What do you consider bad weather for riding?

[DarkEros07]

Hi,

Okay what do you all consider bad weather for riding? I figure if theres snow on the ground and its more then 2 inches and sticking and im sliding all over the rode forget it. If its pouring down rain or snowing and not sticking lets get it on! Now am I crazy? Also what about whats your "heat limit" how hot it too hot for you? I myself will ride if its 100 out but then again im also crazy and carry a 2 liter of water in a back pack with me at all times so who knows. Anyone?

-Kristen-

[crazycanuck]

Well, I think my limit for riding is about 38C. If there's no wind when it's that hot, no way!

I'll bike in pretty much any type of weather. It's the heat though that gets to me.

If it's 38c-40C I might re think my ride & take the train home. I feel taking the train is wimping out but because there's no shade on my commute home, perhaps it's justified.

What do you think?

c

[DarkEros07]

okay since im a dork and didnt pay attention to the conversion of celcius to ferenhight HELP! lol. isnt 32degrees farenheight 0 degrees celcius? lol. i dunno i give up. im talking 100 degrees farenheight and i would be okay get me over that and im dying. then again i was also living in fl for a while so that has a huge part to play in it. lol. anyways. i figure my cut off for coldness tho would have to be just about freezing point. i dont think i could handle it much colder. lol.

-Kris-

[East Hill]

Well, I managed to get out in the (to us PNW'ers) extreme cold of about 27 degrees Fahrenheit about 9 or ten days ago. I don't think I went out at all when it was actually snowing, but I did get out when there were great chunks of ice still on the road, and snow/ice mixed on the trail.

I actually found it to be quite refreshing! Slow, because parts of the trail were quite slick, but I didn't have too many problems getting out there on the mountain bike. I don't know if I could handle any - temps, though.
Rain is not a deterrent here in the Pacific Northwest. If it were, virtually no one would ride a bike.

On the other hand, my extreme high temperature is probably the upper 80's. I get migraines from excessive heat, so I am quite leery of getting out there in the midday sun.

East Hill

[HillSlugger]

When the temps go below 35F it's getting too cold for me. Compared to many here, this makes me a wimp! I haven't found my upper temp limit yet; usually I ride outdoor in the AM before it gets too hot.

Usually I won't go out if it's already raining as I'm paranoid about losing my traction and crashing.

[Lenusik]

Well ladies, when it gets below 40F in Phoenix, it is cold. We are not very well adjusted. It is easier for me to ride in 100F then in 33F and that's the way it's been forthe last 3 weeks in the mornings. But I shouldn't whine, prego women ride indoors anyway. That's my bad weather.

[Triskeliongirl]

Hi,

Okay what do you all consider bad weather for riding? I figure if theres snow on the ground and its more then 2 inches and sticking and im sliding all over the rode forget it. If its pouring down rain or snowing and not sticking lets get it on! Now am I crazy? Also what about whats your "heat limit" how hot it too hot for you? I myself will ride if its 100 out but then again im also crazy and carry a 2 liter of water in a back pack with me at all times so who knows. Anyone?

-Kristen-

What's interesting to me is that you will ride in such extreme cold, but only mention 100 as a high. Is that the highest you'll go? My upper limit is 105, although if it goes higher and I am stuck out there so be it. But my lowest limit is 35, but prefer over 40. No rain (unless it started after I left), no snow, for safety reasons.

[chickwhorips]

here its never good weather, or very very very rare.

i'll ride in most anything, here wind the winds pick up then its hard. i usually don't ride when its over 20/25 mph.

i'll ride in the rain as long as the winds aren't high and same with snow.

[emily_in_nc]

I am probably the wimpiest person on TE! I generally won't ride below about 60F -- chillier than that, I hike, run on trails, or hit the gym. I ride on the trainer all winter and have only ridden outside once since October, when we had a gorgeous 70 degree day a couple weekends ago. I also won't ride above about 94F in the summer. Fortunately, we have a LOT of days in NC between spring and fall that fall within these limits. Only a few days each summer are hotter (and I'm usually at work when the temp is that high at mid-day anyway).

I don't mind one bit taking the winters off and refuse to feel guilty! I quite enjoy concentrating on hiking for a few months and riding indoors to get a good cardio workout and keep from getting saddle sore in the spring. DH and I used to ride outdoors all winter, and I hated it. It was windy, I couldn't breathe, my nose ran like a faucet, I just couldn't get motivated to ride in the cold....I feel so relieved I don't make myself do that anymore.

I also won't ride in the rain, snow, or ice unless it's completely unavoidable; e.g., I rode in the rain a couple of times during a nine-day self-supported tour. Not much fun.... I don't mind hiking in the rain so much since with the proper rain gear and waterproof hiking boots, I actually stay dry. On the bike, it seems impossible not to end up with water in your shoes and all over your face, glasses, etc. The faster you go, the wetter you get!

WIMP AWARD WINNER HERE!!!!

Emily

[mimitabby]

Yeah, Emily, you can keep that award, I'm not going to take it away from you.

I have noticed in the past that when the temps get close to 90, I fail... i slow down and start getting too hot. That's 32 deg celsius.

On the other end of the scale, I won't be riding below freezing. A guy in our bike club hit black ice last week and at 2 mph he fell down and broke his hip and his femur (yes, that's the big bone)!! that's awful. he's a veteran rider of thousands and thousands of miles.
I have no business riding when there could be ice.

and on the watery side of the spectrum, if it's raining pretty bad when we are supposed to start, i probably won't..

drizzle i can do. and what we call spitting or misting. I can handle that too.

[silver]

my cold limits: needs to be no colder than 35 to 40F, SUNNY, winds no more than about 15 mph. I might get starter a little colder if there's hope for it warming up.

Warm limits: I've ridden in weather up to about 102F. I think I could ride in hotter maybe up to 105F. Seems like it could be unsafe much hotter.

I wouldn't ride in snow or ice. Just cause I'm afraid of falling right now.

I don't too much mind a light rain after I get started, but I won't start a ride if it's raining.

It's been interesting to see other people's limits. I don't feel quite as much like a wimp now, seeing that I'm not the only one who doens't like the cold.

[Velobambina]

I won't ride if there's snow/ice on the pavement. If it's below 40 degrees and raining hard, I won't ride, either. Nothing worse than being wet and cold.

It's never too cold to ride in dry conditions, so long as you layer correctly & use chemical hand/foot warmers. Only one thing is to remember that your gatorade might freeze, so bring along some Shot Bloks! When it is really hot, I just make sure I hydrate sufficiently and take it easy. I used to train for marathons in the worst of DC's heat/humidity, so riding a bike in it is much easier than running!!

SheFly is our official Queen of adverse conditions, going out in the dark when it's 15 degrees outside! She can ride on ice covered ponds, for crying out loud!!!!!!!

[KayTee]

I'll ride most days it's above 10 F but don't like ice/snow, rain or winds above 30 mph. Today we had to cut our ride short. We started in off-and-on mist, but then that turned to rain, then mixed with sleet. It was fun, but people were getting cold and wet. I don't like slick roads or not being as visible to cars in bad weather - cars really don't look for bikes on the road in dark, rainy conditions.

[SheFly]

SheFly is our official Queen of adverse conditions, going out in the dark when it's 15 degrees outside! She can ride on ice covered ponds, for crying out loud!!!!!!!

LOL! Thanks, VB!

At my house, we ride all year. And in New England, that means some pretty adverse conditions. I think the coldest ride I have done was a couple of years ago - it was -5F when we started . The only reason we actually stop riding is if we have a lot of snow - then we switch to x-country skiing and/or snow shoeing instead. This hasn't happened in the past couple of years though.

We did an awesome road ride yesterday. Temp here was about 37F (which was bikini weather compared to the previous two days). Only trouble was the roads were completely salt laden. We had it everywhere when we got home!

Will likely go out and hit the ponds again tonight - just for fun .

BTW - I may be great in the cold/ice/snow, but I DON'T like the heat...

SheFly

[Maureen Valley]

Wow...I'm like Emily. We're both Wimpettes. I heard tomorrow the high will be only 50 degrees and mentally made a note to go to the gym instead of riding. I've turned into a HOT HOUSE PLANT since moving to Florida. I biked in the snow in Minnesota and shrink in horror, now, when it gets just a tad chilly. I guess, knowing I can bike 365 days a year makes it easy to be picky picky picky.

Best to all:
Maureen the Wimp