Nachoman

Yes. Sometimes if I commute to work when it's pouring (rarely) I say to myself, "why didn't I just drive, it would have been so much easier". There is so much good weather around here it's pretty painless to avoid bad cycling days.

NeezyDeezy

never - once you're on the bike it's the easy part, no looking back

habernac

It was a day very much like today that I wished I had wussed out. It was -32C, in the mnus 40s with the nasty wind chill. And being the stubborn person I am, I figured how bad could the bike path be, really? Well, the drifted snow was a couple of feet high in places. I kept having to get off and walk. I was extremely lucky that the wind was at my back. My usual 40 minute commute turned into almost 2 hours.

Today, it's -31C with a -49C wind chill ( I think that's about -56F). Needless to say, I took the bus today.

vrkelley

Baner, yep, you have to worry about them more than yourself. There's no crime in scrapping a ride. The trick is to judge before you leave the house. With PNW weather, you can get go to the DOT and see road temperatures along your route. Don't know if Oregon has this but check the DOT link in this thread.
https://www.bikeforums.net/pacific-northwest/372723-website-reports-icy-roadways-black-ice.html

rule

Yeah a couple of times after going down on bad roads. But even then I was being cautious enough to have been riding a slow speed to compensate, so no real damage. If you don't try, how will you know your limits?

rhm

Yeah, that's it for me too. Well, I should clarify. I never drive; if I wuss out, it means either I don't go to work, or I wake my wife and have her drive me to the station; and I don't like to do that. I'd rather just take the day off -- which I do occasionally.

Very rarely I get to the train station on my way home and decide, for one reason or another, I can't ride home. Once the roads were flooded --three feet of water over a bridge I need to cross. I mooched a ride from a stranger.

vincentpaul

+ 1 on PNW weather.

I've never understood the concept of "wussing out." It always seems to me that some people don't understand the concept of negligence as applied to their own behavior.

Tequila Joe

I wussed out today too. In North Calgary, it was -31C (-24 F) with wind chill of -48C (-55 F)

I may be crazy; but I'm not stupid.

T.J.

Wino Ryder

Gawwd, that would kill us all down here.

drthos

I call shenanigans...that only happens if you drink pop rocks and soda.

Actually, cold air cannot damage your lungs. By the time the air gets to your bronchi, it is warmed up--essentially no matter how cold it is.
A couple of things could happen:
1. The dryness of the air can irritate some peoples' bronchi & give them bronchospasm (a la asthma,) making it hard to breathe, or
2. Above a certain altitude, something higher than ~14,000 feet, one can develop pulmonary edema after prolonged exertion (this may be what the army guy was thinking about, since pulmonary edema is "sort of like drowning but without water."

Artkansas 

Yeah, I've ridden in the San Diego rain. It's almost as bad as June Gloom.

thdave

I wussed out today as it was raining pretty hard for the ride in. I don't regret it today but I usually do.
But typically, my regrets are that I didn't wear this or didn't bring that or I need to get something for my bike. I sympathize with the cold groin issue--I learned that lesson a long time ago--and always wear an extra pair of shorts when it's below about 35F. I try to plan my clothes and equipment just right.

I'm convinced that you can have an enjoyable ride in any weather--if you're prepared.

enbuyukfener

Once, it was above 40C/100F and the 40km return trip was too much. I was also not well prepared as it was after a break from regular cycling and only had water (no food, salt or whatever else you need). It was worth it at the end though!

DoB

The day I should have quit was December 1, 2006. It was 33F and raining at the rate of 1" per hour during my commute. The roads had flooded and I rode through water over my bottom bracket three times during the ride which meant dunking my feet over and over.

I was soaked and hypothermic when I reached the office. I had changed gloves three times and they were all soaked. Realistically, there was nothing that justified a ride that miserable.

Intheloonybin

I have to say "not yet". Have I called for a ride? Yes. Thunderstorms and mechanical problems happen. I attempted to ride, and could have finished. But, safety plays a part. My kids (and wife) would be P---d off if I kill myself over something stupid.

With that said. I have ridden into a tornado strength storm (long story- ask me). I have ridden in -10F/-40F wind chill without the right gear (and was ok- that's stubborn).

If I need, I can bail out by cell phone or a bus. But I have never wished I had wussed out after starting.

climbhoser

We had wind gusting 50mph the other night. It was coming from the South. I ride South at night. It was -15degF with windchill. I wished to god I had wussed out. I did the next morning

pjohn12

I wished I wussed out about a month ago when it snowed then iced over. Thought the main roads would be ok, they weren't. There was a sheen of ice over everything. Still, there were several commuters about. I saw two go down before I hit the pavement going about 2mph trying to stop. The front wheel flew out from under me and, with clips, I went down hard on my hip. Rain, darkness and cold don't bother me (strong winds kinda suck though), but I now know ice is where I draw the line.

Any other time I've nancy'd out because of rain or otherwise, I've seen others riding out in it and I feel deep shame.

raleighrider75

Nope.Never.I guess it's because of commuting in Canadian winters,but it seems the worse the weather,the more fun it's gonna be.Technically challenging.Ice,snow,freezing rain...it's all goodIt just takes a little longer to get where you're going.

EDIT-....and I don't use studded tires.Don't feel the need.

Strelnikov

Wussing out is relative. My body tells me when I shouldn't ride, my chiropractor for my spine deformity tells me when I shouldn't ride, and ice on the ground tells me when I shouldn't ride. Luckily, all three of those things are not often. I would love studded tires, but I guess it is my pocketbook that tells me I shouldn't ride.
There has only been once so far where I rode one way, dragonboated for an hour, then did not want to ride up the hill. I was picked up and driven through a hailstorm so that I could watch the second half of the Super Bowl with my family. I then rode 13 miles home after that. In no way do I consider that wussing out. I only see wussing being when you just don't "feel like it." Not because it is detrimental to one's health or pocketbook to do so. I just wish my health and pocketbook were always in great shape so that I could ride ALL THE TIME! :-)

mike

I bicycled to work in -30 F temperatures with my normal dress shoes on. Everything else was bundled up, but I really made a big mistake not wearing felt-lined swampers.

After ten miles, I was in such bad pain, I didn't think I was going to make it. The last mile to work was indeed "The Longest Mile".

Now, I am hesitant to bicycle when temps drop below 0 F.

banerjek

For those kind of conditions, you absolutely must have the right clothing. If you do, it can be fun. If you don't, it can be dangerous. Hypothermia is no joke.

Even if you are soaked to the bone, you will be fine in neoprene and fleece at 33 degrees. For most part, trying to stay dry is an exercise in futility -- much better to figure out how to stay warm when wet. Unfortunately, no matter how well the ride in goes, donning cold, sopping wet clothes at the end of the day that wouldn't dry out is not so much fun.

banerjek

We don't get temps that low where I live, but I once had my freehub freeze up when temps were in the teens -- a bad thing if you're 9 miles out. Fortunately, I was able to cannibalize a spiral bound notebook to wire my cassette to my spokes so I could limp in. To this day, I carry zip ties in my handlebars because of that incident.

mike

Wow, that is pretty McGuyver of you to wire your freehub to your spokes with a spiral notebook wire! I want you on my team.

That is a funny happening, though with a freehub freezing up in teen temperatures. That doesn't happen to me much.