Northern California - I am so freakin' tired of tulle fog

I am I am I am I am so freakin' tired of tulle fog.

Here in Antioch, the bay Area, but really on the delta near the edge of the valley, the fog won't stop. I'm not a huge fan of sub-40 riding, but I can do it. Toss in wet yucky fog and all the fun is gone.

Sea fog can be nice, it has texture. It comes and goes. It's sometimes playful.
The fog here is Stephen King style, dark and relentless, with no redeeming values.

Just to taunt us, it hangs in the low areas where we live, but leaves the peaks clear, just so we know what we're missing. Even a drive over Kirker Pass can reveal a sunny crisp sunglasses day before you descend back into the muck.

The dampness seeps into your clothes even more than rain. It collects on your glasses. It drips off your helmet. It makes you, even if you have a geek-style blinky light, invisible to the cars that seem to speed down the road beyond all reason.

In the "light" of the day, and I use the word light to mean "not pitch black" it's still a depressing gray of evil that looks like smoke, but without any warmth.

Bring me rain. Or bring me sun. Bring me fluffy clouds. This has got to stop.

Thank you for your concern.

I so feel your pain. This gray garbage totally depresses me. We were in Maine over Thanksgiving. It was 28 degrees out when I went running. But at least it was sunny!

Veronica

I must be the only person in the world who loves fog. :) I understand the increased danger in riding or driving in it, but it's so pretty I can't find it in me to dislike it.

Yup cold and/or wet I can deal with. Riding in thick fog freaks me out.

Same here, with the infrequent "clearing" (as in, becoming less thick) around 3 pm, just enough to give one hope but not enough time for a decent ride. Meh.

Yesterday my ride was just as you described. It took me a long time to warm up. The sun didn't show up until we were nearly back in Vacaville, 42 miles of misery + 8 of less fog/some sun.

I'm with you -- bring rain or bring sun, but clear the fog.

The fog cleared out for about an hour of our ride today. That was quite pleasant.

+1 I delayed my normally early start due to annoying fog+absence of front light. Ended up with a super short 1hr out and back instead.

Joel, you must have ridden above Latrobe road or up towards Auburn. I didn't see sun until I climbed up to that point. Nice to see it, but still pretty chilly. Now I am back down in the soup.
cccorlew. what about climbing Diablo? You should be able to see sun about 1100'

Vault, I was around near Winters.

Joel, I thought you were more towards the foothills. Sorry. Did you ride up toward Berryessa? That fog hasn't cleared out of FO all week.
VG

That's why I was lucky that I took off for Mt. Hamilton Saturday. I saw the sun! Then today I did a 56 mile training ride in cold wet fog. Yuck.

That's why I was lucky that I took off for Mt. Hamilton Saturday. I saw the sun! Then today I did a 56 mile training ride in cold wet fog. Yuck.

That's why I took yesterday off -- Saturday's fog-fest ride was enough for one weekend.

Today it's drippy-wet, like it was in Davis. I'll be on the trainer. *sigh*

I rode 20 miles of singletrack in Auburn this weekend. Clear skies and mild temps - a perfect ride! :p

Now the commute this morning... that's another story.

Every December when the fog sets in I hear "Desperado" in my head.

"Don't your feet get cold in the wintertime?
When the sun won't shine and the sky won't snow
And it's hard to tell the night time from the day.

When you're losing all your highs and lows,
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?"

Somehow that verse captures the despair of the endless gray void of December tule fog for me.

Yesterday I rode 35 miles. It was 38 when I started at 8AM and warmed up all the way to 47 by the time I finished at 10:45.

Here was my inventory which allowed me to be very comfy:

Wool Socks
Shoe Covers
Riding shorts
Leg Warmers (worn under cycling pants)
Cold weather cycling pants.
Arm warmers (worn under Patagonia base layer)
Patagonia base layer
Cotton tee shirt
Jersey
Nylon Windbreaker
Half Gloves
Full Finger gloves over half gloves.
Insulating helmet liner.
Clear lenses instead of tinted in my riding glasses.

Wool Socks
Shoe Covers
Riding shorts
Leg Warmers (worn under cycling pants)
Cold weather cycling pants.
Arm warmers (worn under Patagonia base layer)
Patagonia base layer
Cotton tee shirt :eek:
Jersey
Nylon Windbreaker
Half Gloves
Full Finger gloves over half gloves.
Insulating helmet liner.
Clear lenses instead of tinted in my riding glasses.

Cotton tee shirt? Isn't what you want to avoid at all cost? I would think it would prevent the Patagonia base layer to fully perform.

Here is what I was wearing Saturday in foggy Alhambra Valley, from inside to out:

Craft long sleeves base layer
Craft short sleeves base layer with built-in front wind bloker
Arm warmers
Knee warmers
Craft warm socks (yet they are quite thin). I didn't use the shoe covers but it was borderline.
Pearl Izumi Slice Bib
Regular short sleeves jersey
Polypropylene full finger gloves (very thin but effective, I use them for winter photography)
Regular short finger cycling gloves
Helmet

I was very comfortable, never feeling damp or overheating. The wind breaker material works fantastic on downhills.
The most annoying part of the fog was on my glasses as it not only dampened the front of the glass but also the inside.

I commute in the fog and find this PI Gavia jersey to be the answer to life. Really. With a nice base layer I'm pretty happy. But I still hate fog, and wiping water off my glasses in the dark.
http://www.performancebike.com/product_images/250/10-0892-RED-FRONT.jpg

I have the same jersey and it's great. I still wore a windbreaker over it today to keep the water away.

Rode 52 miles in this miserable cold greyness yesterday. My feet were ice. Only had cotton cycling socks and toe covers. I'm now knitting myself wool socks! I hurt more after I got home, as my feet and hands were regaining feel. Sigh.

...wiping water off my glasses in the dark.

Sorry to get off the topic a bit: What are your thoughts about skipping glasses in the dark? I also commute in the dark, but I had to not wear clear glasses a couple of times due to my forgetfulness, and am now wondering if I really need to wear them?

Sorry to get off the topic a bit: What are your thoughts about skipping glasses in the dark? I also commute in the dark, but I had to not wear clear glasses a couple of times due to my forgetfulness, and am now wondering if I really need to wear them?

I think it varies. My eyes dry out easily (as some saw after Hamilton descent) even with glasses. Without, I can't go very far at all. Luckily, my few dark-ish rides are commuting home from work which is only 7 miles.

Saturday I did the River Ride and it was so foggy that a group of 5 got off the front and just disappeared into the gray. I doubt they had much more than a 30 second gap but they might have just as well been miles up the road.

I got home and turned on the Cal v. UW game and couldn't believe the sunshine. Hard to believe it was just 90 miles away.

Sorry to get off the topic a bit: What are your thoughts about skipping glasses in the dark? I also commute in the dark, but I had to not wear clear glasses a couple of times due to my forgetfulness, and am now wondering if I really need to wear them?

I need mine to see where I'm going. In the dark I wear my regular 'ol glasses. In teh sun my Bolle with inserts. No glasses isn't an option.

I usually ride with clear glasses in the morning... keeps my eyes from tearing up. Today was another story. Ditched the glasses all together because of the fog/mist. Everything was wet so I didn't notice whether or not my eyes were leaking.