How important is the weather for a ride?

[DaveReading]

If it's windy I just head out into the wind so that it blows me home. On occasions I've taken the train out west and ridden back east with the wind.

+1

There are reasonable rides from here in pretty well every direction, so I mostly check the met before deciding on a route so that the second half has the tailwind.

I won't (normally) go out the door in the rain, but it's fine if it starts while I'm out.

 

[Slick]

I ride all year in all weather but I will admit to checking the wind and choosing a day that's less likely to have a head wind on the way home. I also ride in frosty conditions but seriously considering giving that a by this coming winter and trying the gym as last year it cost me a right few quid swapping groupsets and upgrading wheels eaten by salt. I thought I was being careful but forgot about the 8 hours or more the bike sat at work with the salt getting baked in beside a radiator.

 

[Globalti]

It's not that so much as the fact that salt is deliquescent, meaning that it absorbs atmospheric moisture and turns into little droplets of very salty water. That's why even riding on dry salty roads will eventually wreck your bike because salt dust sticks to surfaces and penetrates into nooks and crannies then becomes wet when the bike is put away.

 

[Slick]

It's not that so much as the fact that salt is deliquescent, meaning that it absorbs atmospheric moisture and turns into little droplets of very salty water. That's why even riding on dry salty roads will eventually wreck your bike because salt dust sticks to surfaces and penetrates into nooks and crannies then becomes wet when the bike is put away.

It's worse than I thought.

 

[rugby bloke]

Not a fan of the rain, but I'll still go out in it - years of standing around on cold wet rugby pitches has hardened me to it ! Don't like strong winds - again as a small cyclist I tend to get blown all over the place. Went out in 40 mph winds last winter and it was not a pleasant experience. Don't mind the heat - after all there are very few days in the UK when its so hot it makes it a significant challenge.

 

[iandg]

I am retired now, so can be a bit selective as to when I go out. Try to avoid very wet or windy days, but most of all don't go out if there is any risk of black ice.

ditto

 

[ianrauk]

If it's howling a gale or there's lots of ice/snow then I wont go out.
Wind I don't mind so much. I just plan a route making good use of the tailwind.
Rain, I always check the forecasts, more often in not they are pretty much correct these days. If it looks like all day rain then I wont go out. Intermittent showers, that's not a problem, especially in the warmer months. Being a red head, I do have to slap on the factor 50 as I will burn very easy.
Like @rugby bloke with his rugby, I have become hardened to all weathers due to many years of cycle commuting in all weathers.

 

[Globalti]

Sunshine is another thing. My forearms and lower legs are covered in solar keratoses, which are little white spots of dry skin, thanks to 63 years of UV including a summer as a walking leader in the Alps when my nose turned to something resembling a strawberry. We were less educated about the dangers of sunlight on fair skin in those days.

So now I use sun cream and even opaque white Castelli slip-on sun sleeves in very sunny weather.

 

[ianrauk]

So now I use sun cream and even opaque white Castelli slip-on sun sleeves in very sunny weather.

Been meaning to get some of these. Having fully sleeved dark tattoos on both arms along with my skin paleness. They do burn rather quickly. I saw the other thread about uv arm protectors so may invest.

 

[icowden]

Another shortarse here also plagued by wind. I hate it.

I'm also not overly tall, but as a member of the short club, that means our centre of gravity is lower to the ground, so we should deal with wind better than those tall types. That said I also hate wind.

But then I also hate sun as I am a properly stale pale male with lilywhite scottish skin. I'm also a bit cautious in snow and ice. Rain though - doesn't bother me and I don't really get cold - just have to keep my head and throat warm with a buff and skull cap (hair has been making a run for it for some years now).

 

[fossyant]

Used to commute in all weathers. Locally, I'll not go out off road if it's raining hard. If I have a planned ride, I'll ride anyway - e.g. 2 weeks ago at Llandegla, weather was windy, low cloud and wet, but there are trail facilities should anything go wrong. I'd not go off piste in the Peaks in weather like that, just asking for trouble.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Don't mind rain. Don't mind cold. Don't like, but will tolerate, hot weather. Don't mind a bit of wind. A nice overcast autumn day with a bit of a chill in the air is my ideal.

Ice and high winds keep me off the road.

 

[dan_bo]

Bob on this morning.

Luckily lots of bridleway round here so unless it's been raining heavily for three days you can still get some decent off roading done. As Fozzy says though, off piste is a bit of a different matter.

 

[Globalti]

Looks like you've been on Scout Moor or Rooley Moor, @dan_bo ?

 

[dan_bo]

Looks like you've been on Scout Moor or Rooley Moor, @dan_bo ?

Nah just Hartshead pike on the way to work this morning.