all weather cycling

eyebee
eyebee Posts: 257
edited September 2009 in Road beginners
Just wondering how many people cycle (road) throughout the winter, regardless of the weather...not including home trainers!

Comments

  • Well I am new to cycling, but as i only work 4 day a week (at WE) i have got quite a bit of flexibility and I will go out during the winter on a decent day (by that i mean no rain) cold and wind i can deal with but not the rain.
    JC
    Pédale ou crève
    Specialized Elite Allez with 105
    Rockrider 8.1 : )
  • MrChuck
    MrChuck Posts: 1,663
    jeannot18 wrote:
    Well I am new to cycling, but as i only work 4 day a week (at WE) i have got quite a bit of flexibility and I will go out during the winter on a decent day (by that i mean no rain) cold and wind i can deal with but not the rain.
    JC

    +1. If it's not too wet or icy then I'll go.
  • You'll find most of the 'posters' on here endure the grim winter riding hence the proliferation in the Buying Advice section on winter gear, lights, mudguards etc at about this time of the year.

    I top up this with 1 - 2 turbo sessions peer week as well.

    Steady long rides are usually recommended for winter riding to build base fitness.
  • eyebee
    eyebee Posts: 257
    I done it most of last winter ,except for the very extremest of conditions,on a hybrid.Due to work/family commitments my commute is treated as a training ride(11 miles either way)since upgrading bikes.I usually get a lnger ride in at the weekend 30-60 miles.The only real downside is a 4am start.
    I tend to find not too many cyclists will actually venture out (weekends) despite the gear available, unless it is 'fair' weather.
  • I tend to jump on the MTB in winter and hit the trails, cant beat a good muddy blast.
    Icy and wet roads scare me!!
    "BEER" Proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy
  • Ice on roads is the only stopper for me, otherwise come rain or shine, only the speed varies. :D
  • blu3cat
    blu3cat Posts: 1,016
    Ice on roads is the only stopper for me, otherwise come rain or shine, only the speed varies. :D

    +1

    Kept riding all last winter, except when the road had snow on it. As I live in London though, by the time I went out, the frost had worn away from the roads though.
    "Bed is for sleepy people.
    Let's get a kebab and go to a disco."

    FCN = 3 - 5
    Colnago World Cup 2
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    All year - only bad ice and snow stops me. When it's been wet, then frozen I don't tend to ride, or push/walk to the main road.
  • Yep, all year round, not been stopped by snow or ice in the past but will be this year after landing on my ar$e on an icy patch just turning into my school gates last Feb.

    Actually, I'll probably still ride if it's snowy or icy, truth be told, I'll just mince along if I think it's slippy underwheel.
    Litespeed Tuscany, Hope/Open Pro, Ultegra, pulling an Extrawheel trailer, often as not.

    FCR 4 (I think?)
    Twitter: @jimjmcdonnell
  • i like training, be it running/cycling/football etc, in the rain and the cold. i get a greater sense of achievement and for some reason feel like i'm in a film. i dont know why, but i do, you know that bit where someone trains really hard no matter what, you know the bit?! me neither actually. but thats what it feels like.
  • nickcuk
    nickcuk Posts: 275
    The usual deterrents are any two mild or one severe occurrence of the following : wind, rain, cold
  • bompington
    bompington Posts: 7,674
    I've had some hairy moments on ice. The worst have been on the biggest descent on my commute - about 1km at 8% average - when feathering the brakes so as not to lock up means that the bike is still speeding up at maximum braking force.
    Snow, by comparison, is no big deal; rain is just a bit of discomfort; wind isn't so bad with practice (headwind going Dundee to Perth on thursday morning, weather stations at both ends recorded gusts >50mph while I was on the road); cars not dipping headlights can be a pain but seems to be less of a problem the more lumens I get :wink:
  • geoff_ss
    geoff_ss Posts: 1,201
    I'm a bit of a wimp these days but when I was gainfully employed I commuted 13 miles each was throughout the year. I used a trike in really bad weather. Used to annoy people who worked for me when I got in on my bike/trike having travelled further than they did in their cars :)

    It's only ice that really puts me off (heavy rain nowadays as well). I didn't much like salted roads either because of the damage to alloy components.

    Geoff
    Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster
  • Flasheart
    Flasheart Posts: 1,278
    Never on icy roads again :cry:
    The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle. ...Stapp’s Ironical Paradox Law
    FCN3
    http://img87.yfrog.com/img87/336/mycubeb.jpg
    http://lonelymiddlesomethingguy.blogspot.com/
  • all year, the only thing that that changes is the bike and the number of layers of clothing.
    If very icy / slippy then will use hybrid. otherwise road bike all the way. :)
    "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, your right" Henry Ford