Weather limits

[zoom-zoom]

What are yours? I will run in just about anything...biking is a bit more limiting. But I think our weather in the next few days might have me house-bound entirely. Tues. we have predicted high winds with 55mph gusts. Weds...SIXTY mph gusts!:eek: No can do!

I'm actually nervous. We live in an old house with lots of old, large and somewhat brittle trees around. We frequently lose large branches. So far we've been lucky to not have anything hit the house. But during a few massive wind-storms in these parts entire trees have been uprooted. I may not be sleeping well in coming days. :(

[Koronin]

Since I'm fairly new to biking in general if it's bad weather I won't go out. Basically that means to hot (esp humidity that I was having a hard enough time just going to and from jobs in) rain, snow, ice. Wind, guess it would depend on how much a light breeze sure I'll go out and cooler temps sure as long as there isn't rain, snow, sleet, ice or slush. The would be for both the mountain and the road bike.

[Chicken Little]

I find the wind the only real limiting factor. And ice. It's got to be blowing like crazy, or slick for me to really get on a trainer.

[malkin]

Wind is scary. I drove past an old cemetary today and a huge old tree had gone down in the weekend wind. The root ball was about 9ft tall and the tree had crushed a chain link fence.

[colorisnt]

Yeah, I would NOT NOT NOT ride in this wind. I would be okay on the commuter because of all the extra weight, but this wind would seriously blow me over right now.

If there is snow or ice, I am not on the road. I have to stay safe.

[tulip]

I really enjoyed commuting on the ice and snow when I had a mountain bike with studded tires. I still have the tires, but not the mountain bike anymore.

Nowadays, I'm pretty much of a wimp. I ride down to the mid-20sF if I have a ride planned and I get all ready for it the night before, but if it's raining or snowing, I don't. I have to wear glasses, and rain and snow are not glasses-friendly.

Wind is no fun when it's too hard. Best to stay indoors. There are plenty of ways to stay active indoors (great opportunity to work on that core!)

[jessmarimba]

Weather doesn't really bother me, unless I'm just having a cold day and can't seem to get over it. My limiting factor is the potential for trail damage, and if I'm really determined we have a bunch of bike paths instead. Though it annoys people on fast bikes when I ride those on the mtb. :)

[chicagogal]

crazy wind (>30mph) usually keeps me indoors, as does ice. Freezing wind, and I am definitely on the trainer :-)

[marni]

I will not ride in pouring rain if it is raining when I start off, I have been caught out, sitting in a ditch on one side of the road with my bike on the other when the thunder and lightning starts, and literally knocked off the road by a rooster tail from a truck passing me. I do ride in the wind but not once it gets over25 mph- it just isn't worth it because no matter what direction I ride, I will invariably at some point be riding into it. snow and ice are not issues around here, yet, maybe if global cooling sets in.

[crazycanuck]

I realized today that yup summer's come...:eek:

There's no shade on any of the bike paths (nor on the mtb trails) I travel on so no midday rides anymore!!! It's 33C at the moment

I don't mind headwinds etc and will ride in the rain. I don't like riding in 35C+ heat as I want shade...

[Bike Chick]

I won't ride if there are wind gusts over 20 mph and the temp is below freezing. Will run in just about anything though. At the moment, the wind is 24 mph with 44 mph gusts and a storm is about to hit (it's 75 degrees at 5 AM at it's October--that's crazy). We are under a tornado watch until noon. I'm NOT leaving for my run as I planned. I will get it done this evening.

[Catrin]

Today we are supposed to get winds around 60 mph, hail, rain, tornado watch, cool stuff! There is no way that I would even consider riding in that... heck, DRIVING in that can be challenging! I guess this is a storm system coming down from the Great Lakes? Almost all of Indiana is under a tornado watch.

I will ride in winds up to 23-25 mph, no higher. Last winter I did go out and practice staying vertical on my bike in mid-20 temps, so am looking forward to seeing what I can do this winter once my legs are healed.

I find myself sighing when I see anyone on any kind of bike. I think that is called envy :rolleyes:

[redrhodie]

I avoid thunderstorms. I'm okay with wind up to the point where stuff is blowing around (max I've ridden was 45 mph gusts, and stuff was blowing, but nothing hit me). I love riding in the rain, but hate cleaning my bike afterward, so I don't usually go if it's already raining. I'm usually excited to get caught in it, though. No snow or ice for me, but every winter I think about studded tires.

[kimikaw]

Winds over 20mph do me in. (ok to be honest, I'm cussing headwinds over 15mpg, but will ride in em). Looks like lots of us mid-westerners are feeling this wind storm for the next couple of days. Have biz travel today this afternoon through Thursday night, so won't be able to ride anyway.

Cold I can take down to the mid-20's if dressed properly. Rain can be fun to ride it - if it's not cold - if I got caught in it. Kinda a wimp about setting out in the rain. Snow and ice scare me. Though I've made a mental pledge to ride a bit outside every week this winter....even if it is just around the block. Know I won't attempt a commute once there is snow or black ice on road. My route is just too hilly for that.

[Jo-n-NY]

For me it is wind gusts over 20mph and slick roads that will tell me it is trainer day. I can deal with 30-35 degree temps (no lower) if the sun is out and the wind is at a minimum.

[GLC1968]

For me it depends on opportunity.

When I lived in NC, I wouldn't ride in rain unless I got caught in it. There was no reason to as if I just waited a day or two, it would be gone. Same for snow or ice or strong winds. I had no choice but to ride in the heat and humidity though - otherwise, I'd get no riding in all summer. 90F was a 'cool' summer day! :eek:

Now? I won't ride if it's over 95F. There is no reason to. I just wait a day or two and the temps will come down to a more typical level. Same holds true for bitter cold (below 20F) - it's so rare that there is no real reason to go out in it. Of course, the opposite is also true...now if I don't ride in the rain, I don't ride for 10 months of the year, so rain must be my friend. ;) I will still wait out super strong winds, but that's not usually a big issue either.

Editing to add: If it's a big organized ride or an event, there is not much that will sway me in terms of weather if I've trained for it. The above only applies to casual/training rides.

[TxDoc]

Tues. we have predicted high winds with 55mph gusts. Weds...SIXTY mph gusts!:eek: No can do!

Well, after having been blown over and thrown in the middle of the road by a 45mph+ cross wind gust, I have learned that I do not weigh nearly enough to ride outdoors in that wind. Maybe I need to put some weights on the bike!
Or, I guess that could be a good excuse to indulge on the fried chicken and gain a few pounds... ;)

[jessmarimba]

Yeah, I lied. I'd like to revoke my answer and change it to, "I'd try to ride in anything I would think of running in." As in, these 60+ mph winds that are blowing my car all over the highway...not so much good weather for a ride.

[beccaB]

I have ridden a century in a driving rain, and I would never never never do that again. In the wind, I would probably ride if my husband were willing, but we'd be limited to less busy roads. we might consider finding a trail to take those new mountain bikes on in the next few days, but I think I'm going to end up breaking something on me eventually with that one!

[colorisnt]

Yeah, I lied. I'd like to revoke my answer and change it to, "I'd try to ride in anything I would think of running in." As in, these 60+ mph winds that are blowing my car all over the highway...not so much good weather for a ride.

No kidding. I had to drive to school today and it was horrible. And when I got back, our dumpster had moved to the middle of the parking lot. This is a huge, steel dumpster! Scary!

[skhill]

Sunday I almost got knocked over by a 25+ mph gust when I was out on my bike. And the wind only got worse on Monday and Tuesday around here... High winds will keep my off my bike, as will ice and really heavy rains. High heat and humidity I just slow down and avoid the hottest part of the day if I can.

BTW, the tuesday windstorm did a nice job of pruning my old maple tree for me. A big dead limb I'd been worrying about came down all on its own, avoiding the house and garage and neighbor's garage, whew...

[zoom-zoom]

BTW, the tuesday windstorm did a nice job of pruning my old maple tree for me. A big dead limb I'd been worrying about came down all on its own, avoiding the house and garage and neighbor's garage, whew...

We have a birch in our yard that died years ago after a particularly hot/dry Summer. Made us very nervous, since it was tall enough to fall into the house if the wind blew right. Eventually a wind storm knocked the top 10 feet or so off. Now even if it blew towards the house it wouldn't be tall enough to hit the house. Phew!

[Kerry1976]

Kirsten, I'm in the same boat here (and you know where I live). Yesterday I didn't even try running but will today. Biking though is a "no way!"

[Melalvai]

The weather advisory said it would be difficult to drive on a north-south road this afternoon because of the cross wind.

Whew, I thought, good thing I'm biking not driving.

Actually I'm a vehicular cyclist so I drive my bike, and yeah, I totally got blown off the road! But I got back on the road and adjusted my lane position more centrally so the next gust pushed me toward the edge instead of off the edge.

[Crankin]

I don't ride in winds above 20 mph. Although I *have* ridden in winds gusting up to about 40 mph, it's dangerous and not necessary. We don't routinely have winds that strong. I guess I'm not a big risk taker? When I was commuting, high winds certainly would have stopped me.
That said, I don't ride in the rain. Sure, I've been caught in the rain, and I don't like it, especially on my road bike. The first bad crash I had was descending a mountain road in Vermont, in the rain. And the first two days of my tour in the Czech Republic was in a cold rain. Nothing I could do about that. I have done errands on my hybrid in a light drizzle/rain and with the wider tires, I feel safer. Plus, I have a terrible problem with my sunglasses (or clear ones in rain/dark) fogging, despite all attempts at solving the problem.
What has changed for me is the temperatures I ride in. My lower threshold is pretty low now. In fact, it's gone from about 50 to about 32. While I don't plan long rides at cold temperatures, I feel good just getting out for 10-15 miles if the roads are OK. Snow, ice no way. That's x country ski season, which around here is very short and often involves travel to northern New England. I like the change of sports with the season.
The weather here is extremely changeable. So, I don't worry about not riding in the rain; once in awhile there have been years of more rain than others and it gets on my nerves. I started running a couple of years ago because of that. Generally, I will run or hike or walk in the rain if I feel the need to be outside.

[buffybike]

It's so hot in Florida that most cyclists don't ride after 10:00 a.m....only now is it STARTING to cool off to the 60s/70s. Winter (Florida winter, that is) is the best time to ride around here...lower humidity and less chance of heat exhaustion. I've ridden in 40-degree weather...that's about as low as I'll go. Rain doesn't stop me unless it's below 60 and/or there's thunder/lightning.

[owlice]

Last winter was the first winter I've ridden through. (Except for February; I got in only three rides the entire month because of the snooooooow.) I don't have winter outerwear, so I layer up and have found that I'm good down to about 32°, maybe 30° if there's little or no wind. Occasionally, I've gone through puddles that were unexpectedly *crunchy*. (Yee-haw!) Won't ride in snow; don't have the tires for it. I've ridden in rain, but don't look for opportunities to do so. (I don't have rain riding gear, either.) I did a fundraising ride last year -- 24 Hours of Booty -- that had rain rain rain the first 12 hours. It was not fun riding in the dark in the rain! And I'm not crazy about wind.

I guess this makes me a mostly fair-weather rider....

[bathedinshadow]

Slight chance of rain. haha. No seriously, if we are talking a road bike, I won't go out in the rain. Wind doesn't bother me so much, unless the wind is impossible. I rode up a hill this summer looking like those old V8 commercials. I was a little nervous that the wind was suddenly going to stop and I would just fall over.

I'm a total wuss when it comes to the rain and despise the rain to such an extreme that it's sort of ridiculous. Why oh why did I move from California to the rainiest place in North America?

[Artista]

Man...I can see that I'm out of my league here:eek: Anything less than 45 degrees, sun & no wind makes the trainer look pretty good. I don't mind dealing with weather combinations like some wind, clouds or drizzle as the temp goes up.