Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Commuting
Reload this Page >

C-o-l-d!!!

Search
Notices
Commuting Bicycle commuting is easier than you think, before you know it, you'll be hooked. Learn the tips, hints, equipment, safety requirements for safely riding your bike to work.

C-o-l-d!!!

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 11-13-14 | 05:53 PM
  #1  
Thread Starter
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 878
Likes: 139
C-o-l-d!!!

Man, it's cold here in Boulder. -11F.(No, I did not ride.) How is the weather where you are at?
Colorado Kid is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 06:07 PM
  #2  
DiabloScott's Avatar
It's MY mountain
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,172
Likes: 4,229
From: Mt.Diablo

Bikes: Klein, Merckx, Trek

My parents have lived in Colorado for the last 20 years, but last winter they decided would be their last Colorado winter and they moved to Palm Springs a few months ago. Wondering what took them so long.

Here near San Francisco we got a nice little autumn shower.
DiabloScott is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 06:37 PM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 730
Likes: 0
From: WKY

Bikes: 2014 Trek Crossrip LTD, 2013 Raleigh Misceo

Nothing like that! 29F when I left this morning. Supposed to be 20-22F in the morning. I'm probably gonna draw the line in the high teens. I can ride that in jeans and my regular work shoes. I only add a long sleeve cotton tee over my wicking base and swap to the ski gloves below about 25F. Much below the high teens and different attire would be required. I don't feel it's worth the hassle for a 6.5 rt commute.
downwinded is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 07:22 PM
  #4  
Motolegs's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 493
Likes: 0
From: Southern Colorado

Bikes: General 80's MTB "Icebreaker", Motobecane Grand Jubilee (vintage mint), Trek 1.1, 2014 Motobecane Mirage (steel) Trek 3500 MTB

3 degrees this morning by my thermometer, but the guy on the morning news said -8.

The trip home was a balmy 12 lol.
Motolegs is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 07:30 PM
  #5  
bruised's Avatar
Full Member
 
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 375
Likes: 5
From: WI

Bikes: Salsa Beargrease Carbon, Sette Razzo Carbon 29er

We're still in double digits...life is good
bruised is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 07:48 PM
  #6  
ericy's Avatar
Señor Member
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,528
Likes: 52
From: Rehoboth Beach, DE

Bikes: Giant OCR2, Trek DS 8.3

Originally Posted by bruised
We're still in double digits...life is good
And we are still above freezing (but not by much). I am having a hard time contemplating what it would be like to be out riding when the temps are -8. Yes, I have experienced such temperatures, just not while riding a bicycle..
ericy is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 07:59 PM
  #7  
bruised's Avatar
Full Member
 
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 375
Likes: 5
From: WI

Bikes: Salsa Beargrease Carbon, Sette Razzo Carbon 29er

Originally Posted by ericy
And we are still above freezing (but not by much). I am having a hard time contemplating what it would be like to be out riding when the temps are -8. Yes, I have experienced such temperatures, just not while riding a bicycle..
When I moved to the US from the UK, my caring partner decided it would be 'nice' for me to experience XC skiing for the first time. She picked a day where it hit -35 and off we went. I didn't have the right clothing nor could I ski, so I spent most of the time on the ground, where it actually felt a few degrees warmer

I've never let her forget it.
bruised is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 08:42 PM
  #8  
tjspiel's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 8,101
Likes: 17
From: Minneapolis
Originally Posted by ericy
And we are still above freezing (but not by much). I am having a hard time contemplating what it would be like to be out riding when the temps are -8. Yes, I have experienced such temperatures, just not while riding a bicycle..
It's like walking around when it's -8 except that you're on a bike.



Actually it's a little harder in some ways, easier in others. Since pedaling in cold weather is hard work, that warms you up. But... you're also moving faster meaning you are generating your own wind chill effect. You don't want any exposed skin, - not even eyeballs. So you need some type of eye covering which will often fog or ice up.

The other problem is your feet. Walking helps keep the blood circulating in your feet in a way that pedaling does not. A wise winter cyclist once told me to take a break and walk/stomp around a bit if my feet go numb from the cold on a long ride.
tjspiel is offline  
Reply
Old 11-13-14 | 09:06 PM
  #9  
Junior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Florida

Bikes: Felt AR3

My first "winter" her is San Diego and so far its nice. Yesterday was around 62 degrees at 4am when I started my ride. Spoiled....but from Wisconsin so I know cold and what its like.
Riz98 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 12:07 AM
  #10  
lasauge's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,181
Likes: 480
From: Newbury Park, CA
Same as everyone else in Colorado, it's unusually cold, but at least it's not -11 where I am. Was about 8 out when I rode home from work this evening, better than yesterday's 2 degrees. The cold didn't even get to me tonight or last night, last winter we had a string of record-setting days (-14 was the coldest I rode in) and following that experience I upgraded my gear a bit. Bring it on winter, I am ready!
lasauge is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 02:24 AM
  #11  
megalowmatt's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,664
Likes: 0
From: North County San Diego
Oh it's in the mid 70's. Broke a sweat on the way home.
megalowmatt is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:08 AM
  #12  
mcours2006's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 6,228
Likes: 440
From: Toronto, CANADA

Bikes: ...a few.

-4C this morning, and yes, I did ride into work. 90 minutes of it. I'm only here half the day, so the commute home should be warmer.

This is the coldest I've ever ridden. I had hard time deciding how to layer it on top. Balaclava, full mittens, riding shorts over long tights. Took 15 minutes just to get all geared up.
mcours2006 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:13 AM
  #13  
bmthom.gis's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,977
Likes: 5
From: Columbia, SC

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4 Rival; 2014 Cannondale Trail 7 29; 1972 Schwinn Suburban, 1996 Proflex 756, 1987(?) Peugeot, Dahon Speed P8; 1979 Raleigh Competition GS; 1995 Stumpjumper M2 FS, 1978 Raleigh Sports, Schwinn Prologue

I moved to the south for a reason....just gonna say that much.
bmthom.gis is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:30 AM
  #14  
gdhillard's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
From: Roanoke, VA

Bikes: 2008 Scott SUB 30, 1981 Miyata Ridge Runner, Dahon Speed 8

Roanoke was about 28 this morning. Now warmed up to about 37. Still in shorts.
gdhillard is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:33 AM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 4,094
Likes: 2
From: Bozeman

Bikes: 199? Landshark Roadshark, 198? Mondonico Diamond, 1987 Panasonic DX-5000, 1987 Bianchi Limited, Univega... Chrome..., 1989 Schwinn Woodlands, Motobecane USA Record, Raleigh Tokul 2

Was -16F here yesterday. Rode to work, wasn't too bad.
corrado33 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:44 AM
  #16  
CTPISTOL2's Avatar
Junior Member
 
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Connecticut

Bikes: Trek 1000c , Trek 820

36 Degrees here , with our first snow last night , nothing stuck though
CTPISTOL2 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:47 AM
  #17  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 2,306
Likes: 22
From: Mooresville, NC (Charlotte suburb)

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse, Trek 5000 TCT, Giant OCR

Originally Posted by corrado33
Was -16F here yesterday. Rode to work, wasn't too bad.
Where is here? You don't have a location in your profile.

The morning news here in NC mentioned Denver at 3F. I looked at the mountian temps and they were in the upper teens, so warmer up there.

The southeast version of the cold meant 35F when I left at 7am. High will be 45. I rode with tights and an extra base layer up top. We had a colder morning early last week.
mgw4jc is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:53 AM
  #18  
ZmanKC's Avatar
Senior Member
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 800
Likes: 2
From: Overland Park, KS

Bikes: 1999 Giant TCR 2T 2009 Giant Cypress DX 2015 Giant Anyroad 1

Originally Posted by mcours2006
-4C this morning, and yes, I did ride into work. 90 minutes of it. I'm only here half the day, so the commute home should be warmer.

This is the coldest I've ever ridden. I had hard time deciding how to layer it on top. Balaclava, full mittens, riding shorts over long tights. Took 15 minutes just to get all geared up.
For me, this is almost the worst part of winter commuting. I spend a lot of time getting dressed at home, changed at work, dressed at work, and finally changed at home. I'll bet it's an extra 45 to 60 minutes out of my day.

And yet I still do it. Go figure.
ZmanKC is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:57 AM
  #19  
gregjones's Avatar
Senior Member
 
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,828
Likes: 1
From: West Georgia

Bikes: K2 Mod 5.0 Roadie, Fuji Commuter

Originally Posted by megalowmatt
Oh it's in the mid 70's. Broke a sweat on the way home.
Temps in the 40's are coming. I bet you change your tune then.
gregjones is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 09:57 AM
  #20  
Route 66's Avatar
Full Member
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 218
Likes: 78
From: CA

Bikes: Spot ACME with Shimano Alfine 11 & Gates Carbon Drive

It's supposed to hit 72° today.

We're a bunch of wusses around here that have a hard time dealing when the temps drop down into the 40s.
Route 66 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 10:01 AM
  #21  
Hypno Toad's Avatar
meh
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 4,742
Likes: 1,129
From: Hopkins, MN

Bikes: 23 Cutthroat, 21 CoMotion Java; 21 Bianchi Infinito; 15 Surly Pugsley; 11 Globe Daily; 09 Kona Dew Drop; 96 Mondonico

Originally Posted by tjspiel
It's like walking around when it's -8 except that you're on a bike.



Actually it's a little harder in some ways, easier in others. Since pedaling in cold weather is hard work, that warms you up. But... you're also moving faster meaning you are generating your own wind chill effect. You don't want any exposed skin, - not even eyeballs. So you need some type of eye covering which will often fog or ice up.

The other problem is your feet. Walking helps keep the blood circulating in your feet in a way that pedaling does not. A wise winter cyclist once told me to take a break and walk/stomp around a bit if my feet go numb from the cold on a long ride.
Yeppers! It was round 5F when I got on the bike this morning, 9 miles later I got the office sweating.
Hypno Toad is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 10:05 AM
  #22  
Senior Member
 
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 4,094
Likes: 2
From: Bozeman

Bikes: 199? Landshark Roadshark, 198? Mondonico Diamond, 1987 Panasonic DX-5000, 1987 Bianchi Limited, Univega... Chrome..., 1989 Schwinn Woodlands, Motobecane USA Record, Raleigh Tokul 2

Originally Posted by mgw4jc
Where is here? You don't have a location in your profile.

The morning news here in NC mentioned Denver at 3F. I looked at the mountian temps and they were in the upper teens, so warmer up there.

The southeast version of the cold meant 35F when I left at 7am. High will be 45. I rode with tights and an extra base layer up top. We had a colder morning early last week.

Bozeman twas a bit chilly, I believe it was colder the previous day, but it felt colder yesterday. Well, my phone told me it was -16F before I left in the morning, so that's what I went by anyway. Apparently wunderground and MSU weather disagree on how cold it was. Wunderground says ~-26C where as MSU weather says -20ish
Attached Images

Last edited by corrado33; 11-14-14 at 10:10 AM.
corrado33 is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 10:10 AM
  #23  
Banned
 
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 43,586
Likes: 1,380
From: NW,Oregon Coast

Bikes: 8

Overnight it dipped to 36, Here. warming trend is ahead.
fietsbob is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 10:13 AM
  #24  
noglider's Avatar
aka Tom Reingold
Titanium Club Membership
15 Anniversary
Community Builder
Community Influencer
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,171
Likes: 6,395
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA

Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem

We've had a warm week here. It finally dropped, but not much. It's about 39ºF and windy, so officially, it feels like 30ºF. But it's bright and sunny, and I won't mind. I'm going to ride to meet an old friend for lunch.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog

“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author

Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
noglider is offline  
Reply
Old 11-14-14 | 10:28 AM
  #25  
TransitBiker's Avatar
contiuniously variable
10 Anniversary
 
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 2,280
Likes: 9
From: Southeastern Pennsylvania

Bikes: 2012 Breezer Uptown Infinity, Fuji Varsity

With the local temp around 35 and weather for area saying 37 with a high of 46 and a 14 mph wind bringing the wind chill down into the 20's, I'll be sure to bundle up as I'm going out in a minute.

These are unusually cold temps for this time of year here, but it is what it is.

- Andy
TransitBiker is offline  
Reply


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.