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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    2,545

    How cold does it have to be to stop you?

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    I'm curious about cold-weather bike riding. Obviously, I'll figure out my personal tolerance on my own by experience. But since this is my first winter as a bike owner, I am wondering.

    Tonight I did ten miles and felt great at about 49 degrees (no wind). There were lots of runners but few bikers on the path, though -- which I found surprising.

    Pam

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Riding my Luna & Rivendell in the Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,408
    I can bike ok for an hour or two down to about 25F degrees if it's sunny.....35 if it's windy with no sun. All I need is dry clear roads and good clothing.
    Below 25 is really just too cold for me- my face starts hurting despite my balaclava and I can't keep my fingers from freezing even with 4 pairs of gloves (!)- I suppose 30 minutes might be ok though.

    very few people around here too seem to ride when it's cold. A local bike club cuts off its rides when it's below 50- my husband and I were amazed! They must have awfully wimpy clothes.
    Lisa
    My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
    My personal blog:My blog
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Beautiful NW or Left Coast
    Posts
    5,619
    I don't like riding below 38 degrees. It's damp here and there's black ice.
    Not to mention, you get hot and sweaty from exertion, even wearing lots of wool,it gets old to be damp with foggy glasses when it's cold out.
    I like Bikes - Mimi
    Watercolor Blog

    Davidson Custom Bike - Cavaletta
    Dahon 2009 Sport - Luna
    Old Raleigh Mixte - Mitzi

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Illinois
    Posts
    3,151
    Haven't found it yet.

    Coldest commute was four below zero, but it's only 7 miles.

    45 degrees is about my favorite temperature - makes me giddy and exhilarated.

    Heat stops me... or at least slows me 'way down.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    197
    Here in Vancouver, it's not the cold that stops me. It's the wet snow that gets stuck to your tire and that just becomes dangerous. Also, because we don't get a lot of snow here, when we do, the drivers are crazy! Our side streets don't get snow removal from the city, just the major roads. And since a lot of bike paths are along side streets, it's nearly impossible to ride unless you have studded tires.

    I've felled over the handlebars twice in the last 12 years biking to work because of black ice. I was lucky because there was no traffic. But I am getting old and I don't know if I'm that in/sane anymore. But at the same time, our transit sucks too... decisions, decisions. I try not to think about it until the day comes.
    Last edited by buddha_bellies; 10-23-2008 at 07:23 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    WA State
    Posts
    4,364
    I have yet to have cold do me in.... like Buddha says, its the ice that's the show stopper. When I lived in Rochester (flat as a pancake...) not even ice was a bother.
    "Sharing the road means getting along, not getting ahead" - 1994 Washington State Driver's Guide

    visit my flickr stream http://flic.kr/ps/MMu5N

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Newport, RI
    Posts
    3,821
    When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Beautiful NW or Left Coast
    Posts
    5,619
    Quote Originally Posted by redrhodie View Post
    When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.
    and when do your eyeballs freeze, if I might ask???
    I like Bikes - Mimi
    Watercolor Blog

    Davidson Custom Bike - Cavaletta
    Dahon 2009 Sport - Luna
    Old Raleigh Mixte - Mitzi

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Posts
    818
    I've had a couple of 22 degree commutes this month. It will get colder. I think the coldest I did last year was in the single digits. I do have studded tires and they do help with the black ice. I really don't like ice. My bike handling skills aren't that good. My most memorable ride last winter was a PM commute. It was about 10 degrees, crystal clear, dark and totally exhilarated. Roads were mostly dry so there were few icy patches to worry about. I LOVE rides like that!

    The only draw back to really cold weather riding is that you can't stop for very long or you get very cold. bikerHen

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Spokane, WA
    Posts
    818
    Quote Originally Posted by redrhodie View Post
    When my eyeballs freeze, it's too cold.
    My eyes water alot when I ride. I have had tears freeze to my cheeks and glasses. bikerHen

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Riding my Luna & Rivendell in the Hudson Valley, NY
    Posts
    8,408
    I wear eyeglasses, and had a lot of trouble the first winter with them feeling too cold on my face and fogging up, eyes tearing, etc. Then I got some fit-over plastic sunglasses that are rather goggle like, and that kept my glasses clear and warm and stopped the tearing.
    Lisa
    My mountain dulcimer network...FOTMD.com...and my mountain dulcimer blog
    My personal blog:My blog
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Newport, RI
    Posts
    3,821
    Quote Originally Posted by Biciclista View Post
    and when do your eyeballs freeze, if I might ask???
    Going down the hill by the beach, right at the start of many of my longer rides. It's a pretty steep hill with lots of traffic, and a big pot hole that I have to watch out for. My eyes tear up, and well, it gets hard to find the hole. I "should" know exactly where it is, but every ride, I just see it in time.

    I wear glasses (transition prescriptions) and I wonder if there's anything I can do. Anyone have any ideas?

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Newport, RI
    Posts
    3,821
    Quote Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl View Post
    I wear eyeglasses, and had a lot of trouble the first winter with them feeling too cold on my face and fogging up, eyes tearing, etc. Then I got some fit-over plastic sunglasses that are rather goggle like, and that kept my glasses clear and warm and stopped the tearing.
    They fit over your glasses? Are they comfortable?

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Delaware
    Posts
    528
    I wear glasses too and use the over-the-glasses goggle kind of thing in the laboratory. No, they aren't particularly comfortable but you get used to it. I'll be using them for winter biking as well since the cold air really REALLY bothers my eyes.
    "The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we might become." Charles Dubois

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Oslo, Norway
    Posts
    4,066
    My commute is 40-60 min depending on the route I choose, and I pack it in at about -13 C/ 8 F. At that point my feet are in winter shoes with neoprene booties, and starting to feel the cold. I'd need chemical warmers, thermal booties (looking into PI's) or switch to platform pedals and hiking boots to be warm below that. Oslo rarely gets temps that low for more than a few days, though, so it's not worth the hassle.

    At that point my bike is usually protesting too, all the lube is pretty stiff and half the gears are "gone"... so I put on a down jacket and go sit on the metro with a book instead
    Winter riding is much less about badassery and much more about bundle-uppery. - malkin

    1995 Kona Cinder Cone commuterFrankenbike/Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow
    2008 white Nakamura Summit Custom mtb/Terry Falcon X
    2000 Schwinn Fastback Comp road bike/Specialized Jett

 

 

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