Anyone experienced with this?  It just got cold and it snowed briefly today... i'm still riding my bike around but the prospect of riding around with ice and snow on the ground intimidates me. esp since i live in montreal, which is a very hilly place. and drivers here generally hate bikers.  but all the same, the idea of not riding my bike for months scares me even more!!!!   I have a pretty old street bike, has sort of thick tires, one gear... should i change the tires and/or breaks?  or do i need a new bike altogether?  and since i ride it to school i would have to leave it outside for hours at a time - is this okay?   should i put protection on it while it's sitting outside? (like  a plastic bag) 

also my lock has been acting funny- i think it's been freezing a little and it's hard to tug free.  how to prevent things from freezing like this? 

please share your winter biking experiences!!!