What puts me off riding..

[murielalex]

Sun-I know that sounds crazy, especially to northerners, but out here in southern Arizona it sucks the life out of me. The sun is very intense here and the longer I live here, the harder it gets. I have to be out by 7am or I just start dreading the whole thing.

Same with South Florida. It's starting to get hotter here now, and I'm already noticing the difference. I can handle the sun, but not when the humidity kicks in as well. Fortunately, the mornings tend to stay nice.

[hebe]

Thanks for the replies. I can't do uphill junctions very well either, especially a local T-junctions where I have to turn left. It's a real struggle to set off up-hill and turn left at the same time. I am also not good at cycling between the barriers that are meant to allow cyclists through but not any motor vehicles.

It's rare that it's too hot to ride here. High winds sound like a problem for everyone though.

[Melalvai]

I think ego drives it all for me. If it's ridiculously horrible weather I love riding in it because it makes me look so tough and die-hard. The more people who see me the better. But after a few days of that, we have a nice day-- and that's when I take the car!

As far as which route I choose, it's based on traffic. But apparently higher traffic roads that are well within my comfort zone are outside of many people's. I'm frequently astonished that people aren't comfortable on streets I use daily.

[shootingstar]

but out here in southern Arizona it sucks the life out of me. The sun is very intense here and the longer I live here, the harder it gets. I have to be out by 7am or I just start dreading the whole thing.

I noticed this in myself when we were in Hawai'i. Here in Alberta, although the temps. are not as humid/hot as Ontario, the sun is much brighter. One of the reasons that I'm not as enthusiastic with the prairies is the lack of trees when cycling for many km. ....and no shade here and there.

We have particular winds, where there is a name "chinook" that sweep in from the Rockies suddenly. It is a particular meteorological phenomena. And suddenly during a fine lovely cycle, the wind will switch suddenly to 40 km/hr. --as a headwind. And this wouldn't have been in any weather forecast for the day.

Methinks, there is an upside to all this after living in 3 different regions of Canada and cycling: it can make one a bit more flexible cycling wise. Now I can cycle in quite cold temp. @-20 C. as long as there is no ice/much snow. A bit of rain doesn't freak me out, but thunderstorms do. Meanwhile people here get equipped in rubber boots, etc. Overkill.

Yesterday, it rained a slow, rain for 5 hrs. I noticed hardly anyone on the paved bike-ped. path and this is a path close to services/most scenic.
In Vancouver, one would have at least a few cyclists/pedestrians every 15 min. or so. on that path.

[Slowspoke]

I don't like wind. I can't tolerate how it makes my ears feel! I am also a rain wimp. I won't do my ride if it's raining and sometime if it is just threatening rain. I have gotten better about watching the radar so I can ride before the rain comes. If it is humid, my asthma gives me fits, so I try to do a light ride on those days.

I have to drive to someplace nice to ride. If I choose to ride from home, there is traffic, bad pavement and absolutely no hills. That can be nice but it fools you into thinking you are in better shape than you are! Yesterday I went on a new path, not knowing about the hills. Ten miles was HARD lol.

The last thing that puts me off is the weight in my cycling shorts, or whatever I am wearing as I sit in my recliner. There seems to be a weight related magnet there that makes it difficult to rise up for exercise!

[AppleTree]

I think ego drives it all for me. If it's ridiculously horrible weather I love riding in it because it makes me look so tough and die-hard. The more people who see me the better. But after a few days of that, we have a nice day-- and that's when I take the car!

I can relate to this, I enjoy riding in the rain (as long as it's not pouring rain, or raining AND windy. Makes me feel so hard core, ha. But I love the nice weather too.

Sometimes what keeps me off the bike is having too many errands to do at once. I love shopping and running errands on my bicycle, but sometimes I have just too many far flung things, appointments and such and I have to leave the bike at home.

The other thing, as has been already posted is the traffic/road conditions. My DH and I did a ride in Seattle and ended up in a lovely, lovely park called Golden Gardens, right on the waterfront...beautiful day, gorgeous view of the Puget Sound. But OMG, getting there, I was almost hit twice by drivers pulling out of parallel parking spots on the street, and the road was just horrible in spots. I don't think I have ever felt so vulnerable and scared on a ride as I was yesterday. And there were tons of other riders, so maybe it was just me, and being unfamiliar with that area?? Not sure, but I don't want to do that again anytime soon.

[westtexas]

As far as which route I choose, it's based on traffic. But apparently higher traffic roads that are well within my comfort zone are outside of many people's. I'm frequently astonished that people aren't comfortable on streets I use daily.

I can relate to this too. Around here, the best roads to ride on (none of them are "good" though, per se) are the highway feeder (frontage) roads way out in oil country. The shoulders are generally wide, but rough to ride on, but it's still better than being within town. For whatever reason, huge machinery trucks and oil trucks going 80+ mph 3 feet from my left side don't bother me nearly as much as all the soccer moms and teenagers and men with something to prove driving around the streets within town. Nothing like being buzzed by a semi-truck to get the adrenaline pumping! People tell me all the time I'm going to get killed or they won't go these places with me, but I think these roads are actually way the heck safer because the truck drivers pay much better attention than the Suburbans and Civics of the world.

[lovelygamer]

I'm going with wind and then, rain. I don't tolerate either well. I am learning to ride through a little of both but if it's too much, I just can't force myself to deal with it. I have always been a "fair weather" kind of girl, in all things.

[Owlie]

Rain, wind, temps below freezing or above 90-something, depending on the humidity. In summer, I usually ride early in the morning (have to be out by 8, back by 10 or 11), though there were plenty of weekdays when I rode during the day. I'd get out at 10:30 or 11 and come home at 2. How I did it without frying my tiny brain, I don't know.

The wind especially this year because my new "home" trail isn't nearly as protected from the wind as the one I rode last summer, and even more so now because if I push too hard a gear (as I tend to do in crosswinds in order to feel stable), the abdominal muscle I injured back in November throws a fit.

[jyyanks]

Wind, rain and cold temperatures does me in. I hate rain, even when I'm not riding so it's 100 times worse when I'm on a bike. I dislike being wet and having my clothes stick to me which is why I hate going in water. I also detest wind because my ears hurt. However, cold weather is the worst, especially because my nose won't stop running and I hate riding with when my nose is constantly running. I don't mind heat but humidity makes it hard to do anything!