WHOOOSSHHH...

Don't tell me about HTFU and all that crap...Forget about the wind, we all hate that. I'm talking about when you look at the forecasted high temp and say, "GREAT" it's going to be a nice day to ride! For me it's 48 degress. 47 and below I stop enjoying a little bit more as the forecasted high is lower. Today in Richmond,Va. 35 and yesterday 28...

patentcad

I rode for 2.5+ hours yesterday in temps that ranged from 7 to 17ºF. That sucked.

Machka 

I struggled on Saturday. The temperature reached 38C/100F in the sun on the road ... and I was melting!!

How long does it take to become acclimatised to heat? It is difficult because the office is kept quite cool, so I don't get much of a chance to get used to temps in 30+ range.

Today only reached about 35C/95F in the sun on the road, and it wasn't too bad. But maybe the stop to swim in the outdoor pool in the next town helped ... and I think the wind probably helped keep the temperature feeling a bit more comfortable.

cyclezealot

With decent cold weather clothing, I might surprise myself. Luckily , I don't live where it gets really cold.. Today we just did 60 miles in sub freezing weather.. Neopreme booties and winter gloves kept me quite comfortable.. that along with a winter jacket and decent base layer.. The cool kept me energized and I was even willing to keep on going, but the group preferred to stop for a beer.

KD5NRH

Well, I ride in the Texas summer, (usually at night, but I have done some short rides in triple digit temps) but when it gets down into the 40s, I generally take the car. Cold weather riding gear would probably let me get out year-round, but I can't justify the cost for the short winters we get down here.

Homebrew01

20f

baribari

Below 50 or so... everything else you can deal with by going faster.

Also, rain sucks.

Menel

Temp is irrelevant to determining riding quality. Temp merely determines what to wear.

Clear/Sunny, mostly sunny: GREAT
mostly cloudy: good
cloudy-overcast: ok
snow flurries: interesting
rain-blizzard: bad, go for a run instead.

e.g. Hourly forecast predicts 29-40F over the course of my ~4 hrs out on the bike this am. Partly cloudy to Mostly cloudy, it should be a 'good' day.

patentcad

Not for nothing, but I think it's safe to say that somebody who lives in Georgia is no expert on cold weather cycling

While there is some truth in his observation, once you start getting down to real winter temps (sub 20ºF), wind, and weather conditions, the suckage factor ramps up rather considerably.

All that being said, the toughest conditions I've ridden in are probably temps in the 37ºF range and hammering rain for a couple of hours a few years back. That was nasty. But so is riding in 20ºF temps with 20-30 mph headwinds. Yesterday sucked pretty hard (avg. temp for 2.5+ hours was about 10ºF, and there was a breeze).

But none of that sucks as hard as riding indoors.

Walter

I'd tell you but you all would laugh at me and I'd have a hard time dealing with that.

Actually, it' about the same as WHOOOSH. Not used to, don't have garb for and just don't like cold.

Sweating beats shivering.

cmolway

today's highs might reach 10F. Tomorrow?... -24F wind-chill. No way I'm getting out on a bike in those temps. Planning on finishing up my DIY e-motion rollers this morning instead.

StephenH

Around 32 degrees F/ 0 degrees C on the low end, around 100 degrees F/ 38 C on the high end.

If I start a ride at 32 and it warms up then, that's not too bad. If I go do 20 miles at 32, that's not too bad. But in either case, I'll have fingers and toes that are uncomfortably cold before it's done, even with the best gear I've been able to round up so far. I've also had problems with my eyes fogging up in cold weather and that detracts from the ride.

On the high end, when it gets hot, I can ride, but I wind up having to stop to cool off here and there.

patentcad

Riding motorcycles in the cold is MUCH harder than riding a bicycle. I won't take my motorcycle out much when it's below 40º unless there is zero moisture on the road out of fear of black ice. I've ridden my motorcycle down to about 26ºF, but it's not easy.

Walter

I remember riding motorcycles in the cold and agree. No fairing is big enough and no gloves wind-proof enough.

gsteinb

depends on what the max temp will be. I'll roll out when it's in the mid 20s if it'll get near freezing. In general though if the high isn't getting above 28 or so I won't bother. It's been a long time since I've ridden outside.

BillyD

I ride for enjoyment. I'm way past the age of riding for machismo or to prove anything to anybody. If I'm not going to enjoy my ride I'm not going to ride.

About 45 or 50F is my cut off point. I hit the gym for the winter season and look forward to spring.

StephenH

Not disagreeing with that, but one of the challenges to riding a bike in the cold is that you're generating a bunch of heat on the inside and losing a bunch on the outside, and it can be a major chore trying to balance things out. I'll be riding along with the thickest gloves I can fit on, my hands and feet are cold, and I'm dripping sweat out of my helmet (and the helmet and hair are ALL that is on my head!)

I got amused, too, when we moved to Colorado a few years back. Down here in Texas, people that ride motorcycles just ride motorcycles, no big deal. But in Colorado, they were very much a fair-weather machine. So you'd have a nice spring day, and all the sudden, there's motorcycles everywhere, and otherwise, nope. And then you'd see the pickups with bumperstickers that say "I'd rather be riding my Harley" (with the implied but unstated addition "if it wasn't so $%^& miserable to ride!").

roadiejorge 

this

CNY James

It depends on the time of the year. In summer time, you're crazy if you think I'm riding on a cool day @ 50 degrees...

Right now, if we had 45 and clean roads, I'm out there. Same thing in late fall, the "nice" days are relative and you have to take advantage of them.

coasting 

same as whoosh. been low 40s and still hate it. i dont feel cold but breathing cold air is no good.

DocM

Probably the most true thing I've ever heard on these forums.

I'll ride outside until it gets into the low single digits. I rode 3.5 hours last week with an average temp of 20 degrees. I noticed that the drivers were especially courteous, probably because they thought I was a psychopath who needed to be treated with caution.

DXchulo

Have to agree with Pcad here. I'd rather have it snow than be rainy and somewhere between 30-40 degrees. Those rides are the worst. Below 20 is doable, but for me it always stopped being fun after an hour or so. What sucked even worse than that, though, was living in the Midwest where you have to deal with that plus cloudy skies most days plus a complete lack of hills. I don't know why anybody would live there if they have even a slight chance to get the hell out. I moved away and it was the best thing I ever did.

cooleric1234

Yes, and what you wear influences how much you enjoy cycling. I find when I have to spend forever bundling up and I'm carrying a bunch of extra weight in clothes I don't really enjoy cycling anymore.

My cutoff is around 32 degrees. Mostly because I haven't spent money on really nice winter clothing so I have a bunch of fleece and other material that doesn't have a good warmth to weight ratio. I'm talking about my commute too so I probably don't push myself all that hard, thus not generating a lot of heat.

botto 

depends.

stien

I'll say around 25F usually, but I got some bib tights and awesome shell for christmas I'm about to bust out this AM. We'll see what happens.