Four season fitness - what weather will you ride in?

[tulip]

When I commuted by bike to work, I rode in all weather because I had to get to work. I had studded tires for the rare times when I needed them in the mid-Atlantic.

I made an exception for pouring down rain, but that's because I wear glasses and cannot see when it's pouring down rain. So in those cases, I waited for the bus in the pouring down rain! Argh!

Now that I don't have a commute, I ride when it's nice out...I've become rather soft in that regard. I will ride in the cold, however, down to the mid-20sF. But not rainy or sloppy. And in summer, the heat doesn't keep me off my bike, although I'll time my rides earlier in the day. That's just common sense.

I take spinning classes, Pilates, yoga, and tai-chi. I also have a border collie who demands two hour-long walks every day, rain or shine.

[Cataboo]

I typically won't go out for a ride if it's raining heavy outside - misty rain is okay. Typically in my area, we get thunderstorms - so short heavy rainfalls, so it's usually easy enough to wait till after the rain. I do ride after it rains but I take turns & descents a lot more carefully than I do on a dry road.

I do have warm gear to ride and I'll commute by bike when it's cold out (okay, I have no desire to ride in the snow or an ice storm - around here, I'm more worried with how terribly people drive in those conditions).... But I tend to get a lot less riding in in the winter just because it gets dark so early - so I can't get out as easily for a pleasure ride after work. yes, I could ride in the dark with headlights and such... but I guess I'm just not that hardcore in general. I'm more likely to just put the bike on the trainer once it's dark. And if it's ski season, I usually have an evening lift pass, so I can just run up and ski for the evening instead of riding...

So that means biking in the winter is more weekends only (aside from my short commute ...