Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Just reading the 'I hate....' thread, and Colin's post (kudos to those who ride through winter) spurred me on to ask what is often in my mind when i see the empty bike racks at work in the winter.....

I think the only day I haven't ridden to work this winter is one of the days in possibly June where it rained solid all week and I didn't actually have any dry kit to wear.

I don't have a problem with the cold and dark, I have slightly more of a problem with the rain, (but a couple of plastic bags on the feet make that less so) but to me (admittedly with only an 8k commute) the bike is still preferable to any of the alternatives - and 2/3 days out of 5 I have to go via school to pick up and drop off the kids.

If you don't ride in winter, why not? what are your start and end dates for riding? and how do you get to work if you don't ride?

Just curious....

50+ k return most days.
I don't get fussed by the weather but leave for work later in the winter.

Haven't missed a day for me (ie 5 working days a week commuting riding for me).

But I do notice that there is a lot more maintenance for the bike including chain cleaning, replacing light batteries and break pad replacements. As well as additional flats.

Around 46km round trip for me.

Bike rakes are still full at our work during winter.

I haven't ridden this winter.

What you gonna do about it?

Sydney winter cycling is GREAT compared to hot, sticky summer weather!

I've only caught the bus to work once this year... every other day I've ridden...

ILoveMyBike wrote:Sydney winter cycling is GREAT compared to hot, sticky summer weather!

+1. Although switching from backpack to panniers provided a lot of welcome relief in summer.

Don't mind the rain so much by itself, so long as I can see. High gusty winds I don't much enjoy, though.

I'll ride most days during winter, but I've been known to follow BSNYC rules for epic winter commutes when I get up and it's belting down:

"When it rains, take the bus"

Hate spending the day in wet shoes

SnoopDoug wrote:Hate spending the day in wet shoes

I have my work shoes at work, put my wet bike shoes behind my computer power supply exhaust fan, dry and toasty by the end of the day

The only time I didn't ride was when I got a lift home with a colleague. It was raining so much my driveway was under an inch of water

Australians don't know how lucky they are.
Now living and commuting in Perth, the winter here is like summer back home. Once you're out on the bike, you quickly warm up and strip down.

This is where I lived until recently, on this mountain, and below that is the view from my morning ride down to work.
Cycling required mittens + windproof overmitts, a balaclava, and extreme caution on corners.
But I have to admit, sleet defeats me. No fun cycling in that.

Winter? What winter!

I'm in Sydney and cycle year round. I'm not a huge fan of the cold but it never gets *that* cold here. I think the worst was about 2-3deg. I probably wouldn't head out in the pouring rain, but I wouldn't turn back if it started raining either.

James, you reminded me of a friend who moved from England to Perth and the thing he said he loved about Aus was that you had to wear sunglasses in winter.

Cheers,
Dave

We don’t tend to ride in anything below 12deg. We are getting older and soft.

Its quite strange how we adapt, up until a few years ago, I was running around my hobby farm down in Tas in the middle of winter in my undies.

But I do ride all through summer in all our heat and humidity up here in Townsville.

I avoid riding in the rain at all times. Simply not worth it.

My aim it to continue to ride every working day until I retire. I am pleased to say that it is now 1385 days since I last did NOT ride in at least the minimum 10km of to and from the train.

Of course those in other cities do not have the easy conditions we do in Perth. I would NEVER aspire to this sort of stuff in Melbourne or Canberra for example.

I rode a bike for around 25 years. I can say that there are a LOT of all year round riders now when only a decade ago ther was no company after around April. I still have company every morning at the lockers and even now still have to wait for a shower occasionally. The bikes counts that DOT does all year round in Perth also indicate a pretty flat graph through the whole year.

Comedian wrote:I've only caught the bus to work once this year... every other day I've ridden...

The reason for this has to make a great story!

I started the year with an "every commuting day" cycle goal (still going strong), so I'm wondering what can break a man =D

PS: I only ride 99% cycle paths for 40km return commute. Riding in our Mediterranean climate isn't tough with the right gear (and mudguards) it's a breeze. I wouldn't want to be on the road sharing it with cars in the dry, let alone the wet, so can imagine why people wouldn't ride in the wet if they had to deal with that. I gave up motorcycles/scooters with young kids dependant on us, so the same risks but on bicycles instead doesn't add up.

I don't mind riding in winter, but I am not a fan of riding in the rain.

Minus 6 I will still roll out, if it is raining then inside I stay. If it is clear when I start and then starts raining I will man up and stay out.

I use to be bad ass but I got sick a few times from riding in the rain during hobart winters and I also had an off in the rain and did my ac joint. So since then I got soft. Also I don't get paid to ride my bike so no need to torture myself.

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exadios wrote:Winter? What winter!

Word.

Though not having a second bike at the moment I'm trying to minimise my riding in the rain when I can avoid it for the bike's sake.

ColinOldnCranky wrote:My aim it to continue to ride every working day until I retire. I am pleased to say that it is now 1385 days since I last did NOT ride in at least the minimum 10km of to and from the train.

Of course those in other cities do not have the easy conditions we do in Perth. I would NEVER aspire to this sort of stuff in Melbourne or Canberra for example.

I rode a bike for around 25 years. I can say that there are a LOT of all year round riders now when only a decade ago ther was no company after around April. I still have company every morning at the lockers and even now still have to wait for a shower occasionally. The bikes counts that DOT does all year round in Perth also indicate a pretty flat graph through the whole year.

dont know where you ride from Colin but I ride every work day from Dianella to East Perth (the long way - over the Narrows) and during winter there are days on end where I wont see another rider. Those are the most enjoyable riding days

I don't set out in rain - will ride in it if caught though. Cold no issue though.

cracked ice On some winter wreck dives so cycling in winter doesn't bother me.
Just can't be bothered with the early morning dark rides.

If I didn't ride in Winter I wouldn't be able to ride between November and Feb. When it is really cold I just have to watch the weather, especially after my adventure last winter with 6 hours at minus 15 and below. Need to know my limits .
For CX I race in standard summer gear ( short gloves, shirt, knicks etc ) at around 0c... amazing the heat a body can put out at full effort with a bit of heat cream .

wurtulla wabbit wrote:cracked ice On some winter wreck dives

[OT] Awesome, where? [/OT]

Well, this girl commutes through winter Since adding full mudguards I'm not fazed by rain any more (in fact almost prefer it since the cloud cover means it's not brass-monkey cold), but huge headwinds will have me looking for convenient excuses. Coldest I've done was 2 degrees and it didn't hurt that much.

I rather ride in a storm than sit on a bus with 50 flu infected drones!

Comedian wrote:I rather ride in a storm than sit on a bus with 50 flu infected drones!

Point!

Winter is different up and down the country so although I ride here in qld, I might not want to ride in Vic in rain ( note into wet rides).

Lizzy, there's a few quarries in the uk that have helicopters, buses and cars etc sunk in them.

Loch striven, Scottish winter would be my coldest/darkest wreck dive.
Probably about -15 wind chill, water temp barely above zero.
Pitch black, could see static when waving my hand under water, could see nothing else(with torch off).