jon c. 

This thread sure makes me feel like a wimp. I don't really like to ride under 65 and haven't done so this year. In a colder winter, I'll go down into the 50s. But not often.

cccorlew

For the commute: Whatever come up. 22 is my coldest, but was very unusual. Really cold usually means just above 32
For fun: 50ish, though I'll go lower if someone teases me or encourages me.

KenR

Approximately 50 degrees. But a lot of my riding is done in Florida so I can ride year round there.

rumrunn6

you da man!

ZIPP2001

But it was more fun without the studs, got to practice my falling Technic.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVH

I feel like I am a wimp because if it's below 50 I don't ride. Do any of you ride in the cold? If so,how do you handle the layers and not getting too warm, downwind/into the wind,etc…

As a decades-long year round cycle-commuter with a 14 mile one-way route and a busy job, cycling is basically my only exercise, and besides for fitness, getting to work is my only motivation to ride anywhere in the winter, but I do enjoy it. However this is offset by

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

…I also have a very convenient Commuter Rail option,including to transport the bike with me. I frequently stay over (comfortably) at work to save commuting time for my busy job...

My lowest temperature has been 0⁰ F. Over the years I have developed a personal #1 to #6 scale of dress in approximately 10-degree increments (by ambient temperatures, not wind-chill) to decide what to wear, without even going outside beforehand.

This last Saturday was my coldest ride of the year at about 3 PM at 12⁰, with some radiant heat from the sun, into a north headwind. I started out with some trepidation because I didn’t have my winter jacket (level 6) but was comfortable nonetheless at level 5. (Just a couple days before it was in the 50’s...level 2-3) I had to ride to arrive home by about 5 PM for a planned activity, and it was too late for the train.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

… I have extracted this slogan [about winter cycling] from a post by @scoatw of Ohio, "Gear and gumption." Always on bad weather days someone at work will ask me,"You didn't ride your bicycle today, did you?."

When it’s really bad out, my wife will chide me, “You just want to ride your bike today, so you can write about it to Bike Forums."

BTW

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

…Speaking of winter I have on a few posts repeated the suggestion of the definition of a cold ride as one where the water bottle freezes solid, as a function of temperature and time. For my 14 mile commute of slightly over an hour that occurs at about 15º F….

Jim from Boston

Having a list of what to wear is also useful for the changes of seasons, when you’re less acclimated and not sure what to wear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moe Zhoost

…I will wear a balaclava, too, but really don't like how it covers my mouth. It gets really wet with my breath and then becomes hard to breath through - probably need to make some modifications…

Fogging of my glasses / goggles is one of the worst hazards to me of winter riding and a balaclava is a part of my repertoire:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

When going fast on windswept downhill runs of about a few hundred yards, I raised my balaclava to below my nose. The warm ,moist exhaled air kept my exposed nose and cheeks warm, and the onrushing air dissipated the moisture before it could fog up the goggles. With a slightly forced exhalation, I could even warm my eyebrows, with no fogging.

I realize now that my goggles and balaclava are actually an integrated system of heating and ventilation that keeps my face warm and my vision unencumbered by fogging. The windscreen of the goggles is so effective in keeping my eyes warm that my eyelids actually perspired because my central core body was so warm, and my eyes never got cold, even on those fast windswept downhill runs…

rumrunn6

heard you laugh after the 1st fall but not after the 2nd

Othello44

I don't really like to ride bike in cool condition. And in winter season I don't ride them all the time. Especially morning hour.

bargeon

Wimp schmimp! I'm not impressed by guys riding in cold and showing their ice covered bikes and frozen water bottles. I don't go out under 60, which will be 50s or less in the valleys or in sunless wind. I can't stand wearing layers when I ride, I'd rather hike.

Kobe 

Good to see some other wimps here. I'll start a ride in the morning at 40 and hope it warms up to the 50's, but 2 or 3 hours at 40 degrees or below is not my idea of fun.

jpshaw

I like 50 or better but being in Louisiana that's usually not a problem.

Hypno Toad

I haven't found a temp I will not ride in, I'm training for the Arrrowhead 135 and air temps for this ride can be -30F. So when the local forecast said that it'd be -22F back in December, I got my stuff ready to ride first thing in the morning - y'know, before it warmed up. Air temps were recorded at -24F and my Garmin reported -27F. I did 12 miles and would have happy been out all day, but I had schedule conflicts. I never felt cold or uncomfortable. Lisa took a pic right after I got home, much of the frost already fell off.


Truth be told, I like riding sub-zero temps so much more than wet and 30F. There's just no way to stay dry and warm in those conditions.

Full disclosure: I'm not 50 yet, but I can see it from here, and I don't see changing in the next two years.

Hypno Toad

To be clear, there's nothing wimpy about knowing your limits. Not every rider is created equal. I have some very tough riding buddies that can not handle the cold temps. I'm just one of those freaks that runs really hot; riding the extreme-cold doesn't bother me.

I do enjoy a little ego-boost for being somebody doing something unique, but I don't look down on others for not doing it.

ZIPP2001

That was actually my forth and last fall, the other 2 I missed on video. The cold was sapping my batteries for the camera, so I had it shut off at times. The temp for this coming weekend looks super cold again, so I ice trails will be calling me again.

rumrunn6

yeah saw that but I'm not expecting to see any snow or ice anywhere. planning on Carver, MA for Sat

BlazingPedals

I occasionally do short rides on my own in the winter, just 5-6 miles, and for those I almost don't care what the temperature is as long as the roads are free of ice. But most of my riding is club rides, 25 miles or more; and for those I usually want the temperature to hit >40F during the ride as an indicator that I won't freeze my fingers off.

FrankHudson

Eyeglass/goggle fogging is the limiting factor for me too. From my younger years, I have clothing figured out so I could (and did) ride even to double digits below zero F. I've tried most solutions to fight sub-zero fogging, but as I ride on city streets and need to stop, and that's when the fogging issue becomes unavoidable. Antifog treatments only work in my urban experience to clear the fog the first two or three times you stop, after which it kind of washes off.

But I don't have fogging issues too bad if I don't need to cover my nose and mouth, and for me my usual shortish rides, that means I'm good to the lower teens.

Don't over-dress. Have the right head, hands and feet covering. Wind-blocking tights are great. For me, riding at 25 to 50 degrees F. is really no different than riding at 65 degrees, just needs slightly different clothes.

InTheRain

As long as the surface is not ice or extremely slippery, temperature doesn't matter. It doesn't really get all that cold here. It's rare to get into the teens and I've ridden with temps in the teens. I don't know what my threshold is, but I doubt I'll see it living in Western Washington. Several inches of snow or freezing rain will keep me off the bike.

I am talking about cycle commuting. It's only about 7 miles each way. I really have no desire to go on long fitness rides at temps below 40 degrees (and it better be a sunny 40+ degrees.) At 50+ degrees (and dry) I'm pretty excited to get out there for a long ride.

BassNotBass

The only deterrent that keeps me from riding is icy roads and the regions where I've lived have never gotten below 0°F (as far as I can recall) so that's my lowest so far.

Hypno Toad

I have this issue. for sub-zero rides, I typically start with glasses that protect me as I get warmed up. After 4-5 miles I stow the glasses in a pocket and ride bare-eyed for the rest of the ride.

Back in December, I decided to try snowboard goggles again. They fogged on the typical schedule, but since my route was both trails and roads; I kept the goggles on for trails and bare-eyes on the roads. This worked fine.

Fogging: the problem I'm still trying to solve.

BadBurrito

back in the day, I did a century ride in 30F, with the wind chill factor I'm sure it was single digits. It was a miserable ride. Hated it, It cured me of thinking about riding outside in winter. Now my lower limit is 60F. And that is a hard number for me, 59F would be a no-go.

OTOH, there is no upper limit on the temp. In fact the hotter the better. I get excited just thinking about riding in 100+. For me, Triple digits = awesome ride.

OldsCOOL

I wear clear safety glasses (the more stylish ones ). When they fog up I just pull them out/down just enough to ventilate. Tailwinds are a typical problem with fogging.

Hypno Toad

Tailwinds and stop-and-go traffic.

I find myself being a little slow at venting the glasses and once the fog is on the lenses, it freezes, and you won't have clear lenses until your inside. You'd think I'd learn.

My 'best choice' is the cheap aviator glasses I bought for a beach vacation (super cheap); their like a bad penny, I can't break or lose them. But they will not fog over quickly since they are not as form fitting and they have great visibility (peripheral).

IMG_20161212_152608536_HDR.jpg

OldsCOOL

Love it. And why do normal folk think we are crazy??

As a teen in the '70s I wore those gas station rack aviators while snowmobiling and had two little burn marks from the nose pieces turning frigid cold. But they really were neato.