Essential winter commuting clothing/gear

[DebW]

Now a question. How cold does it have to get before you stop commuting? I'm worrying about how I'll cope if there is ice on the road. The main worry is safety rather than getting cold.

Bron

I do not ride my road bike if there is snow or ice on the road. Apparently some mountain bikers love that stuff, but being on skinny tires on ice or snow and sharing the road with cars just seems too hazardous to me. What I do is monitor the overnight temperature, and if it was below freezing and the roads are likely to have been wet, I will not ride. If it has been dry for several days then I will ride with the temperature below freezing. The conditions I tend to worry about most are spring days with daytime temps above freezing and nighttime temps below freezing and snowpiles on the sides of the roads - daytime melting means ice on roadways every morning.