The end of the season?
 

The weather forecast for Friday evening to Saturday afternoon calls for 4 - 8" of snow. That's enough to end the riding season for me this year. I usually quit riding when it's too slippery out and managed to ride much longer last year than I did for many years. when does the season end for you?

never.

studded tires for the win!

Ditto. Studded tires went on today.
--
Ragnar

I wasn't planning to ride through the winter last year, but one thing led to another and I ended up getting studded tires. I'm planning to ride through the winter again this year.

Haven't put on the studs yet. Perhaps this weekend.

I usually stop riding when the weather drops below freezing. I had to skip almost 2 weeks last year.

(I love living in central Texas.)

Never. It rarely drops below freezing here, and the last three winters, rarely rains. This is supposed to be an El Nino year, so there will be more rain, but fenders and wool should do the trick.

I envy you guys who live in the southern climes, at least as far as cycling is concerned,..but winter still sucks for all kinds of reasons.

We'll remind you of that in August. :)


My dad's outside Ft Worth. When he brags about how well his garden is doing in April I tell him I'll check back with him in July. By then he's got to get it done before 10 AM or after 8 PM.

I would ride on if I had a safe road route to get to work, but I don't. Most of my ride is on the prairie paths, and once it snows and gets cold, they are useless. Sigh.

Maybe el nino will kick some more warm weather our way,

Bike season? Only for the weak willed and faint of heart. Studded tires, wool and fleece. Plus a sense of adventure. My wife calls it something else. Make good decisions and get some good quality clothes. Keep your head, hands and feet warm. There are no bad bike commutes, only poor clothing choices. I have some plan B's as well. Coffee shops to warm up in, any ATM will open with any card with a mag stripe. Stuff like that. And some of those tear open heat packs. Start there.

never.

living in SoCal for the real win!

View from part of my commute:

The riding season doesn't end. Where I live only really icy roads prevent me from riding a couple of days out of the year but normally they're either snowy or 'salted'/plowed and all's good.

Never.

Just a different riding season. But I'm not going to claim that I ride the same way or as much - commuting only, unless there's some sunshine and decently warm.

The end of the season?

As noted above studded tires make even icy roads rideable (but be careful of cars, even more than usual). For me, the riding year doesn't end, but it cycles (no pun intended) through continuous riding seasons.

I ride year round, and snow isn't much of a problem in the Seattle area. When we do get it, I ride my motorcycle instead.

Nope... no end of season for me. There might be a few days of heavier snow or some ice that might keep me off the bike for a few days, but when the roads are not frozen, I'll be right back at it. I may be looking at a bike (surly ecr) that can even get me through the really tough days of bicycle commuting.

we go below freezing tonight. The bike trails and bike lanes have wet leaves on them. It could be frozen and slippery on tomorrows commute.

It's just beginning. ;)

The summer season ends in mid-December, when I switch to studs. The winter season ends in mid-March, when I switch back to summer tires.

I live in the snow belt off Lake Erie and my commuting by bike ends when temps get below freezing and/or the snow starts flying.

I'll not ride on roads once there's significant snow. I don't trust drivers and dislike getting sprayed with salty snow slush. But that doesn't end bicycling.

We have side paths along most of our roads so I still ride to breakfast, lunch, or dinner most days though not as often if it's below about 10f. We have a number of Dutch city bikes for guests so I'll put studs on a couple of them for days when they're needed but most days we ride without studs as the city keeps the side paths in quite good shape.

I never ride after the end of december.

Haters gonna hate.

Seriously, those of you who ride in snow and ice have my admiration. Any precipitation when it's below 40 and I bail on the commute. But over half of my 10 mile commute is along the interstate frontage road and I just don't trust drivers enough to even risk it.

I'm a little north of you no motor, and the latest forecast for you is more than that now. Good luck with the snow and keep it down there!

I try not to stop during the winter. No studded tires, at least not yet. I am at the mercy of the city to plow the MUP's I use and usually they are pretty good, at least last year. We'll see what this year brings. Ride safe!

Season? What?

I ride less frequently in bad weather, but I still ride.

Whaaaat? Bicycling in snow isn't challenging enough?

According to my Colorado born and raised and learned to drive in snow in Colorado...not just Denver where it seldom snows but in Durango where it snows a whole lot...people in Seattle know exactly nothing about driving in snow. She spent 2 years there and said that driving in snow wasn't the problem but dealing with all the people who had no idea of how to drive in snow was the problem. She got hit twice by people who couldn't stop and didn't know how to drive.

I agree but man do I hate studs! I have a bike equipped with them but I ride it only as a last resort. They work well in ice and snow but otherwise they are just boat anchors. Ick!

Even prestuds I've never had an end to the bicycle season...or even a bicycle season for that matter. I've ridden at least once per month since 1978. And that includes after rebreaking an ankle followed by surgery to remove the hardware from the previous break and getting hit by a car with 6 weeks off the bike following surgery to my knee. I even bought my new bike while on crutches. It's all about timing;)

I took the week off from commuting to work (still had a few miles to do around the city on errands) due to some home construction, heavy rain and just pure being tired/lazy. Will there be snow on the ground all the way until the next season? It's still early enough, won't it melt then you can get back on the saddle?

In DC we usually have our snowstorms in February or March, so I suppose that's when my season will end. We have ice on the roads and paths about 8 days a year - to me it's not worth investing in studded tires. I'd just ride the train or telecommute.

It'd be more worth it if I lived further up north, with more icy days a year.