Weather limits

[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.

[TxDoc]

Tues. we have predicted high winds with 55mph gusts. Weds...SIXTY mph gusts! No can do!

Well, after having been blown over and thrown in the middle of the road by a 45mph+ cross wind gust, I have learned that I do not weigh nearly enough to ride outdoors in that wind. Maybe I need to put some weights on the bike!
Or, I guess that could be a good excuse to indulge on the fried chicken and gain a few pounds...

[jessmarimba]

Yeah, I lied. I'd like to revoke my answer and change it to, "I'd try to ride in anything I would think of running in." As in, these 60+ mph winds that are blowing my car all over the highway...not so much good weather for a ride.

[beccaB]

I have ridden a century in a driving rain, and I would never never never do that again. In the wind, I would probably ride if my husband were willing, but we'd be limited to less busy roads. we might consider finding a trail to take those new mountain bikes on in the next few days, but I think I'm going to end up breaking something on me eventually with that one!

[colorisnt]

Yeah, I lied. I'd like to revoke my answer and change it to, "I'd try to ride in anything I would think of running in." As in, these 60+ mph winds that are blowing my car all over the highway...not so much good weather for a ride.

No kidding. I had to drive to school today and it was horrible. And when I got back, our dumpster had moved to the middle of the parking lot. This is a huge, steel dumpster! Scary!

[skhill]

Sunday I almost got knocked over by a 25+ mph gust when I was out on my bike. And the wind only got worse on Monday and Tuesday around here... High winds will keep my off my bike, as will ice and really heavy rains. High heat and humidity I just slow down and avoid the hottest part of the day if I can.

BTW, the tuesday windstorm did a nice job of pruning my old maple tree for me. A big dead limb I'd been worrying about came down all on its own, avoiding the house and garage and neighbor's garage, whew...

[zoom-zoom]

BTW, the tuesday windstorm did a nice job of pruning my old maple tree for me. A big dead limb I'd been worrying about came down all on its own, avoiding the house and garage and neighbor's garage, whew...

We have a birch in our yard that died years ago after a particularly hot/dry Summer. Made us very nervous, since it was tall enough to fall into the house if the wind blew right. Eventually a wind storm knocked the top 10 feet or so off. Now even if it blew towards the house it wouldn't be tall enough to hit the house. Phew!

[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?

[Artista]

Man...I can see that I'm out of my league here Anything less than 45 degrees, sun & no wind makes the trainer look pretty good. I don't mind dealing with weather combinations like some wind, clouds or drizzle as the temp goes up.