rumrunn6

so is this a thing? fair weather, winter commuting. I always associated fair weather commuting with the warmer months. Sunday afternoon looks like it will be partly sunny & a whopping 30+ degrees, but then Monday morning looks like an annoying 16 degrees

pdlamb

It was 64 degrees this morning. My long sleeve jersey was too warm, given the humidity.


I can't believe I'm complaining about the heat in January!

ptempel

It was 52F this morning and might go up to 60F today. Strange weather indeed for NYC area. But I'll take it. Any day 20F or above and clear roads is good for me. Might push to 16F or so, but not much more.

mcours2006

Yeah, 6*C this morning. Ton of rain the last few days. Love it! Washes away all that snow.

I'm thinking of not riding with studded tires next week.

essiemyra

absolutely I am a fair weather commuter. I ride all year round when I think the weather is good enough for me to ride. I prefer dry roads and the temperature can be cold as long as the roads are dry and clear. If precipitation is falling with cold temps, most likely I am not riding that day.

caloso

Becoming more so this winter. We've had a combination of wind and rain this week that's made the ride a lot hairier.

rumrunn6

... northern Deep South ...

rumrunn6

enjoy it while it lasts. February is coming. that's the test

rumrunn6

that's it right there

rumrunn6

howdy neighbor, I work in Tewksbury. sounds like a sound plan. I experimented with commuting this summer & did 1 cold ride. been thinking about throwing another ride into the mix since we have the clean roads

rumrunn6

saw on another CA thread there are some roads out! anywhere near you?

fietsbob

THe Pineapple express Dumped the rain on California that usually comes up here.

so clear Today, High of 40, low of 24.

Hypno Toad

Yes.

That's how I got started with winter commuting, only commuting on dry days that were mild temps. Then I'd buy a new set of tires or new gloves and ride colder or messy conditions... until I got to the point were there are no conditions that force me to drive to work (schedule might force me to drive).

Funny story on the subject: back in the day when I was building up to ride sub-zero F temps, we had a day with -22F and windchill around -45F, and I just wasn't confident in my gear in these temps so I drove. A bike commuting buddy texted me to see if I biked, I said 'no', he responded 'I guess we're both fair weather bike commuters'

Flash forward to today, I work in a home office, so I don't need to bike commute. So I just go out for daily rides, like that morning when temps were around -25F last month and I took a fun 15 mile ride... just for fun.

rumrunn6

that's fun ... that's funny

caloso

Not in my immediate riding area. It was pretty bad up in the foothills. I know that an entire section of road was washed away in Colfax. And the local MUP is closed in sections, but my commute is on city streets. The big hazard for me was flooded intersections. It's the tail end of this system today, just drizzling now, but there's still a flood watch as all that melted snow is coming through.

Hypno Toad

I'm not sure where to post this....

You might be a snowy winter bike commuter cool, but you'll never be snowy winter unicycle commuter cool:

https://vimeo.com/198870597

The cold and snow never bothered this unicycling Minnesotan anyway ? GoMN

Darth Lefty 

I stopped at the aquatic center on my drive home to looky-loo at Nimbus dam and wondered if the ARBT is open along Missouri Bar. That's my usual bike commute route. But I'm probably done til the end of our PFL and so I'm going to stop worrying about the weather, at least as it pertains to bike commuting.

rumrunn6

sounds like flash flood dangers too. bad time to go hiking. might be an ok time to take a break. why push your luck, you know

rumrunn6

you are correct sir!

Papa Tom

With temps pushing 60F in New York today, I started thinking about getting the bike out of the basement to squeeze in a few winter commutes. But commuting is a psychological thing for me. I need to be either all-in or all-out. I can't ride one day, drive three weeks, then ride one day. My head has to be "right" for commuting and my bike has to be all set up (bags packed, lights & mp3 player charged) so I can just get right out in the morning, before I have a chance to talk myself out of it. If there's an extra minute to feel the slightest chill and change my mind, I'm going to end up driving.

For me, the only fair weather commuting is during fair weather season.

locolobo13 

Lows in the high 40s to low 50s F here. Highs near 70F. Occasional showers. It's fair weather commuting every winter here.

ptempel

Yeah, and I expect it to be not as good as last year. Last February was a gift...

ptempel

Go "all-in!" Except for snow days, holidays and vacation days. But even with excluding those days, you should get plenty of riding time in there.

noglider 

Weather forecasts have improved recently. I pretty much trust them. I can look on Sunday night at the forecast and pick the days I'll ride my bike. Or just look a day ahead. Yesterday morning was unusually warm, and as I was getting dressed, I heard there were problems on many subway lines. (The subway is my other commuting mode.) Great day to ride, I said, so that's what I did.

Low temperatures and wind are deterrents, but this winter, I think I'll stay off the roads if there is slippery frozen stuff. My route is almost 14 miles, and I can't endure that much annoyance when I want to be at work on time.

Papa Tom

Another reason I find not to ride during the winter months is that the roads are dark in the morning and many drivers get out there before their windows and mirrors have fully cleared from the condensation.