When is it too risky to commute by bike?
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You are not messing around! You'd probably laugh if you saw me biking.MeanderingMammal wrote: »So, those of you who ride a bike in all kinds of weather, when do you skip the ride?
To an extent it depends if it's a simple commute, ten miles to my local office, or a multimodal commute; London by train.
Locally I'll use my CX bike so deep enough snow to make that untenable.
In London I'm on my Brompton, so heavy rain or snow. At least on the Brommie I can fold it up and take it on the bus in London.
Riding defensively; dominating the roadspace, exploiting shelter and taking opportunities at junctions help a lot. Don't cower in the gutters.
I don't even know what those things ("exploiting shelter," etc) mean! I commute on a multi-use trail, avoiding the roads at every opportunity. I'm only on the roads for about 2.5 of 9 miles. So, I'm a pansy. A happy pansy content to move along at 15 mph. And the freezing, dark fog still spooks me.
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Okay, I'm inspired. I went in the dark frost this morning and it was fine. I slowed down on the bridges where it looked frostiest. I'm still a little nervous about freezing weather, but I really want to stick with the bike commute.
Several of you said you avoid driving rain. I've done plenty of that. It's not really a problem if I have the right clothes. My face is wet. I put my mascara on after I ride. But rain isn't anything that would stop me.
Heavy wind is impressive, but wouldn't stop me.
It's the fog I don't like. But I'm going to try to stick with it.1 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »Riding defensively; dominating the roadspace, exploiting shelter and taking opportunities at junctions help a lot. Don't cower in the gutters.
I rode motorcycles for about 50 years. As with motorcycling, it pays to be vigilant and vary your tactics depending on the situation but, just like motorcycles, bicycles will NEVER win a battle w/a car or truck and "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to "sharing" the roadway w/4 to 18 wheeled vehicles.
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You are not messing around! You'd probably laugh if you saw me biking.MeanderingMammal wrote: »So, those of you who ride a bike in all kinds of weather, when do you skip the ride?
To an extent it depends if it's a simple commute, ten miles to my local office, or a multimodal commute; London by train.
Locally I'll use my CX bike so deep enough snow to make that untenable.
In London I'm on my Brompton, so heavy rain or snow. At least on the Brommie I can fold it up and take it on the bus in London.
Riding defensively; dominating the roadspace, exploiting shelter and taking opportunities at junctions help a lot. Don't cower in the gutters. I don't even know what those things ("exploiting shelter," etc) mean! I commute on a multi-use trail, avoiding the roads at every opportunity. I'm only on the roads for about 2.5 of 9 miles. So, I'm a pansy. A happy pansy content to move along at 15 mph. And the freezing, dark fog still spooks me.
And meanwhile, I try to avoid multi-use trails. Scary places with all the peds and kids and dogs on them!
That said, we've got a couple nearby I do use, but most of my riding is on the road. Can't ride 100+ miles on trails around here!
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I'm still a little nervous about freezing weather, but I really want to stick with the bike commute.
that's really a sensible thing to be nervous about. i did have a black-ice fall once and all i can say is: it was unlike any other bike crash that i've ever had. so if you can track down studded tires and afford them, then absolutely do it. my favourite so far has been the schwalbe snow stud, but i think my current set are winter marathons which have also been pretty okay.
they feel sort of like riding on a zip-tie on bare ground, and they need a little more leg to work with, plus the studs do wear out faster on pavement. it's still seriously worth it if black ice is any kind of concern. i'm saying all this as someone who hasn't set up her own winter bike yet, but still you should listen to me imo. it's one of those things that you might need for only four feet out of an entire commute - but when you hit those four feet you might really need them.
and for fog i'm going to reiterate: get one of those dork-flavoured safety vests with the giant reflective xes on them.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »Riding defensively; dominating the roadspace, exploiting shelter and taking opportunities at junctions help a lot. Don't cower in the gutters.
I rode motorcycles for about 50 years. As with motorcycling, it pays to be vigilant and vary your tactics depending on the situation but, just like motorcycles, bicycles will NEVER win a battle w/a car or truck and "discretion is the better part of valor" when it comes to "sharing" the roadway w/4 to 18 wheeled vehicles.
Fwiw I'm trained in pursuit driving and motorcycling. If you apply similar principles on a pedal cycle you're going to be ok. It helps to be very aware of how other vehicles move, and what that means for the cyclist.0 -
I'm a pansy compared to you folks. I'm from the Deep South, so my cut off parameters are temps below 40degC, over 110degC, headwind greater than 15mph, and most importantly flooding.
Also access to trails. My office just moved where I have no access to trails, so my bike commuting days are over. I've been hit by a car once, and don't really want to experience it twice. I live in a large urban city that is completely bike unfriendly.0 -
I only ride because it give me a valid excuse to wear skin tight spandex without having to explain myself to the police.
.... again.4 -
I just started bike commuting a few months ago.
I don't mind the rain too much. I don't mind the cold too much. I ride in the dark most days and I'm used to that.
But, the fog is freakin' me out a little. Fog + dark + freezing = scary.
So, those of you who ride a bike in all kinds of weather, when do you skip the ride?
At least in Buffalo, there are way too many people who don't bother to buy and swap to snow tires in the winter. I really, really don't want to share an icy road with them without being encased in a large pile of steel myself.0 -
Rosemary7391 wrote: »Massively depends on the route. My dad occasionally cycled to work alongside a canal - and I got the impression that the toughest time was spring, because the towpath got very overgrown very quickly and it wasn't that easy to see the edge of the path. He never did end up swimming, thankfully, but he did stop doing it!
Our main recreational bike path along the river, is also along/underneath the 190 in quite a few spots, and thus the plows wind up dumping massive mountain-esque piles of snow right onto the path...it takes a while for it all to melt, so those areas are fairly impassable in the early spring.0 -
You are not messing around! You'd probably laugh if you saw me biking.MeanderingMammal wrote: »So, those of you who ride a bike in all kinds of weather, when do you skip the ride?
To an extent it depends if it's a simple commute, ten miles to my local office, or a multimodal commute; London by train.
Locally I'll use my CX bike so deep enough snow to make that untenable.
In London I'm on my Brompton, so heavy rain or snow. At least on the Brommie I can fold it up and take it on the bus in London.
Riding defensively; dominating the roadspace, exploiting shelter and taking opportunities at junctions help a lot. Don't cower in the gutters. I don't even know what those things ("exploiting shelter," etc) mean! I commute on a multi-use trail, avoiding the roads at every opportunity. I'm only on the roads for about 2.5 of 9 miles. So, I'm a pansy. A happy pansy content to move along at 15 mph. And the freezing, dark fog still spooks me.
A lot of road safety is about projecting your own confidence, and exerting control. You've as much right to be on the road as cage dwellers snug in their air conditioned boxes. That means taking up an assertive road position, in the middle third of the lane, or further out if the roadspace becomes constrained. You want to make it a conscious decision to pass you safely. If you're in the nearside you encourage driers to squeeze past you, and that gets worse when the road becomes constrained.
If you're approaching a junction and there is a larger vehicle, use the space that provides to make progress. Recognise that a bus or a lorry, or even a long wheel base van, will move around the road differently, and that gives you opportunities to use the gaps.
Where traffic is slow moving, run between the queues of traffic to move up. Move ahead of the queue at traffic lights, so that you can react positively when they change.
Riding positively needn't mean riding aggressively, stay calm. Recognise that drivers are stupid, and the ones that aren't stupid are trying to kill you. Don't get stressed out about it, you'll outlive them.1 -
Okay, I'm inspired. I went in the dark frost this morning and it was fine. I slowed down on the bridges where it looked frostiest. I'm still a little nervous about freezing weather, but I really want to stick with the bike commute.
Several of you said you avoid driving rain. I've done plenty of that. It's not really a problem if I have the right clothes. My face is wet. I put my mascara on after I ride. But rain isn't anything that would stop me.
Heavy wind is impressive, but wouldn't stop me.
It's the fog I don't like. But I'm going to try to stick with it.
The weather has been cold but dry and only a little fog and frost on the ground, so I've stuck with it all month!
Of course it's been super dark up here in the PNW, but I did purchase a new Noxgear light vest that I am very happy with. They're on sale if anyone is in the market for a bike/running light: https://www.noxgear.com/tracer360
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Okay, I'm inspired. I went in the dark frost this morning and it was fine. I slowed down on the bridges where it looked frostiest. I'm still a little nervous about freezing weather, but I really want to stick with the bike commute.
Several of you said you avoid driving rain. I've done plenty of that. It's not really a problem if I have the right clothes. My face is wet. I put my mascara on after I ride. But rain isn't anything that would stop me.
Heavy wind is impressive, but wouldn't stop me.
It's the fog I don't like. But I'm going to try to stick with it.
The weather has been cold but dry and only a little fog and frost on the ground, so I've stuck with it all month!
Of course it's been super dark up here in the PNW, but I did purchase a new Noxgear light vest that I am very happy with. They're on sale if anyone is in the market for a bike/running light: https://www.noxgear.com/tracer360
I love my noxgear vest.1 -
To be honest, biking in fog terrifies me, especially near cars.
I cant say what you should do except invest in reflective tape for your clothes and bike lights. I have blinking lights on both tires. It helps alot.1 -
I do everything I can to be very visible when I ride. Even if they don't like cyclists, drivers don't want to hit them because it would mess up their car. If the conditions make it difficult for people to see me I don't ride in it unless I have to.2
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TimothyFish wrote: »I love my noxgear vest.
Think I'll buy one of these.
I don't run or ride a bicycle but think it would be good to carry for an emergency while driving at night if you need to change a tire or be in the roadway for some reason.
If I still road a motorcycle, I'd wear it while riding at night too. Car drivers are just as clueless when it comes to motorcycles as they are with bicycles.
Crossing at intersections in front of motorcycles because they say they didn't see the motorcyclist (even in broad daylight) is a common hazard.
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