andrelam

My previous lowest temp riding to work was 0F (without wind chill). Today is ws -8 this morning. I added my rain gear as an extra barrier and was comfortable for most of the ride. I did use my PSolar face mask in addition to my balacava and it made all the difference in the world. Breathing pre-warmed air is a lot easier that the -8 air.

By the end of the 5 mile ride my toes were getting a little cold. The feet could be kept warmer if I got some insulated inserts, but they work fine in the teens and 20's where the temps are most of the winter.

Anyone else have some fun with the extreme cold this morning?

Happy riding,
André

tjspiel

It's started to warm up here.

Last Friday it was -15F for the start of my ride in. The coldest I've ever ridden in is about
-20.

Just a general thought about cold weather. It's all about what you're used to, what you're prepared for, and what you're doing. There was much made about how cold it was at the two championship football games played yesterday. Yet I was outside from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with a couple hundred cub scouts and nearly as many adults and it was no big deal. It started out a few degrees below 0 and never got much warmer. By our second activity many of us were stripping layers off because we had gotten so warm.

It was a winter day camp called "Polar Cubs". It was my son's 3rd time there and the fact that it was the coldest of the 3 made little difference to him. He said that of the 3 years yesterday was the best. This is saying a lot because Polar Cubs is his favorite out of all the things he's done at scouts the last 4 years.

The sad thing is that many parents don't sign their kids up because they're concerned about the potential for cold weather. You don't just have to ENDURE cold weather, you can enjoy yourself in it.

colleen c

46 degree this morning here.
I feel bless to have such mild winter. All ya sub freezing commuter have my sympathy

Could hardly wait till summer here when it gets "cold" in the Bay Area.

pallen

25 this morning. For north Tx, this is cold. Dont worry, we pay in the summer when its near or over 100 for almost 3 months and often still in the mid 90s at 9:00 at night.

JPprivate

You know, I used to live in a similar, maybe slightly colder climate than what you have. Since I moved to Chicago, I had to get used to much colder winters. But one of the great advantages is that on the really cold days it's often sunny. I remember I didn't see sun for weeks, when I "enjoyed" the 40s winters in the past.

CACycling

We're not quite as cool as the bay area (mid-50s during morning commute with highs in the mid-70s today) but we've had mostly clear skies for a few weeks now. Don't have to give up sun for milder winters.

mtalinm

why do the Californians and Floridians always feel the need to jump in on the cold-weather threads?
sure. we get it. it's warm where you are. go gloat elsewhere already.

irclean

-24°C (-11°F) on my way home from graveyard shift this weekend. Frosted the inside of my goggles!

steve0257

They're not gloating. They're jealous.

Nucks

-38C is my record, -50C or something with the windchill but I don't count that. Luckily it was only for a 3km ride!

labrat

It felt like a heat wave here today. Started at almost 20F and just made it above freezing. Tuesday it was -15F with a stiff wind - have no idea what the wind chill was (and don't think I want to) but any exposed skin is in trouble pretty quick in those conditions.

FunkyStickman

I am jealous... I would much rather live where it's -10 and no humidity than down here where 20 degrees feels like -10. At least you guys get snow.

colleen c

I think you have a point there. It's does get weird here sometime because we really don't have a true Winter season and the summer is not all that hot either. Being deprived of mother nature can make us looney (well at least for me it does), and I guess jumping in cold-weather threads sort of balance the equalibrium for us? I think I will talk to my Shrink on that one

There's a bicycle commuter who takes the same train as I do every morning. So far everyday this winter, he showed up in summer shorts while I just sit there and really wonder was he raised in a region where it gets really cold during the winter month?

Oh well, that being said, my behind is out of the thread and I just have to go catch up to it

sulr

About 5 Degree Fahrenheit. It wasn't too bad after a few miles, was nowhere near warm, and my finger tips were a bit numb, but nothing too severe.

bhop

Where's the fun in that?

JeffC

I've done my 22 mile round trip journey in mid teens with wind chills in the single digits. It really does not get much colder in the DC area than that. I've dialed in my clothing so that that this can be mostly pleasant for the hour or so that it takes. However, I still cannot keep my right foot warm, even with Descente front foot covers, doubled up socks, and a chemical warmer, my two big toes on my right foot still get cold sometime. As much as I hate to, if I cannot find a better solution to keep my feet warm, I may have to only commute when it is in the 30s.

gecho

Two weeks ago I did my 16km ride at -27C (-16F) into a headwind, the listed windchill was -40C/F. With a tailwind I'd consider going a bit colder. With a head wind I'm thinking I'll impose a -25C cutoff for commuting. I had some equipment issues that day, respirator valves started freezing shut, helmet mirror adhesive let go.

For my winter commuting, the expected road / MUP conditions have been a bigger determining factor for whether I ride or not. For really cold days I prefer to avoid the MUP and stick to the roads which let me go faster with less effort.

We are in a bit of a heat wave this week, -1C yesterday and -6C today.

Ipedaltahoe

I love reading where everyone is from, talked to a women in Maine today and she was like oh it was 19 below, Holy Smokes (trying not to swear) I think it is what you get used to. Grew up in So. Cal never even owned a jacket, now in Tahoe and 35F is a heat wave to me, wish I could get the family to think that way. Whats been so hard here right now is I leave in the am at 25F and start the ride home 10 hours later at 46F in between it might get up to 56F. So I have to really layer up or I am too cold or too hot.
Question, those of you with long rides, do you have big hills? My quads are killing me from hills and I am sick of them.

EKW in DC

Weather Channel said 11F/-11C, though I don't think it was really that cold this AM. You'd be hard pressed to find more than a day or two a year with AM temps in the single digits above 0F around here, and that's about the coldest I've ridden in.

I've lived in Moscow and Ukraine, and in both places I saw plenty of -20 or -30 C, though I wasn't cycling there. I was in Moscow in 1997 when they had their coldest cold snap since WWII. Schools closed b/c they didn't want kids to have to leave home. It was down around -40 then. That was crazy cold!

tjspiel

There are lots of challenges to riding in winter:

1. you're riding in darkness most of the time
2. even when the roads are good it's slower
3. takes longer to get dressed and undressed
4. sometimes it's extremely cold
5. roads can be downright treacherous
6. extra bike maintenance

On the other hand there are rides like the one I had tonight. Comfortable temps in the 20's and a long stretch of riding in snow deep enough to quiet the tires but not so deep that it slowed me down or was overly slippery. Add in a little light snowfall and you have a peacefulness and beauty that you just don't find in a summer commute.

GriddleCakes

Today? A breezy 25F, warm enough to take off the jacket once you get warmed up. Coldest ever was -40F, which kinda sucked; it felt like I was riding through molasses, as though all of the lube in the bike had turned to paste.

I remember missing about three school days back in 9th grade because the daytime highs were -30F and colder all across the Mat-Su valley. Which probably amused/infuriated the kids up in Fairbanks to no end.

unterhausen

I've ridden to work at -20F twice, and I would prefer not to do it again. I saw that it was -7 this morning, and I'm just not ready for that right now. Should be up in the 20s tomorrow.

CCrew

Yeah, but they have mosquitos and we don't

Jim from Boston

You tell 'em, metalinm. My personal gripe is for riders who post how they like riding in the rain. I liked one counter-post though, that commented that the rainwater kicked up by the cars contained grease, grime and "liquified road kill."

tarwheel 

My coldest commute so far was 16 F. I know it's cold (teens) when my water bottle freezes solid during my 10 mile commute. That's happened about 3-4 times.