Weather limits

[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

[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!

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.

[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?