Is it just too cold to go out on a ride?

capoz77

I'm sat here, strong double espresso latte, car is frozen under a shrine of igloo thickness ice, its started to snow, -1 degrees celcius outside, the central heating is on full whack, i'm quite comfortable. (not been out on the bike for a month!)

Do I load up GTA4?.... or deice car, get bike and kit ready and drive to Delamere/Langdegla/Edale and get out there?

weeksy59

will be out about midday. Expect cold for 20 mins. After that though i rekon it will be OK.

cat_with_no_tail

capoz77 wrote:

Is it just too cold to go out on a ride?

No, never, just wear warmer clothes and pedal harder.

Now get out!

tlw1

Cat With No Tail wrote:

capoz77 wrote:

Is it just too cold to go out on a ride?

No, never, just wear warmer clothes and pedal harder.

Now get out!

Well said, no such thing as cold weather, just inappropriate clothing

fatwomble

Did the same yesterday, I hate riding in the cold, but it's better than the rain. With enough layers you will be warm enough.

el loco pollo

No, stay in. If it's not fun why do it?

JamesB

I think it all depends more on the ground / road state---if icy don`t go, frozen snow don`t go.

I was out yesterday (on road) kept nice and warm and roads generally OK; previous day MTBing on hills (Welsh border area) , waste of time , either iced up tracks or snow with frozen breakable surface

NO SUCH THING AS BAD WEATHER, JUST POOR CLOTHING. Ammundsen??

cat_with_no_tail

el loco pollo wrote:

No, stay in. If it's not fun why do it?

Because it IS fun, just so long as you dress accordingly and havent got a 1,000,000mph headwind the whole way.

Riding in the cold is AWESOME! The mud is firmer, meaning you bog down less, you dont sweat as much and the trails are nearly empty because people whimp out.
Added bonus if it's been snowing because you get to make fresh tyre tracks AND because of that sound deadening effect snow has, you know the one I mean.

God I've just made myself want to go for a ride.

dave_hill

Cat With No Tail wrote:

you dont sweat as much

Bollocks - I sweat MORE when it's cold because I have to wear more layers and I end up colder!

BRING BACK SUMMER!!! :shock:

Johnny Napalm

I find that after a few minutes of riding I soon warm up, and like Dave, do get a sweat on.

Two things that I try not to do in the cold is -

1. Set off with cold hands. I find that if I'm tinkering with the bike etc. before I go, and my hands are cold when I set off, then it can take a while to get them warm again. So, I always try to ensure that my hands are warm when I set off, and that way they tend to stay warm.

2. Stop for any long periods of time during the ride. Stopping in the cold is not a great thing to do as it doesn't take long for the cold temperatures to start having an effect, so I avoid doing this where possible.

Right, I'm off out for a ride now. Have fun!

Anonymous

if its cold outside, do what man has done for centuries, stay inside till its warm. only go out for essentials like food and water.

JamesBrckmn

Johnny Napalm wrote:

Two things that I try not to do in the cold is -

1. Set off with cold hands. I find that if I'm tinkering with the bike etc. before I go, and my hands are cold when I set off, then it can take a while to get them warm again. So, I always try to ensure that my hands are warm when I set off, and that way they tend to stay warm.

2. Stop for any long periods of time during the ride. Stopping in the cold is not a great thing to do as it doesn't take long for the cold temperatures to start having an effect, so I avoid doing this where possible.

I went for a ride yesterday, with my Dad on homebury hill, and it was great fun, despite doing both of the above :oops:
They were both my dad's fault, as i started with cold hands from adjusting his brakes at the start, but my hands were alright for the rest of the ride even though i only had 661 raji's plus it was -1 and we had had snow the night before, then later on we stopped for about half an hour to fix my dad's puncture :evil:
I still had great fun, and we did barry knows best 4 times because it was so good, and also becase all the other trails were either very wet, muddy or icy.

flite

Be honest - it depends where you live.
Today is the 18th day in a row that we have had snow falling, and sub zero temperatures. So since mid Dec there has been snow/ice offroad , and the roads are mostly frozen ruts of slush. The roads aren't even inviting wnough to load the bike into the car and drive for better conditions elsewhere. I've looked on various forums at photos of folks rides over Christmas and New Year - they might as well be in a different world.

butcher of bakersfield

Flite wrote:

Be honest - it depends where you live.
Today is the 18th day in a row that we have had snow falling, and sub zero temperatures. So since mid Dec there has been snow/ice offroad , and the roads are mostly frozen ruts of slush. The roads aren't even inviting wnough to load the bike into the car and drive for better conditions elsewhere. I've looked on various forums at photos of folks rides over Christmas and New Year - they might as well be in a different world.

Very true. Coming from the same place, I can vouch for that. Despite hardly being out in months I've been itching to get out these last few weeks, and I'm not too bothered by the cold, or even the snow so much, but the frozen conditions make it lethal. I pondered the road, but I reckon the chances of being hit by a car are increased tenfold and that's without thinking about the patches of ice and miniture icebergs lying about.

Speckled Pants

I dont mind going out in these cold conditions, infact its fun. Places that are usualy swamps are rock hard because of the cold 8)

Its just cleaning the bike after that i dont like, bloody hose pipes always frozen and i cant feel my hands after about 10 mins out in it

JamesB

I agree with the two folks from the NE , though have been out road riding now; in teh mid Wales area there`s been snow / ice around for getting on two weeks, go east into the Midlands, and apart from on the hills nothing!! One of my local rides up into the hills currently has 12 " + snow and drifts to 3 ft +, utterly unrideable unless you`re a superman from The North Pole!
Only main roads are clear, all minor roads mix of snow / black ice/ frozen water.

GHill

matthew h wrote:

Well said, no such thing as cold weather, just inappropriate clothing

Once it gets to -15C, I consider that to be double plus untrue.

steponahen

Nothing better than breaking the ice on puddles with your tires.

Can't be doing with wind and rain sometimes, but cold is fine in the right clothes.

weeksy59

Was cracking out there

Top session at Swinley forest.

butcher of bakersfield

steponahen wrote:

Can't be doing with wind and rain sometimes, but cold is fine in the right clothes.

Absolutely. I was out on't hills the other day with the dog in a foot of snow, in my t-shirt (I was using my jacket to sit on), drinking my flask of tea. Was lovely. Sun out. Calm. Granted, It was only for ten minutes but you soon warm up on your bike. It's the wind and rain that kills you. Especially without a decent bit of kit. If the water starts seeping through it's not worth it. Keep yourself dry, keep your hands warm...it's all good.

UncleMonty

I've done two rides in the past two weeks (one at night) and both were about -3

I don't mind the cold too much but i have to make sure I warm everything before I go out, gloves, jacket, shoes the lot, even then I'm still cold for the first half hour, then I warm up, I hardly ever stop though, I find this can make me feel very cold.

colintrav

capoz77 wrote:

I'm sat here, strong double espresso latte, car is frozen under a shrine of igloo thickness ice, its started to snow, -1 degrees celcius outside, the central heating is on full whack, i'm quite comfortable. (not been out on the bike for a month!)

Do I load up GTA4?.... or deice car, get bike and kit ready and drive to Delamere/Langdegla/Edale and get out there?

And still you can't think for yourself ....

missmarple

colintrav wrote:

capoz77 wrote:

I'm sat here, strong double espresso latte, car is frozen under a shrine of igloo thickness ice, its started to snow, -1 degrees celcius outside, the central heating is on full whack, i'm quite comfortable. (not been out on the bike for a month!)

Do I load up GTA4?.... or deice car, get bike and kit ready and drive to Delamere/Langdegla/Edale and get out there?

And still you can't think for yourself ....

So Colin Traveller, are you 'as quiet as a mouse'? Oh and what bike do you ride again?

I'd play GTA4 as my personal choice, screw going to the trails with these poor conditions!

stomith

It's very pretty out there atm: But, I do have a cunning plan for when it truely does get too cold!

Snow machine!!! Am going to cover the car in snow...just because I can!

Only need a compressor, some pipework and a jet washer.


If you hadn't of guessed...we haven't had much snow this year....yet

JumperSimon14

It's not very nice when you get out for the first time after recovering from glandula fever and 8 attacks of tonsillitus in the past year to get 100m away from my house and what looked like a dry road to then just slide off into the direction of an oncoming car! There was no grip what so ever and it was lucky that the car had been going slowly

Northwind

20 of us were riding in heavy snow today at Beecraigs, I was in shorts and ended up having totake off my windproof and buff and roll up my sleeves to stay cool enough. -1.5 when we left the car but then we climbed from there. -2 when we got back. Fantastic ride... We even got in a snowball fight.

Or to put it otherwise, it's just not all that cold. Good gloves, warm socks, a cheap thermal base layer and a £5 fleece kept me fine all day, I didn't even bother with my proper winter jacket and I had a whole other layer of kit unused in my bag. I was out in the same kit at -5 last week. Now, windchill, that's when it can get nastier, so it's not a bad idea to plan less exposed routes.

bike-a-swan

done 65 miles on road and nearly thirty off this year so far, cold but good! it makes cake and tea at breaks better

racefaceec90

i actually don't mind riding in the cold,once you get over the initial shock at the back of your throat.i just cannot go out at the moment as i have a cold (not man flu or the flu).which is frustrating,as i wanted to start the year as i mean to go on (riding my new 2010 stumpy fsr comp!!!). but cold and rain sucks big time!!!

tlw1

GHill wrote:

matthew h wrote:

Well said, no such thing as cold weather, just inappropriate clothing

Once it gets to -15C, I consider that to be double plus untrue.

It can get colder than that! But the bike will stop working before you do

afcbian

Since Christmas I have been out once for a 30 mile road ride and, as of this morning, 4 times on the MTB. Freezing cold but with reasonable gear it's great.
I like the cold weather, it just takes a bit more planning than when it's warm.
Get out and ride, we have probably got another 2 months of this yet

richg1979

i would rather go out riding in -0 temps as everythings froze and you dont get dirty, much better than mud.