Riding out the storm

LYNN – His home is on Astor Street. But Gregory DiCrescenzo lives on two wheels: He bicycles “365 days a year,” no matter if it is sweltering out or freezing cold with the roads turned to slush-filled quagmires.The West Lynn native and former bike messenger switches between a mountain bike with its heavy tires and sturdy frame and a more nimble road bike to travel from Lynn to Salem, Somerville and Boston – or wherever he wants to ride.Drivers crawl along in traffic or nervously creep their way over icy patches and snow-clogged roads, but DiCrescenzo darts past them, holding to a winter cycling theory that riding faster helps him avoid potential trouble spots.?If you don?t move, you get killed. The secret is don?t get too close to a car or a snowbank,” he said.He rides for the exercise, but mostly because he likes to go where he wants, when he wants.?I?m a lone wolf,” he said.A slippery road got the best of DiCrescenzo Wednesday night in Salem when he slid into a snowbank and hurt himself. He will let his 36-year-old body recuperate before he hits the road again.He said winter weather whittles down the number of bicyclists he sees on the road, but he usually spots “three or four” when he is out pedaling. Bike Winter, an organization that touts Chicago in an online posting as a hub for winter biking, insists “with a little inspiration, education and determination, it is easy to stay in the saddle year round.?There is no reason to put your bike in the basement when the temperature dips and snow starts to fall,” stated the organization?s website.DiCrescenzo said the key to winter riding is the right clothes. He wears sneakers or boots over two pairs of winter-weight socks; two pairs of pants; three shirts under a sweatshirt and topped by a jacket – but no Spandex.