Cycling UK Forum

i get on the bike and go out and ride, 'cos that's what I'm paid for
And furthermore...despite today's torrential rain, 30mph winds and floods, I really rather enjoyed it! It's just a case of choosing correct clothing and not expecting to get anywhere fast....although I now remember why I wanted to change to disc brakes

When i was working i would commute in all weathers and i enjoyed it, partly due to the fact i could destress and wind down on the way home. Now i am retired and can choose when i go out i dont go out in bad weather and certainly not in the rain we had today in Somerset - its horrendous down here, all train services south of Bristol are stopped again due to flooding and they have just closed Brunels station Temple Meads, the mainline Station in Bristol.

Weather wet and windy but I went out round the boxhill area and it was really enjoyable. Friendly waves from the few cyclists out and no drama from the cars. Perfect.

mercalia wrote:

landsurfer wrote:It's pouring with rain, the skies are gray and miserable.
Yesterday was bright and beautiful but I spent the day at a cycle club meeting in Birmingham.!!!
What do others do when the weather is like this ?
Do you really don the water proofs and head out into the rain ?
Or do you sit it out and wait for a better day ?

no way. only nutcases go out riding in the rain when they dont have to.

I don't think it's that simple,before I retired I had to ride when I could,if it rained when I could I went for a ride.
These days I can choose my weather,obviously I choose dry days so if I get wet it's because I've been caught out.
I don't ride on the road if it's frosty or below 4deg,if there's snow down I'm off road on the MTB

PS,it has to said that even in wet weather UK days of persistent all day rain is a rarity and when riding,in a year can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

mercalia wrote:
no way. only nutcases go out riding in the rain when they dont have to.

I guess I'm a nutcase, then.

Have done my apprenticeship of commutes, touring and audaxes in wind rain ice snow, if i can pick and choose i do, though last week having already missed weds and not able to face another day on the turbo, i did manage to convince my son to ride out in the rain for our regular ride. As it happens we only had rain in one direction and had a 'window' in the weather for our ride home.

These days almost anything is an excuse not to bother, but not so long ago I was out in all weathers. A motorist in a BMW stopped and asked me if I wanted a lift once when I was out in a blizzard, I didn't dare tell him there was nowhere to take me to, as I was only out for a 'leisure ride'.

I cycled away from the house today at 1227hrs in sunshine, less than 10 minutes later the skies opened.
At 1504hrs I returned, soaked, happy and stress relieved via the lanes of South Yorkshire..
"The road goes on forever" ... rain or shine ....
The 80+ Gentleman who attended our club meeting on Saturday, having ridden from Stockholm, keeps popping up in my mind when i look out the window now ....

Dashed out on Monday lunchtime for 35 mins after it stopped; I was very much in two minds.
Flooding was bad, soaked feet and water almost up to the hubs. I got cold.

Result: de-stressed and feeling much better.

irc wrote:Full mudguards, a decent jacket and Rainlegs worked for me for a 50m - 1hr15 commute.

That's pretty good going, especially with mudguards etc - 50 miles in 1hr15 is 40 mph

I've ridden Mountain Bikes for thirty odd years and used to ride whatever the weather.I've got um a 5am,driven 2 hours in horrible rain to the Lakes or Wales then ridden for 4 or 5 hours in torrential rain before driving back home.No option.If it was wet on my days off I still went out.
I sold the MTBs earlier this year and now have only Road and CX bikes but the same applies.As I work a 5on/5off-5on/4off-4on/5off shift pattern I can be a little bit more choosy but if it's wet and windy on the only day or days I have free then I still go out

Some people feel the rain,others just get wet

Bob Marley or Bob Dylan(depending on what source you use)

I'm not a huge fan of cycling in the dark or rain so I don't cycle much in the winter. I go running or go to the gym/swim. I like running in any weather. An hour's run is a great work out, you don't feel the cold as it's more intense.

Don't like the rain/ cold but cycle with a group on Saturday, whatever the weather, so that I have at least one outdoor ride per week.
Endless hometrainer sessions are boring.

A.Wainwright:-

There's no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing

Unfortunately up here at this time of year the sun doesn't get up very high, and on "nice" (=sunny) winter days I worry about being driven over by dazzled motorists. To my alarm on Monday I saw a woman who felt it only necessary to clear the ice from half her windscreen. Grey days are better. I'm not keen on cycling in the rain, it's not so much about getting cold and wet but the toll it takes on the machine. More than happy to run for hours in the rain though, I positively enjoy it! I may get soaked through but never feel the sometimes bone-chilling cold I can feel in similar conditions cycling.