nbseer

Just wondering whether riders here call it quits during the coldest months (assuming you live up north, northeast, etc).. or do you just put on the layers and keep on peddlin? And when it comes to temps how low will you go?

350htrr

For me it's about 5*C, but I do ride till there is snow on the ground...

Dolanarc1

I'm from Canada. Grew up training here during the winter.
I had no trouble riding at -15c--20c as a 20 yr old.


But now at 58yr, it's absolutely 0-1c and above plus sunny or there's no chance.


Don't like the cald anymore

Vintage7080

+5C has been the coldest so far this season. Just ordered some cold weather gear to keep going until the snow hits the ground. Then it's the indoor trainer in the garage until spring comes around. 48 years and counting, I'm not a fan of winter anymore.

jtaylor2

My records show my coldest ride last year was 26F on Dec. 26. Coldest this year was 29F on March 17. I mostly get 8 to 10 rides a month in Jan and Feb with temps in the high 20's low 30's. This past winter was really bad here so I didn't have a lot of rides in Jan. and Feb. Besides the bitter cold the almost constant snow and ice just made the roads too dangerous. I'm 67 and the cold bothers me more every year, but riding the road, even in the cold, is better than riding that evil machine (mag. trainer) in the basement.

Jim

wphamilton

It's never been too cold for me to ride, but it's never been below 4 degrees Fahrenheit in my time here.

Mark Stone

Never been too cold, but it has a lot to do with correct jacket/gloves/head cover etc. Coldest I've ridden in is about -5F in the Denver area many years ago.

FBinNY 

Dry there's no lower limit. These days I won't ride wet below 35-40, though I used to routinely.

jwarner

-50F believe it or not (disclaimer, I'm not quite 50, five more years -- I recognize this may change if a lifetime of being super active starts catching-up with me)

Barrettscv 

If the winds are calm and the sun is shining, I'll ride if the temperature is above 20f. If it's dry but overcast, I'll avoid riding below 25f. If it's windy, I'll ride if it's above 30f.

I rode during an October rain event last week, it was about 55 to 60f. I was soaked, but kept comfortable somehow. Can't imagine knowingly going out to ride in the rain if it was any colder.

cafzali

To me, the "menace" is not just the temps, but the wind. Typically, the wind really picks up regularly from mid-October until mid-February, although I'm near the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains, which probably has a bit to do with it. I personally find temps easier to prepare and adjust to than wind "attacks" like we had regularly this weekend.

FBinNY 

I guess we might ask you when it's too hot.

jwarner

Lol -- that is actually my biggest problem. At 70 degees I'm overheating, and humidity is the worst. I still ride, but am most comfortable about 30F.

goaliedad30

Here in Northern California, we can ride all year around. That said, when it gets much below 50-ish, GoalieMom and I don't really venture out. Too many nice days to ride in the cold, damp, or rain.

irwin7638

There is no bad weather, only poorly chosen clothing.
Buy studs, don't stop.
Marc

B. Carfree

I avoid this issue by choosing to live where cold rarely happens. Sure, we have the occasional dusting of snow and a few days each year with some ice on the valley roads (and twenty or so with ice in the local hills). I'll ride at any temperature as long as the roads aren't icy. Hereabouts, that means I'll ride once in a while with temperatures in the 20s F and once a decade in the teens. However, low temperatures do restrict where I ride since I hate coming over a climb to find an icy descent.

LordMarv

I generally have to ride in the dark both ways to work in the winter (night shift, go to work at 5pm, leave work at 7:30 am) and am dealing with rush hour both ways. I'll ride down to -10below zero F or -20C roughly IF the road has no ice or there is minimal wind, wind chill at those temps can be nasty. But packed snow/ice usually covers the bike lanes and the shoulders,giving me no room to ride and side streets are a joke, not plowed and rutty. I can generally ride all the way to the end of december in good years, but Jan and Feb I generally can't.

jdon

0c. Below that it is on a trainer in the garage.

Doug64

While on a bike tour that took us through Lassen National Park a few weeks ago, my wife and I experienced 35 F temperatures and 35 mph winds. We were camping in the park, and our lightweight sleeping bags were not adequate. We also had 3600 feet of climbing that topped out at over 8000 feet. We figured it would not be a fun day. We decided that was too cold, and dropped down 6000 feet to the Central Valley where it was a balmy 91 F

OldsCOOL

When it starts snowing I start riding the trainer. I'm out on the open road usually the first week of March and riding in 35F and above. Wind chill can be fierce. I gotta say, 50F in March is a whole bunch warmer than 50F in October.

mprelaw

Since I'm not retired, most of my riding from November to February is after sundown, so 25F is about my limit. I've ridden down to 16F during the day. As other said wind plays a big part, too.

Biker395 

About as cold as I've done is the upper 20s. Totally doable with the right equipment. I'd probably prefer skiing at that point, though. lol

LordMarv

I really respect bike commuters in the northern states and Canadian provinces who brave those temps. But there is something exilarating about riding in frigid temps tho.

Wileyrat

I don't have anything resembling cool weather clothing, so I waited until it warmed up to almost 70 before I went riding this morning.

jon c. 

I have the clothing for colder weather, but the reality is somewhere around 50F. And I'll bail well into the 50s if there's a cold north wind. I tried the 40s a couple times and there is indeed a bit of exhilaration that comes with colder weather, but that apparently isn't lure enough to get me to continue the activity. Where I live, I know it will be warmer in a few days. I think about riding when it's cold, but inevitably decide to wait.