Do you bike in bad weather?

[arcosine]

It's the warmest day this year so far, 28F, I biked to work and back, not bad weather at all.

[arcosine]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

Thanks for the awesome link!


It doesn't get cheaper than zip-tie snow tires:

Skinnier tires are better in deep snow, much easier.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by Angmaar

I don't bike in the winter. It doesn't make financial sense to buy studded tires and better gloves compared to the gas cost. Maybe next winter...

My justification in buying studded tires was that driving short distances in the winter is hardest on my car, so my cost per mile should double going from around 25 cents per mile to 50 cents per mile, add to that the shortage of parking spaces, having to pay for parking and being able to stay in better shape over the winter and the cost of studded tires quickly seems more reasonable.
But my real reason justification of studded tires is that they cost about the same as a single missed day of work from falling and getting hurt.
The rest of what I wear while ridding my bike when its -0-F out is the same clothing that I wear the rest of the winter, lined pants, T-shirt with flannel shirt over it, wool hat, then I add a scarf and a pair of gloves for ridding my bike.

[arcosine]

Biking to work is not about saving pennies, its about biking to work! Day 2 this year.

[bdesj]

Originally Posted by arcosine

Biking to work is not about saving pennies, its about biking to work! Day 2 this year.

Knowing I`m going to get to ride my bike is my motivation to get my butt out the door when I leave home. At the end of my shift, pedaling is my cool down time. The winter I wasn`t able to drive (knee injury), all I could think about while I was scraping my windows was that I could already be half way home if I were on my bike, and my fingers wouldn`t be half as cold.

[Angmaar]

Originally Posted by Ryland

My justification in buying studded tires was that driving short distances in the winter is hardest on my car, so my cost per mile should double going from around 25 cents per mile to 50 cents per mile, add to that the shortage of parking spaces, having to pay for parking and being able to stay in better shape over the winter and the cost of studded tires quickly seems more reasonable.
But my real reason justification of studded tires is that they cost about the same as a single missed day of work from falling and getting hurt.
The rest of what I wear while ridding my bike when its -0-F out is the same clothing that I wear the rest of the winter, lined pants, T-shirt with flannel shirt over it, wool hat, then I add a scarf and a pair of gloves for ridding my bike.

The very short 1.7 miles to school is very hard on the car and FE. I'm lucky if I get 20MPG.

I calculated it out that I save about $0.50 each day I biked in the fall. It would save even more in the winter because FE is even worse.

[arcosine]

1.7 miles! I would walk.

[Angmaar]

Originally Posted by arcosine

1.7 miles! I would walk.

That takes about an hour if I walk. It takes about 10 minutes to bike or drive.

[arcosine]

I guess you can then drive to the gym and use tread mill for exercise, you do exercise?

[Thymeclock]

I expect I'll get flamed for saying this, but only an idiot would bike in rain.

When on a bike in wet weather braking capability is but a small fraction of what normal braking is. That's reason enough not to do it.

Maybe if you live in a very rural area and never have to brake at all you can get away with it. I live in a citified area with cars, pedestrians, potholes, and a high population density of idiots, all of which might require accident avoidance vigilance (read: braking).

IMHO biking in the rain increases risk of accident and personal injury substantially. It just isn't worth it.

Unless you want to be a candidate for the Darwin Awards...