danredwing

I've really enjoyed this thread. The cold won't really be the issue for me here in Portland OR but the rain is serious. I got surpirsed by a torrential downpour halfway to work on Monday and I was not prepared. It was so heavy that I was able to wring water out of my clothes upon arrival. Pretty Normal weather for Portland. It rarely gets down below freezing and if it does, the cold isn't really the issue, the freezing rain will keep me off the bike.

I just bought a Trek Portland and will upgrading to real fenders in the next week or so. I used to ride mountain bikes a ton here in the Pacific NW in all sorts of weather. It has been a little brisk over the last couple of weeks, but nothing too crazy. I've been layering Synthetic running base layers with Patagonia's R4 vest which has a windproof layer. No sweat accumulation as long as I forego the cotton t-shirt.
I can totally get by with just a long sleeve shirt on my arms as long as my core stays warm. I usually stick with shorts unless the rain is really coming down, or it gets down into the 20s

I'll probably pick up some water proof pants and shoe covers and just use my hard-shell jacket with the synthetic base layers. I need to pick up some new gloves too as the only cycling gloves I own are fingerless and the only other gloves I have are big TNF fleece guys. Any recommendations?

I'm shooting for 3 days a week of commuting as I'm a banker and need the car for business calls a couple days a week. On the days when I bike, I just change into a suit that I brought to work the day before. Working pretty well so far!

Anyway, thanks for sharing your stories and keeping me encouraged. I love the way I feel all day after riding to work.

dano

poopisnotfood

If he/she is like me an inhaler won't help in cold air. I know what they are saying cold air flat out KILLS my lungs too, I just try to push through it, I used to be in very good shape and after 10 minutes or so I would be fine. We will find out how bad things are this winter as I have no plans on stopping. My asthma is the only thing that worries me.

kk4df

I had to drive my car on Friday because my wife was out of town and I had to make the school run to pick up my son. We had some extremely heavy rains and high winds (55 mph). If I had been on my bike that afternoon, I think the high winds would have blown me off my bike as I ride by the airport runway with no wind breaks. Any advice for when those really rough storms blow in while commuting home? There are not any places along the way to stop and get out of the weather, until I get about 15 more minutes up the road.

EvilPhish

Hey I'm a newb and I'm not quitting!
Just bought a nice light setup, been acquiring my cold(er) weather gear and life is as grand as ever.

I'm glad I stuck with it this far, for a number of reasons, but cycling in the fall is the best of them all.

macteacher

Is there a website, that might list 10 things to do to keep it going during the year? If so, i'd like to post the site on my school website to encourage kids to keep pedalling.

coldfeet

High, and particularly gusty winds, especially in traffic, are what will stop me from riding most effectively. I dislike grinding into a headwind at the best of times, but if it's too high, it's just, ... too much. It can turn an hour's cruise into 2 hours of outright slog. Gusty winds on the road are just too dangerous. If it happens in Winter, the windchill effect can be enough on it's own to stop me. We have had windchills of -50C or close. Time to stay home. ( Doesn't happen very often )

haningp

My concern is not the temperature, it's the amount of daylight I have to complete my 44 mile round trip commute. I have to ride on some busy streets with fast moving traffic so I don't feel comfortable riding in darkness. The time change next week will help with the morning commute but I'd lose more daylight for the return trip. So my commuting days for the year are nearly over but I'll be back when the days get longer and I have more daylight to ride in.