Intheloonybin

My first commute two years ago, I basically rode home into a tornado. Other than the water being blown up my nose, it wasn't too bad...

Ice, cold, snow, bring it on... I just put my new nokians on! (did not MEAN to rhyme, it just happened)

I don't like to ride in downpour rains, but we will see next summer. If the lightning keeps going on and on, I would have to think about it.

geogaddi

nothing. multivariable conditions just require more caution which increases the time spent commuting.

Lamplight

Nothing on that list has stopped me yet, but that doesn't mean it never will. Sickness stops me, and I imagine riding in hail would be quite painful. We rarely get significant hail around here though, usually just pea-sized.

vtjim

hobbsc

Hail, threatening lightening, or snow I can't pedal through. All of which are rare conditions.

I've ridden in hail before, and let me tell you... it hurts like heck! I don't recommend it.

Choccy

Well I must say that I have ridden in all the conditions above and that lightning and wind are the scariest. I've ridden to work and had a tree about 40 yards away get struck by lightning, that made me pedal a lot faster. And wind is scary because there are lots of trees on my route which causes them to fall. The road I use to ride to work was closed for 3 days during the storm of 1987 because so many trees fell blocking the road.

ItsJustMe

Big enough hail would probably make me wait until it passed-it rarely lasts long. Last year there was about pea-sized hail coming down when I was ready to go home. I looked at it for a few seconds, and said "eh, what the hell" and took off. I just had to tip my head enough that it wasn't striking my face.
If there was a pretty imminent thread of tornadoes (those in the midwest know what that sky looks like) I'd stay inside until it was past, regardless of my means of transportation.

genec

Darkness does it for me... Yeah, I have good lighting, but the suburban stripmall background makes me just disappear against all their flashy lights. Coupled with high speed traffic, darkness is not a good thing.

Heavy rain, rare in the area, and because of that rareness, drivers just don't handle it well.

Banzai

More things make me abandon my commute in my current location than at my previous one.

Heavy rain will do it...because there's no drainage here! They haven't heard of these new-fangled things called "sewers"...it takes less than a few minutes for the streets to be running streams, and in some places quite literally. The "drainage plan" involves flood areas that cut across the road in three places on my commute. This particularly advanced infrastructure has left me stranded at home unable to go by bike or car on several occassions!

Weather conditions that I didn't bat an eye at in Utah have me thinking twice here. The roads are horrible, and so are the drivers.

Of course, one constant from place to place is lightning. Whether I want to ride or not, my wife has put her foot down on that one.

NotReady4Purple

Snow. (How come that's not on the list?)

Jessica

I can't say I have needed to ride in snow or ice, living in the valley and all, but wind, WIND sucks, and stops my fun.

Does it count if part of my ride is bus/train part bike? if it does, then only lack of time will cause me to wimp out. On the days I am tired, i am sick or it is windy, I do 2 miles from bus/train to home.

Lucky07

I won't ride if the roads are frozen over or unplowed. Extreme cold and severe winds are a bad combo. Lastly, if there is a torrential downpour going on before I leave home, I might skip the ride.

But even more extreme cold/heat typically don't bother me if I'm dressed for it.

rohmen

Ice and large amounts of snow are all that keep me from commuting in by bike. I've never minded extreme cold, heat, or rain, but the threat of an ice storm or large scale snow storm will make me opt for public transportation instantly. Luckily, Chicago uses so much salt and plows enough that it is rarely a problem even in the dead of winter.

lima_bean

usually only lightning, although I still seem to ride in it all the time =/

But, today I skimped out because there was supposed to be a bad ice storm, in the dark, while i was going extra far on busy rodes around rush hour, so bad combinations of the above sometimes happen too.

trombone

We don't get ice / snow in Sydney, so I don't know what I'd do in that situation. It sounds from reading others' experiences that provided you're kittted out for it, it's OK, so I'd probably give it a whirl.

Other than that, nothing really keeps me off the bike. We have had some very significant hail in Sydney recently (and it's supposed to be summer, goddammit!), and I got caught out in a shower the other day. It was quite painful, so I sheltered under cover until it had passed. Those kind of storms pass over pretty fast though, so whilst I might not actually ride in the hail, I'll go out once it's passed.

urban rider

I hate black ice! The last two days in which I rode on ice I slipped and fell. So I would have to say that I dislike riding on ice.


Gas, the price of a can of beans.