Cold Weather Riding

[I like Skol]

Any temp is good for me, just when it gets really cold always assume there will be ice and you can't go much wrong.
Ice is not frightening or unexpected, just ride appropriately.

 

[Ian H]

The only problem I've found with ice is riding quickly enough to keep warm. North Berwick during the big freeze about 11 years ago was interesting. The roads were rutted sheet ice and all I could do was follow the ruts. Not much traffic though.

 

[Bollo]

Absolutely ****ing hate it. You can stick cold weather right up your @rse. If I can get out and moving on a sunny winters day with no risk of ice then I‘ll put up with it, but otherwise it’s a no.

The upside is that I can cope with very hot weather. When the TdF kicked off in Utrecht, me and a mate got the ferry and rode from Hoek van Holland to the start. I remember riding past a petrol station that had a temp readout on the price board and it said 42C. I just thought “nice”.

A work colleague of mine once joked that if he ever got me in the secret Santa he’d just buy me one of those vivarium lamps.

 

[cougie uk]

Did 60 odd miles on Sunday in fog. Garmin tells me it was 1degrees all ride and obviously damp.
We didn't hang around long at the outdoor Covid safe coffee stop !

I'm fine so long as it's not Icy.

 

[mpemburn]

I suppose if I hadn’t gone all soft in those non-cycling years, I might be riding in the no-matter-what. Ice and snow, however? No way. I’m too enamored of the idea of continued life to engage in such activity…

 

[mpemburn]

The upside is that I can cope with very hot weather. When the TdF kicked off in Utrecht, me and a mate got the ferry and rode from Hoek van Holland to the start. I remember riding past a petrol station that had a temp readout on the price board and it said 42C. I just thought “nice”.

Yeah, me too. Here in the American Mid-Atlantic, it gets pretty freaking hot in Summer. It’s not unusual to wake up to a morning that’s in the high 80’s F (30+C) and 90% humidity. You can lose 5 pounds in sweat.

 

[dan_bo]

You're going soft at the seaside Dan

Providing there is no ice I don't care what temp. Did 60 miles on Sunday and it never got above 2 degrees

Under 3C you're running the risk of black ice especially in the mornings so that's a nah from me.

 

[dan_bo]

Under 3C you're running the risk of black ice especially in the mornings so that's a nah from me.

And on top of that I don't get paid for it.

 

[presta]

That was either 09/10 or 10/11 winter when we had decent amounts of snow about.

That's the coldest weather I've cycled in too. I don't know what the temperature was, but I was filling my bottles from the kettle, and coming home with them frozen.

The only problem I've found with ice is riding quickly enough to keep warm.

I could never ride that fast, so I wore:
Thermal vest
Three fleece jumpers
Fleece jacket
Windproof jacket
Thermal long johns
Three pairs of Ron Hill Bikesters
Two balaclavas
Two pairs of gloves
Two pairs of socks

 

[Alex321]

So long as the roads are dry, any temperature we are likely to get round here (very rarely below about -3C but I have ridden in colder). If the roads are damp, then once you get below about 3C there is a risk of black ice, and then I won't ride.

Main issue when it gets cold is that my gloves aren't really good enough, so I get frozen forefingers and thumbs. I need to get a better pair of winter gloves, though I suppose I could use my ski gloves, provided I'm not going long enough to need the gel padding that cycling gloves have.

 

[Alex321]

Any temp is good for me, just when it gets really cold always assume there will be ice and you can't go much wrong.
Ice is not frightening or unexpected, just ride appropriately.

I don't agree.

When I used to commute previously (about 30 years ago), I twice came off on black ice, and I won't ride in those conditions any more.

The first time, I honestly wondered what had happened - I was just riding on a straight road, no bumps or potholes, about 7:45am in January and suddenly I was on the floor. I thought at first something had broken on the bike, until I tried to stand up and my feet were sliding around. Even when I had fallen on it, I just couldn't see the difference between a damp road and ice.

When the roads are generally dry, you can see icy patches - and the ones you can see aren't usually quite as slippery anyhow IME.

 

[cyberknight]

Minus 11C is the coldest cycle commute I’ve done. That was either 09/10 or 10/11 winter when we had decent amounts of snow about.

them were the days😎

yes that was fun wasnt it , i remember as i only had a road bike with 23 mm slicks at the time

 

[PaulSB]

Any temp is good for me, just when it gets really cold always assume there will be ice and you can't go much wrong.
Ice is not frightening or unexpected, just ride appropriately.

I can't agree with this. Black ice is both a problem and dangerous. It can't be seen and the first one knows of it is when the bike starts sliding. I've seen several friends fall including one who broke a collar bone and another an arm.

Any chance of black ice and ride plans are abandoned.

 

[hoopdriver]

I cycled “around the world” at the South Pole once - doing a loop of the pole itself takes you through every line of longitude - and it’s was about minus-50. By far the coldest temperature in which I’ve ever cycled, although obviously not a terribly long ride. Afterwards I retreated back to the base mess hall for hot coffee and some fresh made chocolate chip cookies…

 

[biggs682]

Any sign of ice and I am staying in bed