What do you consider bad weather for riding?

[mimitabby]

Yeah, Emily, you can keep that award, I'm not going to take it away from you.

I have noticed in the past that when the temps get close to 90, I fail... i slow down and start getting too hot. That's 32 deg celsius.

On the other end of the scale, I won't be riding below freezing. A guy in our bike club hit black ice last week and at 2 mph he fell down and broke his hip and his femur (yes, that's the big bone)!! that's awful. he's a veteran rider of thousands and thousands of miles.
I have no business riding when there could be ice.

and on the watery side of the spectrum, if it's raining pretty bad when we are supposed to start, i probably won't..

drizzle i can do. and what we call spitting or misting. I can handle that too.

[silver]

my cold limits: needs to be no colder than 35 to 40F, SUNNY, winds no more than about 15 mph. I might get starter a little colder if there's hope for it warming up.

Warm limits: I've ridden in weather up to about 102F. I think I could ride in hotter maybe up to 105F. Seems like it could be unsafe much hotter.

I wouldn't ride in snow or ice. Just cause I'm afraid of falling right now.

I don't too much mind a light rain after I get started, but I won't start a ride if it's raining.

It's been interesting to see other people's limits. I don't feel quite as much like a wimp now, seeing that I'm not the only one who doens't like the cold.

[sbctwin]

Well, I had high hopes to commute all winter this year. But I lasted maybe one month into the "cold morning temps". When it finally got consistantly lower than 20F for my morning commute (done at 4:30am), I couldn't keep my feet and hands warm enough. Only 5 miles, but uphill and I couldn't feel my feet. I did get to ride some in Dec 06 when our temps were mild. As far as heat, I melt when it gets too hot, but I have finished a ride when it had reached 100F. I can't get enough liquids in me at those temps. I sweat profusely....

[Veronica]

I've commuted as low as 26 degrees F this year. It's only a two mile trip. My legs get super cold though, since I wear my work clothes. I've seen ice several mornings.

My fingers were getting too cold with the AmPhib gloves I have, so I started wearing my winter motorcycling gloves. They are a little bit better. My feet don't get cold. I wear Smartwool socks and my waterproof Keens.

For hot, we're in the 90s all summer here. I like the heat. I sweat a lot and since it's a dry heat, my sweat actually does what it's supposed to.

I think the hottest I've ridden in is 105 in Death Valley.

V.

[Velobambina]

I won't ride if there's snow/ice on the pavement. If it's below 40 degrees and raining hard, I won't ride, either. Nothing worse than being wet and cold.

It's never too cold to ride in dry conditions, so long as you layer correctly & use chemical hand/foot warmers. Only one thing is to remember that your gatorade might freeze, so bring along some Shot Bloks! When it is really hot, I just make sure I hydrate sufficiently and take it easy. I used to train for marathons in the worst of DC's heat/humidity, so riding a bike in it is much easier than running!!

SheFly is our official Queen of adverse conditions, going out in the dark when it's 15 degrees outside! She can ride on ice covered ponds, for crying out loud!!!!!!!

[KayTee]

I'll ride most days it's above 10 F but don't like ice/snow, rain or winds above 30 mph. Today we had to cut our ride short. We started in off-and-on mist, but then that turned to rain, then mixed with sleet. It was fun, but people were getting cold and wet. I don't like slick roads or not being as visible to cars in bad weather - cars really don't look for bikes on the road in dark, rainy conditions.

[Maureen Valley]

Wow...I'm like Emily. We're both Wimpettes. I heard tomorrow the high will be only 50 degrees and mentally made a note to go to the gym instead of riding. I've turned into a HOT HOUSE PLANT since moving to Florida. I biked in the snow in Minnesota and shrink in horror, now, when it gets just a tad chilly. I guess, knowing I can bike 365 days a year makes it easy to be picky picky picky.

Best to all:
Maureen the Wimp

[emily_in_nc]

Wow...I'm like Emily. We're both Wimpettes. I heard tomorrow the high will be only 50 degrees and mentally made a note to go to the gym instead of riding. I've turned into a HOT HOUSE PLANT since moving to Florida. I biked in the snow in Minnesota and shrink in horror, now, when it gets just a tad chilly. I guess, knowing I can bike 365 days a year makes it easy to be picky picky picky.

Thanks Maureen, glad I'm not the only one! It's a little daunting reading these reports of gals riding at 10F, 20F, 30F. I have ridden in cold temperatures, but I didn't like it! DH and I are considering moving to Florida when I retire. NC is too cold for us!

Emily

[MomOnBike]

I'm reasonably tough on the cold weather side - but then I have a great tolerance to cold. I've ridden my 2 mile, mostly uphill ride to work in the upper teens and felt wonderful when I got to work. About the only thing that complains about the cold is my cheeks - and my glasses, they fog up.

I don't really like riding on the packed snow/slush streets, but I'm much warmer than I would be in the car for that distance. The car is just about starting to think about warming up by the time DH drops me off. I'm toasty warm on the bike over the same distance. If the roads are very snowy/slickity, I don't ride. I like cold mornings with dry streets.

I've ridden on some pretty windy days. I don't know how hard the wind was blowing on my tour, but it beat me up pretty badly. I don't think I want to know.

Rain, up to a point, isn't all that bad. My fairing keeps some of it off me, but the front fender makes up for it by directing all the road spray into my shoe. This is annoying.

But I'm not tough, I melt in the heat, basically anything over about 75 deg F. Yuck! I hate the feel of sweat on my skin. Bleh! Humidity. Pooh! I do it, but only to get in shape so I can ride in the cooler parts of the year.

[lph]

I almost only commute, 8 miles each way, and today I rode in in -10, -11 deg C, that's 12-14 deg F. And I wasn't cold at all - a single layer of good quality thermal underwear, shorts and AmFib tights, Gore softshell jacket, wool socks, regular shoes and neoprene booties. Most important was a windproof helmet liner, a Buff over my nose and big PI lobster gloves.

But the snow was H*ll! It was liberally mixed with salt, so I had this awful slushy mixture all over my bike, packing up my chainring and re-freezing... I could only use the 3 or 4 largest rings in back, all the smallest ones were clogged. Snow is worse than cold.

But I know Geonz is way ahead of me in the cold statistics - come on, Sue, pipe up

[Mr. Bloom]

For the first time today, I saw an amish buggy while commuting from Home#1 to Home #2. It was 13 degrees F and the wind was about 20mph and snowing. I wonder what they do without technology like:

thermal underwear, shorts and AmFib tights, Gore softshell jacket, wool socks, regular shoes and neoprene booties.

I will admit that they were so wrapped up, they looked more "American Ninja" than "Amish".

You've got to admire someone who wants so hard to get from point A to point B...they must have some common personality traits as cyclists.

[tattiefritter]

Won't ride on the road if there is ice about (fallen off and hurt myself doing that), offroad is still fair game though. I'll quite happily ride in temperatures down to about -5C but as it very rarely gets stupidly cold in the UK I've not really had to test myself further. My nose does run and fingers toes take a while to warm up but usually do.

If its over 30mph gusts then I definitely won't ride on road but I'll still generally be up for offroad unless its raining/snowing horizontally to go along with it. Rain (without strong winds) is generally not a problem, if you don't ride in the rain in the UK then you won't ride much!

I'm rubbish in heat though - I think about 25C is about my limit, doesn't often get hotter than that here. Ideal is about 15 - 20C sunny day with a little breeze.

[uk elephant]

Cold I can handle. I commuted by bike to school most days through the winter when I was living in Illinois and it got VERY cold at times (windchills well below 0F). Heat on the other hand, I cannot cope with. I tend to overheat and collapse when it gets above 25C (whatever that is in F). That will be my biggest challenge when I get to CA in June to do the aids ride....hmm....helmet with ice packs?

[Crankin]

Well, I would say I am in the middle. I used to have the same "tolerance" as Emily, but somehow, this year, I've done more in the cold. I will start rides or go out if it's in the high 30's. Lower than that, it's not fun to me, especially if there's wind! I use chemical warmers for temps in the 30's. I don't purposely ride in the rain. That would be a gym day, or a hiking day for me. No snow riding, either. I have ridden in downpours, which sucks, and light rain, which I can tolerate, but don't like because of road conditions. I can do trail riding down in the 20's, as long as there's no ice.
I have ridden in 98 F, but I don't love that! If it's very hot and humid, I tend to go out early or late, or stay inside in the AC! Well, with all of these likes and dislikes, I still managed to ride 3,000 miles this year.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Bad weather? Well, let's start with my favorite weather - which I don't get all that often here. My favorite is temperatures in the 60s and 70s with dry pavement; summer rides here do tend to be warmer than that.

I have ridden at both ends of the spectrum from a heat standpoint though. I remember a string of days on my cross-country trip when it was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, days, not just one (actually, from Ohio through Kansas - a lot of days and a lot of miles!). And yesterday I set a new record for riding in the cold, 18 miles in 18 degrees. And yes, given the right conditions, I probably will repeat both of those at some point in the future.

I don't like riding in the rain, although I have done it many times - usually because I've been on a tour and there has been no way to avoid it. And I won't start out if the roads are icy or if it is snowing.

--- Denise