Jim from Boston

My year-round 14 mile cycle commute one-way (taking the Commuter Train home with the bike) was curtailed last June due to an accident that kept me off work for three months, and destroyed my road bike. I have resumed commuting in November. So here is my planning process:

On the local cable system, Comcast in Boston, we a channel 245 called Weatherscan, with a continuous Doppler radar encompassing a wide area of Metropolitan Boston, and continuous data of various conditions, most notably wind speed and direction. My immediate decision to Go or No Go is made early that morning, initially to choose what to wear. I only use the ambient temperature, and disregard wind chill factor, since there is always a wind chill factor on the bike. I have a standardized system of layering based on the temperature.

I also check Weatherscan the night before, to anticipate my plans for the ride. My impression has been that they are pretty accurate predicting fair weather, and predictions of foul weather to ride are variable, estimated at about 75% accurate. Since the Doppler is real time and covers a wide area, I often can decide that morning when there is a window of opportunity to ride; similar to Dwight Eisenhower’s decision to launch D-Day on June 6 during a break in the weather. My alternatives to cycling are to take the family car (provided they don't need it), or take our fairly convenience public transportation.

Previously, I had minimal meteorologic limits to ride. Over the years my low temperature limit gradually diminished from 20° F to 15, then none. My lowest temperature has been 0°F for the one hour and 10 minute ride. Otherwise I avoided drenching rain and/or lightning that I did not have time to wait out. From other posts on the subject, I suppose that a wind speed of over 40 mph might be risky, because variable gusts of wind might push me into traffic. I have never encountered that yet, without rain to put off the ride.

Otherwise, my most frequent deferral to ride is when I need to get a distance of several miles from point A to point B during the work day, and be presentable on arrival. Actually, I often ride my bike to point A anyways, and then rent a car to travel. However renting and returning is time-consuming, so I have more often retrenched to taking the family car. The second most frequent reason I did not ride, is when I work late the night before, and may get only about four hours sleep.

Prior to the accident though, the more crucial decision was not whether to ride, but which bike. I would only take out my pristine Bridgestone RB-1 if there was no chance of getting it wet and grimy, or if there was ice on the road. My beater bike is a Cannondale Mountain bike with fenders, and studded tires from December through mid-April so ice is no problem. In my mind I kept score: I win if I rode the appropriate bike for the weather, and lost when I rode the wrong one. I estimate I decided wrong less than that at most five times a month. Better to ride the mountain bike in good weather, then ride the Bridgestone when wet.

Since the accident, I now have only the Cannondale to ride. I am less amenable to riding in rain, and I had to make some adjustments for the temperature. I recently posted about that:

Likewise sorry for the long post, but it gives me a chance to reflect on my cycling lifestyle of about 40 years.