I actually like riding in the rain.
If it's bad, I can shorten the trip going multi-modal, using the local MTA.
I have reconsidered during severe weather. However, I still end up walking downtown. Most times I'd be just as well off on my bike.

The forecasts here seem to be more miss than hit. It'll call for rain but none will appear but neighbouring areas will get it. This is especially frustrating in the winter when we (a skiing/snowboarding family) are hoping that the snow forecast will be correct and then the snow bypasses us.

I have never been out riding when the rain made visibility zero. I have always been able to see where I was going and my lights make me quite conspicuous. I suppose if I couldn't see where I was going, I wouldn't be too comfortable riding. I don't consider lightning that big of a risk. I imagine the chances of getting hit by a vehicle are far, far greater than being struck by lightning. I have never had a tree or limb come down near me when I was riding. I have had to negotiate downed limbs and trees blocking the road, but that's when it sucks to be in a car since I can get by it and they can't. My commute entails 30 miles of riding, round trip. So if I doubled my annual commute mileage maybe I would encounter some of the situations you describe and become more wary.

When you commute by bike, you quickly realize that weather forcasting frequently includes a good deal of hype used to generate advertising revenue. Forecasts cover a wide area and time period not necessarily relevant to your particular situation. You can become a pretty good forecaster of conditions by using multiple online sources, media and weather radar. For example, today's forecast called for a line of severe storms during the morning rush hour, but I correctly determined I could easily make it to work before they hit. If I had listened to the hype, I would have taken the car instead, and then sat in traffic with all the other miserable commuters.

If I could choose, I would pick dry weather over rain. But precipitation certainly doesn't keep me from riding. The fact is, I enjoy doing something the majority of other people have difficultly comprehending as viable. That whole don't-want-to-go-with-the-flow thing. Some here have expressed the same thing in why-do-you-commute threads, so I'm pretty confident it is a common feeling a lot of those who frequent this forum have. I have spent an immense amount of time and effort getting my physical self, my gear, and my cycling knowledge to a level where I am comfortable riding in the conditions I ride in. I take advantage of the tools I have to ride just about always.

Oh, and my household is car-light. Driving to work can be a pain for me to coordinate. Nothing better to motivate riding that getting rid of your car.

I rode through a thunderstorm this morning. It wasn't bad. Heavy rain, thunder and a little lightning. The wind wasn't bad. High winds are really my only real concern. Other than that, everybody on the road slows down, and the bike trail is vacant. When it's warm, I don't wear a rain jacket or anything. I just get wet and change out when I get to work. When it comes to severe weather though, big thunderstorms generally pass through within 30min or so, so it's easy just to wait out the real **** weather. I have been burned by trying to beat big storms, so now I air on the side of caution and wait for them to pass even if that means waiting an extra hour.

I have had near-miss trees falling in my path, and a month or so ago the tornado siren went off as I was pedalling under. I kept on, and indeed had another "this was really stupid" moment four miles later. Last week, in the span of 10 minutes there were more down trees than open path for more than half a mile, and not small ones that you could climb over. Unlikely that any cyclist would have survived anywhere in that section when the storm hit. There was nothing definitive about that one, from the radar nor the reports, to distinguish it from any other rotating storm except for a nagging instinct.

I understand the thrill of it and I also prefer being on the bike to stuck in a car in nasty weather, but there are limits. Use common sense and if your intuition says no, listen to it.

Almost 2 years ago, a cyclist was killed by a fallen tree on the C&O here during a violent thunder storm.

I'll give a pass to ice and thunder. Heavy storms that reduce visibility and flood streets are usually covered by the "thunder" exception. Hail, ditto.

Although we had an ice scare this winter, businesses opened late, and I rode early over a nice frosty road with no problems.

A death in MD during last Mondays storm kill a cyclist riding in the woods, tree fell on him.

That being said, tornadoes are headed our way(DC/Baltimore) as I type. I'm going to ride home later than normal to allow the storms to pass. Often if you wait just a few minutes the nastiest of the storm will move on through. That is what I usually do.

hyhuu: Is that you Hung??? We gotta climb!

I made a good call on driving today. I was beginning to wonder if the forecasters hadn't overhyped the storm because it was still sunny and clear at 4:30 pm, when I usually start getting ready to leave work. However, the derecho was moving very rapidly (40-70 mph) and hit my neighborhood about 5:30-5:45, when I still would have been riding home if I had taken the bike today. We didn't get much rain, but high winds and lots of trees and limbs down, power outages. In addition to the storm, it was extremely hot and humid with actual temperatures close to 100 F and the heat index well over 100. The thermometer in my car was reading 101-102 on my drive home and it generally seems pretty accurate. All in all, a good day to leave the bike at home.

the winds that blew thru here last nite weren't as bad as predicted. Matter of fact, the storm blew thru earlier than was first thought. That was good. I only had to commute in moderate to heavy rain and lots of vivid lightning. I don't worry about the lightning too much. All I can do is say a prayer of thanks (I really do). If I get hit, I get hit. Nothing we can do about it other than just don't ride in it. But I took my chances. The only thing that really stops me from riding in is the wind. My limit is 45mph. If it's expecting to be over 45 or 50, and depending on if its a headwind or tailwind, I'll drive in. And that's happened only once the last 12 months.

Charlie - Yes we gotta climb. The tornadoes came through our area. The kids were pretty excited.

i got the topeak mtx rack/bag system, and the bag isn't waterproof. i wanted that bag in particular because of the trunk and panniers in one. i don't intend to ride in the rain anyway, so getting something that was waterproof wasn't high on my list. functionality came first.

also surrendering a first born to pay for ortlieb products just isn't on my to-do list.

Maybe I'm just extra cautious, but I refuse to ride in any form of precipitation or deep freezes (below twenty degrees Fahrenheit). Unfortunately this means I didn't get much riding in this week. :(

Got on my bike with rain coming into town just to test out a set of fenders - Got to the end of my street just to watch a slow speed T bone between a small car and a pickup - Nope - Although as a kid I have enjoyed it, I do my very best to not ride in the wet...

My thoughts and actions exactly! :thumb:

A tornado passed very near my home last night, within a mile or so. Very unusual for this area. However, it happened before my commute, so I only had lots of leaves, branches and one fallen tree to negotiate around. I actually rode under a falling tree a few years back on the Capital Crescent Trail in DC, not weather related though. Would've killed me if I had been a couple seconds slower. Since my commute is almost entirely on trails, I'm more likely to be crushed by a tree than hit by a car.

I am surprised so many folks will not ride with the threat of rain. If I were not to ride because a 20% chance existed, I would hardly ever ride. This week we have had a chance of rain everyday, I rode everyday and was rained on once, 1 block from work.

i get up early and look at the radar. then check noaa, and weather channel. if i see rain/storms on doppler, and TWC and NOAA both say something like 60-70% or more i usually won't ride, and use the opportunity to run some errands while driving.

I'll bag it if it's icy, if there's more than a couple inches of snow, or high winds (don't like tree branches falling on me). Fortunately, all of these only account for a small number of days per year. Rain is a way of life up here, no biggie. That's what fenders and raingear are for.

Freezing rain is about the only thing that'll keep me home. That just gets too risky - even with studded tires. Wind, snow, cold and wet I can handle as long as I feel that control of the bike isn't an issue. Wet ice changes all that.

Caught the tail end of something here last week and my commute was blocked by a fallen tree. I've had to deal with leaves, twigs, small branches and large limbs before, but this is the first time I've actually had to climb over a two foot thick tree trunk.