Do you bike in bad weather?

[AndrzejM]

Good idea!

[Piwoslaw]

I just beat my personal record for winter biking: Last winter the coldest I rode to work (20km each way) was -5°C. About a month ago I rode 2 or 3 days with -8°C, while yesterday evening it was -10°C when I returned home. This morning I saw -13.5°C on the thermometer and still took the bike, but cheated - I took the train for 2/3 of the way. The return was on bike, but it was "only" -7°C, so I even broke a sweat

Last year I read an interview in which a doctor gave tips on biking in cold weather. One of them was that biking for more than an hour in temperatures below -10°C can be a health hazard.

The bike is all white from the salt, unfortunately the road maintenance crew have no mercy In some places they poured so much, that there wasn't enough snow to melt and dissolve the salt...

One of the things I've noticed while commuting for the last 18 months is that my average speed is proportional to the temperature - the colder it gets the slower I go. For example, my average speed for the whole week (200km) is 22-23 km/h in summer (my best week was 25 km/h!), which drops to 17-18 km/h in the winter. I would think that colder tire rubber has lower rolling resistance, but then cold air is denser, increasing drag. More likely my body is using more energy to keep warm, this would explain why I am more tired at the end of the trip, even though I am going slower.

[Frank Lee]

Nope, that Crr skyrockets in the cold. I can't even pull top gear if it's cold enough.

[AndrzejM]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

I just beat my personal record for winter biking: Last winter the coldest I rode to work (20km each way) was -5°C. About a month ago I rode 2 or 3 days with -8°C, while yesterday evening it was -10°C when I returned home. This morning I saw -13.5°C on the thermometer and still took the bike, but cheated - I took the train for 2/3 of the way. The return was on bike, but it was "only" -7°C, so I even broke a sweat

Last year I read an interview in which a doctor gave tips on biking in cold weather. One of them was that biking for more than an hour in temperatures below -10°C can be a health hazard.

My personal record is -27°C but only 15km so it wasn't as far as you go.
Have to admit that I love to ride in winter especially when a fresh snow is lying on the ground. It feels like I was a ghost the ride is so silent.

Regarding health hazard. You have to keep your feet and hands warm, use ski goggles, protect your face with a ski mask and you'll be fine

[bdesj]

Good going, Piwoslaw
Out of curiosity, is your string of new records due to riding your commute rather than a different method when it gets progressively colder, or you ride no matter what, and the temps happen to get colder than previous years of riding to work?

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

One of the things I've noticed while commuting for the last 18 months is that my average speed is proportional to the temperature - the colder it gets the slower I go. For example, my average speed for the whole week (200km) is 22-23 km/h in summer (my best week was 25 km/h!), which drops to 20-21 km/h in the winter. I would think that colder tire rubber has lower rolling resistance, but then cold air is denser, increasing drag. More likely my body is using more energy to keep warm, this would explain why I am more tired at the end of the trip, even though I am going slower.

That happens to everybody. Two other factors to consider are more clothes in cold weather and (for me, anyway) different tires. I use nice light and flimsy ones in warm weather when the possibility of fixing a flat is no big deal, but mount much tougher (and less efficient) tires when I know I`ll be seeing a lot of rides at or below freezing point. Flat fixing in the cold sucks!

And completely aside from physics, just being cold, dark, or gloomy seems to make me lazy, less apt to pedal any harder than necessary

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by AndrzejM

Have to admit that I love to ride in winter especially when a fresh snow is lying on the ground. It feels like I was a ghost the ride is so silent.

Silent, except for the squeaking of the rusty chain. Rusty from all the salt

Originally Posted by bdesj

Out of curiosity, is your string of new records due to riding your commute rather than a different method when it gets progressively colder, or you ride no matter what, and the temps happen to get colder than previous years of riding to work?

Dunno, it just kinda happened. I assumed that I'll just stop riding when the temperature falls below -5C and/or it starts to snow. But this winter is very fussy, comes and goes, the temp can drop from +8C in the evening to -10C in the morning, or vice versa, just barely snows - not enough to make riding unsafe, etc. So I kept riding and taking the train only on the few days when it was really bad, or taking it only in the morning.

Originally Posted by AndrzejM

Regarding health hazard. You have to keep your feet and hands warm, use ski goggles, protect your face with a ski mask and you'll be fine

I'll have to find that article and read it again, but I think that health risks meant respitory and heart problems, not just freezing off your extremities. On the other hand it doesn't mean that riding in extreme weather isn't possible (like Bastien Demange, who cycled Siberia in winter).

[AndrzejM]

You shouldn't forget the Iditarod event

1000miles through Alaska in March

Iditarod trail

[Grant-53]

There was a Iditabike event for mountain bikes. Breathing in large amounts of cold air directly can cause problems so covering the face and mouth is a good idea. I like using a Bell motorcycle helmet in cold weather. My fairing keeps the wind off my hands and torso. I have some rain chaps to cover my legs. I switch tread patterns in winter. Spray chain lube is frequently used to keep the chain from getting stiff. I may do a coast down test to compare Crr in cold weather.

[Grant-53]

I tried to do a coast down test today since the roads were clear and the temp was 2 F (-15C). For some reason the digital speedometer wasn't working. The subjective observation is that no discernible difference in rolling friction could be felt. In the future I will do timed runs rather than relying on speedometer readings.

[drainoil]

Its not uncommon to see bicyclists here in the metro area during single digit high temps and snowy/icey roads.