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The "No Matter What" club

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The "No Matter What" club

Old 01-11-10, 12:31 PM
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The "No Matter What" club

OK, raise your hands, who's in it. Assuming you are OK physically, who rides no matter what? Temp, rain, snow, road conditions, none of it matters.

I belong in the club but must confess I only have a 6 mile commute. I do live in the north though.
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Old 01-11-10, 12:46 PM
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Sorry, I'll keep my hand down. Lightening comes to mind..., extreme cold (-20) or extreme hot 110+
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Old 01-11-10, 12:46 PM
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I ride no matter what, but in the worst cases, that wouldn't really draw any traffic reports on AM radio where I grew up, schools here get cancelled and I wind up home w/ the kids.
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Old 01-11-10, 12:59 PM
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I raise my hand, although with a bit of embarrassment. I now live in San Jose, where the extremes of weather are not at all extreme. I can't imagine not riding my bike into work unless physically unable to. However, I moved here from Maine, where I did not ride 'no matter what' - my envelope there was temp over 0F, and not too much ice on the roads - last winter this meant that I was kept off the bike for about 20 days.
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Old 01-11-10, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
I ride no matter what, but in the worst cases, that wouldn't really draw any traffic reports on AM radio where I grew up, schools here get cancelled and I wind up home w/ the kids.
That's pretty much it for me too.

If I go to work, I go by bike. But under certain conditions I will play hooky or work from home. I will ride in snow, ice, or rain; but sometimes I'll take one look out the window in the morning go back to bed.
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Old 01-11-10, 01:03 PM
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There was a similar thread in the winter forum a few weeks ago.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...nter-Commuting

I try to ride no matter what, and have been able to do so since starting to bike commute full time last July. That said, I would have nothing against accepting a ride or taking the bus if I felt conditions had become too dangerous.

Paul
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Old 01-11-10, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by daredevil
OK, raise your hands, who's in it. Assuming you are OK physically, who rides no matter what? Temp, rain, snow, road conditions, none of it matters.

I belong in the club but must confess I only have a 6 mile commute. I do live in the north though.
5 miles - 4 if I take the direct route.

But I still reserve the right to say "F it" and take a day off at my whim.
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Old 01-11-10, 01:05 PM
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I'd like to say I'm in, but I'm not. Sometimes I tire of the layer-up, strip-down, work, repeat routine of dealing with either cold (for us = sub 20F) or persistently rainy (20 straight days) weather.
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Old 01-11-10, 01:17 PM
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*raises hand* Sun, rain, sleet, hail, snow, everything. Haven't had to ride with ambient temps below 10F yet, that I know of, but I've done wind chills below 0.
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Old 01-11-10, 01:18 PM
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I was for a couple of years, but I relaxed a bit. If I have something large to pick up, I'll drive. If I intend to go meet someone for lunch at someplace miles away, I'll drive. I've found that there are probably 4 or 5 days in the winter when I'd just rather drive - mainly if there's heavy snow buildup that hasn't been properly plowed yet.

Also, I have two cars that just sit in the driveway unless I drive them. If they haven't been driven for some other reason in 3 weeks or so, I'll drive one of them. Otherwise the batteries go dead and everything starts to rot.

Net result is that I wind up driving probably about 20 days a year, which is something like 1 out of 12 days of work.

A couple of years ago I was riding to work and a couple of miles from home there were two kids waiting for the bus in the dark. School was closed - Besides bad driving conditions, they also close school if the wind chill is below -20 I think, and it was -25 that day WITHOUT wind chill. It did seem a bit funny though for a guy on a bicycle to tell the kids that school was closed because it was too cold to stand around waiting for a bus.

Other than heavy snow, there may be some other conditions - winds over 50 MPH maybe (unless it's a tailwind - yeehaw!)? Tornado reported in the area?
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Old 01-11-10, 02:23 PM
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There was one day in July of 2006 that I took the bus, but other than that, I've ridden to work every workday since I bought my first bike on March 29, 2006.
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Old 01-11-10, 02:38 PM
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no. I was in it for awhile, and then I realized that the only reason I was in the club was because it was 'cool' and not because it actually made me happier. Now I take the bus when there's winds above 40 MPH, severe ice, temps above 105, etc--and I'm less cool but a lot happier.

Maybe if I ever move somewhere that has a milder climate, I'll rejoin.
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Old 01-11-10, 02:42 PM
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I ride almost no matter what. There are occasions (approx 10 days last year) when someone meets me at work and I hitch a ride in their car, but it has nothing to do with the weather, just dinner dates and the like.
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Old 01-11-10, 02:48 PM
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My hands' up. I don't have a car so I have no choice. And yes, I've ridden thru a lightning storm which wasn't fun. Don't know if I'd do it again. Two blizzards, several ice storms, wind, etc, etc.

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Old 01-11-10, 02:48 PM
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rain, snow, wind, cold, hot, mild flooding. Once even for a few weeks with a walking cast on my right ankle during highschool. easier than walking in the thing.
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Old 01-11-10, 02:50 PM
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I used to have to psyche myself up for riding in anything, but it really isn't that big a deal anymore. We get some cold weather and a bit of snow here (lots of wind) but there is never a time when I'd rather take the train or drive.

I did stop riding for a few days after I got hit by a car last year, that was mostly mental I think.
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Old 01-11-10, 04:03 PM
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Always! I find the harshest conditions to be the most fulfilling. Sure a sunny afternoon with a light tail wind is fun but the satisfaction of being out in the thick of it is even better. I like to run in storms and extremes to. YMMV.
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Old 01-11-10, 04:09 PM
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Always. I'm too lazy to drive, unless there is some reason why I need may car, like going to the airport.

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Old 01-11-10, 04:28 PM
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If the office is closed I'm staying home. This represents one working day in the last 10 years, the only weather-related non-bike-commute I can remember.

These days, it's only 10km in.
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Old 01-11-10, 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted by daredevil
OK, raise your hands, who's in it. Assuming you are OK physically, who rides no matter what? Temp, rain, snow, road conditions, none of it matters.

I belong in the club but must confess I only have a 6 mile commute. I do live in the north though.
So far I haven't skipped a day since Fall and I plan to stick to it! But Winter in NYC hasn't been that bad so far. I ride 8 miles each way.

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Old 01-11-10, 08:46 PM
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if time allows between class and work heck yea no matter what. Got a guy honking and yelling "you're crazy!" yesterday, totally worth it Lots of times I don't even feel the cold, and i secretly get excited for snow storms!
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Old 01-11-10, 08:48 PM
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Every day since Oct 2008, but the commute is short 6.5-7 miles round trip depending on which route I take. I was forced to drive today (errand) and found myself getting irritated. Thankfully my beautiful wife does 99.99% of the driving in our family.

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Old 01-11-10, 09:14 PM
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Yep. 10 plus years now. But it's only 4km each way if I go directly, 7 if I take the boy to school first (which I do most school days with him on his own bike in good road conditions, on the tag-along in poor). My leave time is flexible at night, so I can usually avoid a downpour. The bus makes me motion-sick, so there's really no other option.

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Old 01-11-10, 09:21 PM
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I would but I drive once a week. My truck doesn't see much use so I need to use it. Other wise I'm in. I really hate driving.
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Old 01-11-10, 09:33 PM
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I've rode my bicycle to work for years now, and I cannot remember the last time I drove to work. Not even the 6.5 earthquake last Saturday deterred me from getting home.
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