recover after finishing your bike ride. She made us a cute little zine to take home! If you’d like to print out and cut the zine for yourself, you can download it here. Instructions for how to cut and fold a zine are here. (Reminder that Hennepin County Library gives you free printing! Yay for libraries!)

We know that winter is joyful, but can also be challenging. Here are some hot tips for keeping your spirits up.

We concluded our 15th annual winter skill share with a successful gear swap. We loved giving away so many items for free! First-time winter bikers were given the opportunity to choose items first, followed by folks who already had some experience. FTWs went home with cozy warm clothes, studded tires, bike repair tools, reflective/hi-vis gear, bike bags, gift cards to local bike shops, and more! We are so grateful for our generous community of members and local bike shops. Special thanks to Perennial Cycle, Angry Catfish Bicycle, Express Bike Shop, Camden Cycles, and the Repair Lair.

Thanks to everyone who filled out our survey after the event! It was really helpful for helping us plan future events. According to our survey results, over half of the participants had never been to a winter skill share before.

We had a pretty even spread of winter biking experience, which made for excellent conversation.

Finally, we loved that almost all participants learned something new, met new people, enjoyed themselves, and left feeling more comfortable trying winter biking.

IT’S TIME TO PRE-ORDER!

Click here to place a pre-order.

Pre-order closes 3/31

*Prices are cheapest when you pre-order. You’ll be able to buy them after the pre-order closes, while supplies last.*

22 FTW artists collaborated on “FROZEN SMILES: Finding Joy Through Winter Biking” zine. The idea for this zine was born out of our collective enthusiasm for supporting each other through the darkest months of winter. It was funded by Grease Rag donations and assembled by YOLOW Zines, and made possible by our generous contributors.

“How are we seeing beauty and cultivating joy as our bikes carry us through the winter#8221;

We asked this question of our community and heard back from a diverse spectrum of artists who identify as Queer, Non binary, cis, Woman, South Indian-American, 30-Something, Introvert, white, Neurodivergent, Trans, Bisexual, Hispanic, Rural Leftist, Gay, Femme, Third Culture Kid, Trans Boy, Mixed Race, POC, Jewish, Elder, and more.

We spent Grease Rag’s money to pay contributors for their art and produce zines. Each 32 page color zine costs $8.50 to print. It took approximately 40 hours to coordinate and lay out, and another 10 hours of printing, assembling, and mailing. We offer these at sliding scale prices to keep it more accessible. If you are FTW and would like a free copy, there is a space for you to request one! Consider pitching in a few bucks for shipping, or picking up in Powderhorn. Zines will be available 4/1. This form will close 11:59pm 3/31.

All proceeds go to Grease Rag to fund free copies of the zine, and additional programming.

Thank you to contributors JJ Kahle, Xena Goldman, Karla Hovde, L. Kling, Lily Sevilla, Scout, Blue, Sol, Ilse, Adelaide, Lee Penn, Liberty Kirkeide, The Knight Ridder, Ash Hall, Annie Deutsch, Anouk V, Molly, Patrick Schwinn, olive nofzinger, Umi Hagitani, and Shruthi

After the pre-order closes, any extra copies will be available for online purchase here.

By Holly (she/her)

MN WINTERS

Two inches? 12 inches? Flurries? Polar Vortex? Grey skies for weeks. Bring it.

Several years ago I decided to limit my complaining about the weather and instead embrace the coldest/darkest days of MN winters. The idea was that I wouldn’t be setting myself up to feel frustrated and miserable. Hopefully, I would spend time enjoying things that I previously wrote off and not fight the inevitable.

It worked! I had a great winter (it was the year of the Polar Vortex). I learned about bird activity in January and February. I discovered this #lovemnwinter blog. I started noticing MANY signs of spring, starting in mid-January, that kept me going. I found that I especially loved SNOW!

Changing my expectations of winter for the positive, expecting it to bring me joy, has changed my life. Now, I LOVE SNOW and I look forward to winter-only experiences. Reminding myself to do this every year is now a part of my seasonal mental health care and I can’t recommend it enough for anyone who struggles with the cold and snow.

Pro Tip: Let people around you know if you are trying to change your negative feelings about winter. Ask them to not share their complaints with you and, if they are up for it, to help you think of more things to enjoy!

By Patrick Weber (he/him, they/them)

SELFIES!

By Patrick Weber (he/him, they/them)

Patrick is back with a story of transition in the winter time.

TANKSINWINTER

Winter layers always meant something special to me. Each piece I would put on myself felt symbolic to what it means to survive not only in this chilly, frosty state, but also having to put on layers to protect myself from society. When I would cover myself head-to-toe, no one can tell who I am truly on the inside, and I liked having that mystery as I did not always know who I was in daily life.

Late this winter I began to shed layers as a new transition in my life began. With each clothing piece that is no longer needed to keep my body insulated, I show a bit of my true self on the inside. I am beginning to feel freedom, and able to begin to find my true self beneath past layers.

This piece was inspired by my body becoming a sauna during the negative degree week we had in January, as I had begun HRT for testosterone, and noticed body changes within the first month. Thank you Grease Rag community for helping me figure out how to relayer myself so I would not overheat, and for your support in my new life transition.

Low is a pickle-making cat-petting moon-worshipper.

February is a hard month. And this year it’s an extra day long! To combat hardness, I am embracing softness. Hunkering into a soft cashmere scarf around my face. Hopping on my bicycle on a relatively warm day to wheel through soft mushy snow. Letting the soft gray light in through my rose colored lenses. Replacing my Franklin Hill grimace with soft, rosy cheeks and easy breaths. Watching small birds huddle outside my window, fluffed up and chittering. I love wrapping myself in all this softness as a buffer against the icy, harsh days and realities of winter.

By Alyssa Proudfoot (she/her, they/them)

Alyssa is a pissed off bike mechanic killjoy, but in a cute way.

QUIET NIGHT

I love the sudden quiet of winter in the city– it’ll be a weeknight at nine, the snow will be falling, I’ll turn down a street, and then it’s just me and my bike and the sound of my breath– where I’m so present.

By Patrick Weber (he/him, they/them)

Patrick is a 24/7 bicyclist with heart of neon glitter love of snacks. You can follow their bike adventures on Instagram @prince_of_glitter

MEMORIES

2 Years Ago Today

• Digging my bike out through thick snow in my driveway… Walking my bike when the roads got too deep for my Raligeh commuter bike to plow through… Learning how to pizza cut when the roads were mediocre but I was still too stubborn to bus to work because it was my first winter bike season…
• Note to future self: buy bar mitts, get wool gloves and socks, invest in actual winter boots instead of using old hiking shoes #probsuffered #frostbike #ohyeah #livenlearn

1 Year Ago Today

• Never ending dark morning ride to work but biking provides me the most warmth and happiness I need to get through the temp gig in the burbs… Bus ride home provides interesting opinions on how people view winter bikers as I put my bike in the racks… One of the morning bus drivers recognizes my red Banjo Bros backpack, and says they are impress always by my strength when I ride in the morning…
• Bar mitts saved my hands from further damage… Wool socks have saved my toes… REI big boots saved me from further frostbite and helped me hike over snow hurdles on the sidewalk corners from the never ending snow winter we had…
• Still need better wool gloves as the wool mittens with fingerless option did not work out

It’s not the gray days or the cold temperatures that make me feel melancholy. But this time of year is tough. It’s not the winter season but the transition to the new year that preoccupies me with the frustration of things I didn’t accomplish in the previous 365 days and the anxious weight of my self-inflicted expectations for the next journey around the sun.

And this year has been more difficult than usual. My feelings of inadequacy in my job, my relationships and showing up in the community have felt particularly accute. Being the steward of the #LoveMnWinter series made me feel less alone.

Yes, there was humor and joy and badass empowerment in this year’s posts but there was also vulnerability. Candid acknowledgment that sometimes we struggle to summon the strength to do any more than just make it through another day — and we don’t have the pretend that it’s not hard. That we all need moments of stillness and silence and straight-up surviving until the internal and external weather warms.

So huge thanks to everyone who contributed; I know I’m not the only one who took strength and solidarity in your knowledge and contributions to the Grease Rag community! In case you missed a post, here’s a recap / run-down with some of my favorite phrases or tips!

Day 1: Snow goof!

Day 2: Jump up and down and shake all of the feelings out of your body. Leave them there… Remember that we are deserving of love, kindness, comfort, hugs, compassion, & dumplings.

Day 3: Collected winter memories…

Day 5: I love turning on my blinky lights and gliding out into the empty streets like a tiny human shooting star, pedaling into the still unknown with endless possibility.

Day 6: Winter is my favorite time to drink port wine and tell myself I’m going to become a writer, a poet, or chess master. I’ve never bothered with these sorts of lies in June, July, or August.

Day 7: People view me as a badass, while I view myself as someone who is just living their life, and enjoying a new adventure with new friends and old friends.

Day 10: “Stay loose, flexible but firm,” kept going through my head, from the wisdom of Grease Rag(gers). That trifecta got me through a terrifying but thrilling ride.

Day 11: This is a season of letting go, stripping down. Trees have let go of their flowers and leaves, we’ve put our gardens to bed. There isn’t an outward sign of growth — the work is underneath, in our roots.

Day 12: My winter body gets to transform. It gets its own sensations that my sumer body will never understand.

Day 14: When I’m biking, I’m truly by myself. There is no one to entertain, no calls or messages I can answer. It’s just me and the bike.

Day 16: A few weeks ago, on a snowy February night, I leisurely scanned the colorful cards, smiling at the beautiful and silly sentiments from dozens of fellow cycling enthusiasts.

Day 18: There’s no time for bullshit. On the brutally cold days, I come home and it is all I can do to eat and go to sleep. I live more essentially, thinking not of wants but of needs. The clarity of it stuns me, when my body and my heart demand that they come first.

Day 19: Pretty much everything is more fun and enjoyable when shared with a loved one, whether they be your significant other, friend, or even random stranger that gives you a thumbs up for slogging in the opposite direction through salty slush.

Day 20: Biking in the winter has changed my life. It’s not always easy and has tested my limits — physically, mentally, emotionally — but, I know I’m better for it! I’m thankful for the bright sun on cold winter days, for how my body has adapted to weather changes, getting time outside, learning how to layer and thinking about how I spend my time differently.

Day 21: NO SHAME! Seriously! If I feel like taking the bus, or driving, or staying home, no one shames me for not being “hard core” enough. You all understand that we need to listen to our bodies and do what is right because winter is harsh.

Day 22: Besides washing your hands and drinking lots of water, what else can you do to give your body its best chance at warding off illness? Fire cider and raw honey.

Day 23: Warmer days and green things coming from the ground is coming soon. Today is February 23, and there are 26 days until the first day of spring.

Day 24: It’s weird that a few months ago the trail had so many people on it, and there were the sounds of nature. I had to strip down to my sports bra because of the heat. Today I was praying my hand warmers would last a bit longer, and wishing there were more people around me to enjoy the trail and view.

Day 25: All of these things started off as a tiny ice cube, but I started exploring and discovered a whole iceberg of things to learn and people to meet. Did anything get produced? “Done#8221; Not really. But my relationships are growing, my brain is being fed, and I wouldn’t have had the attention span in the full swing of summer. I love winter for being a blank canvas for my busy mind.

Day 26: I love walking through fresh snow when it’s late at night and you’re alone.