General Cycling Discussion - What conditions will you NOT ride in?

Ok, so I've survived torrential rain, hail, flash floods, lightning storms and extreme heat, but I will not ride in the choking bushfire smoke that is hanging over the Gold Coast this morning. Definitely not. It's hard enough to breathe just typing this at the moment.

I've finally found something that has defeated me :cry: :(

I don't like rain, and I prefer not to cycle with winds above about 60 km/h [too dangerous], but I can tolerate a lot. I will not ride my bike when roads are salted. Period. I don't want to ruin my bike.

I've survived everything from extreme heat & humidity, to rain downpours, snow storms, hail, and wind. The thing that keeps me inside is a large amount of ice (patchy ice...yeah, I've survived that). It's the only thing that is really imposible to ride through.

Im with velo, right now all the local roads are iced up, i dont even dare drive right now, theres no way i would go out on my bike.

Right now, going out would be kind of iffy, since it's now cold and icy. Cold, dry weather just sets my teeth on edge as well. However, I don't mind at all going out in Het Volk type conditions. However, very strong winds aren't my favorite thing; if it's 60km I'm likely to just say, the hell with it and do something else.

I love hot humid weather, but if I lived near brushfires I think I'd probably also stay home. What if you have asthma? I don't, but conditions like that could kill you!

I won't ride in the kind of smoke you mention, but then I've never been sujected to it. The other thing I won't ride in again is a Blizzard. Been there. Done that.
I was working 2nd shift (4PM to midnight) when the winds and snow arrived. Luckily there was no auto traffic and I only had about 2miles to go. The snowplow had just been through so the streets were fairly clean --that is, no deep snow.
It was an interesting experience. The wind was from the Nor'East and I was traveling Nor'West. The snow was as thick as fog, but the street lights were visible and my 5 cell flashlight allowed me to see the snowbanks beside the road. Was riding my old Schwinn, mentioned in another thread, and it was so heavy and stable that a thought of being knocked over by the winds never entered my head.
By the time I got home, maybe a 1/2 hour, there was about 1/2 inch of snow plastered to the front of me, and nothing on my backside. I never rode in a blizzard after that. In fact, I don't ride in the winter anymore, but not because of that incident. Mostly because I'm too friggin' old and my balance ain't as good as it used to be.

Pete Clark, the wimpy-wimpy wimp, from Atlanta, Ga.

We seem to have so many days of favorable cycling weather that
there are very few days I absolutely will not ride.

What mostly stops me is rain. In the summer, great. In the cold,
why bother, with so many nice days ahead?

:D

My favorite riding weather in "Atlanta" is sunny, dry, cool temps
(40 to 60 degrees F.) Ahhh... :) My main problem is whether to wear a jacket or not. To overheat, or not to overheat, that is the question...

:confused:

The fire has been put out. The smoke is gone :thumbup: . Tomorrow I can ride again. Assuming, of course, that we don't get another lightning strike on a certain angle again :eek: .

Don't like cold, drizzly, humid conditions with fog and the visibility under 50 feet. Besides, fearing traffic not seeing you, it is uncomfortable; no matter how good your cycle gear.

1. Hard Ice with water film on top, (WITHOUT STUDDED TIERES)

2. Heavy Deep Snow, ( ANY kind of tire)

3. Over 105' F., 95' if humid.

4. Dust Storms

'er that's all I'd admit to....

Ride Tough
Pat

Mostly because I'm too friggin' old and my balance ain't as good as it used to be.

Just what is "too friggin old?" I am curious because at 62, I am NOT too frigging old. So, I notice you don't list your year of birth on your profile. Are you about 80 or older? :p

I'm older than you by a few years, but most of the time I'm in denial. Actually, I have Inner Ear problems that cause dizziness and unsteadyness on one's feet. It really has nothing to do with age; tha'ts just an excuse I use. So don't become apprehensive about age causing deterioration. Hell, we're still kids at heart!

I won't ride in floods that are over the height of my Bottom Bracket. Alright maybe I would since the sealed bearings are not that expensive.:D

Last year I tried riding through about 18" of fresh snow. I did about a 1/8 of a mile before giving up. It was quite a workout, similiar to doing leg presses. When i got back home the bike was incredibly clean though.

Last year, there was one morning that I actually turned back. It was about 20F, and the wind was about 40mph. I had studded tyres on, but the wind made it almost impossible to ride over the packed snow.

guess I'm a wimp but I won't ride if its 30 or below
if there is a lot of wind
if the roads are wet (rain, ice or snow)
I will try not to ride tho smoke or fire.
I love riding my bike but somethings are just to big of a risk.

ahuman wimp :confused



K

I guess there are a lot of things I wouldn't intend to ride through, but I've been surprised/stuck in a lot of the above. Before every ride, I look out the window and judge the wind. My new winter riding rule is to not ride if it's below zero or raining more than a drizzle. No tornadoes either.

I'm with Chris, I will not ride in smoke at all. No point in it really, I just hang out inside until it subsides.

I have ridden in deep snow, I think it's great. You can lock the rear break up and skid around, very fun I think.

Another thing that I did the other day was ride past a pickup that was spinning its wheels and trying to get up a hill, I had to ride around it on my mountain bike to get to where I was going. :p

I don't ride my bike when its raining, or snowing, will ride though even when it is really freezing cold.....

I hate strong winds!!!!!

On my many years of cycle commuting I faced every possible condition , but the one thing that detered me from getting on the bike in the mornings was the prospect of facing into a howling Westerly gale.
A couple of times when I did chance it I ended up being litteraly blown off the bike, not a pleasant experience.

I must say, this hot weather is tempting me to just leave the bike at home and go to the beach. At 5am this morning it was 27.5 C, and the humidity made it feel like 37.5 :eek: .

Must be strong... Must resist...

Don't forget that riding has a wind chill factor, the faster you ride, the cooler you feel. ;)