How cold does it have to be to stop you?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I can bike ok for an hour or two down to about 25F degrees if it's sunny.....35 if it's windy with no sun. All I need is dry clear roads and good clothing.
Below 25 is really just too cold for me- my face starts hurting despite my balaclava and I can't keep my fingers from freezing even with 4 pairs of gloves (!)- I suppose 30 minutes might be ok though.

very few people around here too seem to ride when it's cold. A local bike club cuts off its rides when it's below 50- my husband and I were amazed! They must have awfully wimpy clothes.

[Biciclista]

I don't like riding below 38 degrees. It's damp here and there's black ice.
Not to mention, you get hot and sweaty from exertion, even wearing lots of wool,it gets old to be damp with foggy glasses when it's cold out.

[Geonz]

Haven't found it yet.

Coldest commute was four below zero, but it's only 7 miles.

45 degrees is about my favorite temperature - makes me giddy and exhilarated.

Heat stops me... or at least slows me 'way down.

[buddha_bellies]

Here in Vancouver, it's not the cold that stops me. It's the wet snow that gets stuck to your tire and that just becomes dangerous. Also, because we don't get a lot of snow here, when we do, the drivers are crazy! Our side streets don't get snow removal from the city, just the major roads. And since a lot of bike paths are along side streets, it's nearly impossible to ride unless you have studded tires.

I've felled over the handlebars twice in the last 12 years biking to work because of black ice. I was lucky because there was no traffic. But I am getting old and I don't know if I'm that in/sane anymore. But at the same time, our transit sucks too... decisions, decisions. I try not to think about it until the day comes.

[Eden]

I have yet to have cold do me in.... like Buddha says, its the ice that's the show stopper. When I lived in Rochester (flat as a pancake...) not even ice was a bother.

[redrhodie]

When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.

[Biciclista]

When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.

and when do your eyeballs freeze, if I might ask???

[redrhodie]

and when do your eyeballs freeze, if I might ask???

Going down the hill by the beach, right at the start of many of my longer rides. It's a pretty steep hill with lots of traffic, and a big pot hole that I have to watch out for. My eyes tear up, and well, it gets hard to find the hole. I "should" know exactly where it is, but every ride, I just see it in time.

I wear glasses (transition prescriptions) and I wonder if there's anything I can do. Anyone have any ideas?

[bikerHen]

When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.

My eyes water alot when I ride. I have had tears freeze to my cheeks and glasses. bikerHen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I wear eyeglasses, and had a lot of trouble the first winter with them feeling too cold on my face and fogging up, eyes tearing, etc. Then I got some fit-over plastic sunglasses that are rather goggle like, and that kept my glasses clear and warm and stopped the tearing.

[bikerHen]

I've had a couple of 22 degree commutes this month. It will get colder. I think the coldest I did last year was in the single digits. I do have studded tires and they do help with the black ice. I really don't like ice. My bike handling skills aren't that good. My most memorable ride last winter was a PM commute. It was about 10 degrees, crystal clear, dark and totally exhilarated. Roads were mostly dry so there were few icy patches to worry about. I LOVE rides like that!

The only draw back to really cold weather riding is that you can't stop for very long or you get very cold. bikerHen