Originally Posted by
Stadjer
Yes, but do you feel free to just hate the weather and be frank about that, or is do you percieve it a likeable because it's your own choice to be a cyclist? For me it's sometimes a relief to just be mad at the weather and vent it, and wouldn't like if my collegues would react with questioning my choice to take the bike.
I don't mind the cold, I don't mind snow, it's the cold horizontal rain I hate. I don't mind the heat, just as you have to slow down walking you have to slow down cycling too, but on the bike you still have a little breeze with very hardly any energy input. It might be just too hot to be nice, but if it's that hot, it's nicer to cycle than to walk.
Of course I hate the weather sometimes. You mentioned freezing rain with strong winds. One time my bike was being blown sideways with me on it.
I didn't love that! But it was a lot better than the alternative of driving on ice. There were no cars out that night, no bikes but myself, and one or two walkers.
Strong winds get on my nerves. Heat used to bother me, but not any longer. My only gripe with rain is that I wear glasses. I LOVE snow. I love when the rivers and lakes are frozen and I can ride on the ice for hours.
A couple things help me deal with annoying weather.
Foremost is proper gear, of course.
I'm also flexible about the routes I take--shaded streets on hot days, sheltered streets when it's windy, and so forth.
I use cognitive tricks to get through really bad times. I change my thoughts to focus more on the positives. "It only seems like forever, but really I'll be dry and warm at home in 30 minutes." "This sucks but it will be a good story to tell my friends tomorrow."
The really nasty weather is only 5 or 6 times a year. I can just stay in for a couple of those days. That means the weather is super annoying on less than one percent of the days.
I think that's worth the money and effort I save by not owning a car. Not to mention 362 days that I enjoy being outdoors.