h2oxtc

Today's ride in the GWN (Great White North) - borderline fair weather. At least the sun was shining!

rydabent

As far as I am concerned they should just cancel Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb. And this year Mar looks to be a total write off. I do however remember the winter of 05-06, I had just bought my first recumbent, and dearly wanted to ride it as much as possible. It turned out that in that winter, I was able to ride one or two days each month all winter long. And last year at this time I probably had at least 300 miles on my bike.

rydabent

If I were rich, I would simply go to Australia or New Zealand in the winter.

Steve Sawyer

How are those studs when the surface is dry? Southeast Michigan has increasingly intermittent precip in the winters, which means that we'll have days or weeks interspersed throughout the winter where we can ride on dry roads and paths if we can withstand the cold.

Steve Sawyer

I almost picked up a pair at REI a few weeks ago, anticipating a chilly (high 30's low 40's) Saturday ride, but the guy I talked to at REI wasn't super enthusiastic about their effectiveness. As they ran $50 to $70 a pair, which is a lot even considering REI's premium pricing, I was reluctant to plunk down that much cash on something that may not really do the job.

What type of booties have you been using and how effective did you find them to be?

fietsbob

Type ? I got some sewn by a home business .. fabric, 2 nylon and one Polar Fleece..
used them on a Wet Irish West coast and Scottish West coast and Island hopping, bike tour..

worked fine .. I got SCOR Kneesavers to put the pedals wider, on the cranks ,so the shoe covers
wouldn't drag on the arms an wear holes in.. + have a bit more heel in foot angle..

IDK maybe the Showers Pass Shell Booties would do , maybe old wool socks with a Hole in the bottom
over the shoes and the windblocking/water-resistant shell over them and the shoes..

rumrunn6

total yo-yo here

dbascent1986

Will ride in winter sunshine but no longer in sleet/freezing rain/snow! You can feel the body shutting down and that is not a good place to be, I guess could add layers but then you are adding carriers and soon your urban commuter looks like a long haul tourer

goldfinch

I ride little in October and November, and in the last half of March and all of April. The break is kind of nice. I don't like the cold.

Rollinrock

Well when i used to ride a motorcycle, i rode in cold weather. in fact i was about the only one on the road on one in my town. But nowadays, at 51, and don't know if age has made the difference, but it has to be at least 40 before i get my bicycle out. If i wore enough clothes to keep me warm, it would take me an hour to make my 5 mile commute to work

Tpgun101

I only started riding this last year, two to three days a week. Longest ride was 40 miles. I don't go out in the rain but if i'm out and it rains I keep going. Haven't been on a ride since last november and really can't wait for the temp to hit the 50's this next week. My wife and I ride together so the weather has to be agreeable to both of us. My main reason for riding is to do something with my wife that we both enjoy......so if its ugly outside we find something to do inside!
Mike

trackhub

You've got my vote!

DougG

The last motorcycle I owned had heated grips and I wore a heated vest underneath a heavy Aerostitch riding suit and a full-coverage helmet. But I just don't feel right being too "bundled up" on a bicycle and my hands and feet are particularly sensitive to the cold as well. It's got to be 50+ for me to do any real riding, although I'll start out when it's colder if it's also sunny or is predicted to warm up during the day.

Steve Sawyer

Even 50's can be dicey. It was well over 50 and sunny today, with 10mph ssw winds. Felt ok as long as I kept moving, but as soon as I stopped, sweat would collect that presumably was evaporating when I was moving, and the body heat quickly radiated away. Starting out again after even 3-5 minutes was freezing cold until the excess sweat evaporated, and I generated enough body heat to warm up.

I was wearing a long-sleeved lycra wicking layer, a thin merino wool long-sleeve shirt, with a winbreaker/rain jacket on top, tights over bib shorts on the bottom, thin wool socks and thin lycra gloves under my cycling gloves.

Hands and feet stayed toasty, and other than a non-stop runny nose and the problem with stopping (fortunately I only did so twice in 16 miles), it wasn't too bad, though I'll be glad when it warms up a bit more...