RidingMatthew

i was averaging 2 days a week and last week I only worked 3 days and it rained those three days. So I did not ride. This week is supposed to have better weather but I have commitments in the evenings. I am afraid I am not going to be able to ride much this week. it is so frustrating

I am feeling guilty for not riding as much as I want too.

megalowmatt

Don't worry about it. There are plenty of days I can't or don't want to ride for whatever reason. Try to get out on non-work days and enjoy your self with a day tour of where you live.

pallen

It happens...

ItsJustMe

I stopped stressing about it. I still would RATHER ride pretty much any day, but lately I've just bailed without guilt - if I stick my nose out the door and it's 42 degrees and raining, screw it. I don't mind that kind of weather in March, but at the end of May I'm just not ready to put up with it. I've got junk I can do when I'm driving like going out for provisions for the rest of the week, etc.

jyl

I agree, no need to guilt yourself about it.

However, if you do want to ride without being thwarted by weather - if you wear full rain gear and don't ride hard enough to sweat a lot, then you will stay dry. "Full rain gear" means a good rain jacket (Showers Pass or simialr), rain pants, booties, gloves, and a cap under your helmet (or a helmet cover).

It rains most of the year where I live, so I ride in the rain routinely. People ask me, as I ride up in the elevator, streaming with water - "don't you get wet?" I explain that, dressed as I am, I could stand in the shower and I wouldn't get wet. I like riding in the rain, it is sort of refreshing.

RidingMatthew

the problem I am running into is that I can't get home from work to shower, change and drive to another city for activities.

i could ride everyday this week if I did not have something tonight tomorrow night and leaving out of town friday to do some mountain biking/ camping.

buzzman

How long is your commute? By that I mean both miles and time.

RidingMatthew

10.8 miles one way. 11 or more miles how depending on route. around 40 minutes to work and 40-45 on the way home.

traffic & lights slow me down on the in town part.

If I drove it takes about 30-35 minutes but I change to ride and that usually takes 15 minutes.

tarwheel 

Don't beat yourself up over it. I understand the frustration but sometimes life just gets in the way. I try to make up for the off days on weeks when the weather is nice. Two weeks ago, I bike commuted all 5 days. Last week, I rode 3 days because I got rained out one day and had a doctor's appointment another day. This week, Monday was a holiday, so I've already missed one day (although I rode today).

old's'cool

This spring has definitely been a bit sketchy, weather-wise. Nevertheless, I've been averaging nearly 90 miles a week just commuting, since I started bike commuting to my new gig, so I'm not complaining too much,... yet. (haven't been rained on yet, either! )

RidingMatthew

i said oh what the heck i am going to ride today. boss is out so i flexed my hours to come in early to leave early to get home, showered before heading to youth group tonight. I hope it works the way it sounds in my head.

old's'cool

This week has been a little frustrating. Forecasts have been pessimistic; could've ridden Tuesday if I had a crystal ball; yesterday was "right out", could've ridden today if I waited out the early morning shower & gone to work late. Tomorrow's forecast is "thunderstorms likely", so we'll see... The more days in a row I don't ride, the lower my risk aversity gets...
I'm really not keen on getting wet on the way to work, so in the morning, when making the decision to ride or not to ride, the immediate conditions dominate the decision, while the afternoon forecast is a relatively remote and abstract concept!

Mr. Hairy Legs

I'm the same way, I don't mind it at all. It's actually much more relaxing...

If I let rain get in the way of riding, I would be terribly out of shape.

RidingMatthew

just to clarify.
It rained on and off for the first three days of the week. PLUS I had to be in another city MON- Wednesday.

old's'cool

It gets better... I took the plunge this morning, or tried to. Weather was dry & thunderstorms were a remote concept predicted for later in the day. My bike knew better, apparently & decided to stage a major breakdown as I was departing. Haven't diagnosed the full root cause or exact nature of failure yet, but chain got sucked between the freewheel & the hub, and now the freewheel is kinda flapping in the breeze. It might have torn loose from the threading on the hub, or had an internal failure, due either to the outward pressure of the chain, or rotational force applied as the bike came to a stop with the chain wedged where it was.
So I drove to work again. Well, we had a pretty nasty thunderstorm just before Miller time at work today; though arguably there was a narrow window right after that where I could have made it home before the next storm that is brewing up right now, I'm not lucky enough for that. If I was on my bike, I know the weather would have rearranged its schedule accordingly so I would have been caught in a storm's full fury. C'est la Vie.