Winter cycling?

[TheLondonCyclist]

Some go south and others come south
I've been getting wakened up in the morning by birds for a week now, they arrived from the northern latitudes for their winter holidays and it's just one noisy party after another down the beach these days.

Lol. The buggers are getting their groove on. Haha

 

[gbb]

As a rule, i hate winter cycling although it does bring interesting challenges when commuting..

The above was one blizzardy morning, i woke up and thought, it aint going to beat me. It was only 2,5 miles at the time, but i looked like a snowman when i got to work, most people there thought it was hilarious, some thought i was insane.
Wet murky slushy mornings, i dont mind riding in them, but it takes a terrible toll on the bike.
Frosty mornings, i used to ride in the open countryside, ice cold wind blasting my face, making my head ache with pain, i used to pedal along and think 'WTF am i doing '

I have no defence against the cold, feel it very very quick. Fingers, toes, i could cry after 30 minutes in anything anywhere near zero degrees or below.

Now i work 22 miles away, commutings only viable some days of the week and then its drive part of the way, park up then cycle 7 miles each way. As winter approaches, the thought of dark B roads, icy conditions, open fen countryside, the unrelenting wind just fills me with (almost) dread.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I'm not really relishing the endless grey wet windy cold coastal weather here TBH....but as long as I dont get cold I'm generally ok...soooo.....time to dig out the endless layers and inner gloves etc from the bottom drawer and make th emost of it!

 

[Matt1705]

I don't mind the cold, I used to do a paper round every day when I was a teenager.

Not sure how I'll cope on my road bike, but determined not to be beaten!

My n+1 might be a cheap mountain bike.... Yet to tell Mrs matt yet though ;-)

 

[Trembler49]

I'm not really looking forward to winter riding either. It can drop to 10C here and get a bit windy with the occasional shower. I may have to take a rain jacket out with me!

 

[Licramite]

my problem is glasses - especially in drizzle, - 2 minutes and thats it I,m blind. I need mini windscreen wipers fitted (do anyone do these ? )
I completely lost my sense of humour about freezing winds and getting soaking wet after Norway (minus double figures every night and if it gets above freezing - your snow hole melts! ) , but its the wet that nails me , not because its wet but I can,t see !!.

 

[bof]

I leave the bike at home when it snows in London. Invariably you'll encounter some twit in a car skidding. Maybe not very fast but I don't want to be between them and a parked car.

Best to wimp out and stay on the pavement IMO,

 

[Marshmallow_Fluff]

my problem is glasses - especially in drizzle, - 2 minutes and thats it I,m blind. I need mini windscreen wipers fitted (do anyone do these ? )
I completely lost my sense of humour about freezing winds and getting soaking wet after Norway (minus double figures every night and if it gets above freezing - your snow hole melts! ) , but its the wet that nails me , not because its wet but I can,t see !!.

That's interesting! http://www.selectspecs.com/blog/water-repellent-eye-wear-the-future/

I'm not sure what makes your glasses hold the rain drops cause I'm using the clear lense cycling glasses and I have absolutely no issues! What about sports specific glasses or contact lenses?

 

[tyred]

roll on summer 2013!!!!

Oh, what day will summer be on next year?

 

[mcshroom]

Thursday

 

[ianrauk]

Oh, what day will summer be on next year?

the 48th of Julember.

 

[hoopdriver]

I don't mind winter. If the roads are really icy I will stay in, and hope for better on the morrow, but otherwise I ride year round.

 

[Norm]

my problem is glasses - especially in drizzle, - 2 minutes and thats it I,m blind. I need mini windscreen wipers fitted (do anyone do these ? )

I don't think anyone has done a viable set of wipers, and they'd probably trash the lenses scrapping detritus across them anyway.

However, you can either get water repellant (make sure it is suitable for your glasses, there's different stuff for glass and plastic lenses) or you can get gloves with suede patches on the thumbs or forefingers to dry your lenses.

If you must stick with the wiper idea, you might be able to get a small rubber blade from a motorcycle accessory store which will fit onto a finger. Like this:
http://www.getgeared.co.uk/Glove_Rain_Wiper