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Cycling Fallacies - Counters to Common Anti-Cycling Arguments
(cyclingfallacies.com)
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this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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Bicycles
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"The weather is bad": This one is the least convincing of them all.
Where I live it's 90°F (or higher) with 90%+ humidity at least six months out of the year (more like 9 lately though) and it rains heavily at random in random locations on any given random day. When the weather report says, "50% chance of rain" what it really means is that all day it will be raining down on 50% of the county for ten to twenty minutes at a time (LOL).
The argument that website is making is that if the weather is that bad it's too awful just to go outside (which is 100% accurate haha)... Therefore the weather preventing cycling is a myth? WTF? It's silly.
Yea, I think there's some truth in that argument when it comes to temperature - I know I can adjust to pretty hot or cold weather after a while. But yea, no matter how much I love biking I am less likely to do it in the rain or snow, where it's not only more uncomfortable but also more dangerous.
It's still feasible. I biked to work most days in the winter, and after 5 min or so, I'm plenty warm. I generally avoid going the same day as a snowstorm, but cold weather is pretty easy to adapt to (just wear more layers). Throw on some panniers and you can take off a layer or two if you want (though I prefer to just start colder so I don't need to stop).
Heat is a lot harder though. At a certain point, I just cannot drink water fast enough to keep myself hydrated (I'm in a dry climate), and in more humid weather I can easily overheat. That said, it's fine most of the time, and I only avoid cycling for a few days of the year.
That said, this is for newer cyclists, so I would leave the advice at: "it's feasible, but you'll want to work up to it."
Aerobic exercise in the heat is difficult. What I've found that works for me is "salt sticks." They're capsules of electrolytes that help rebalance during times of high water intake.
I take one after approximately consuming 1.5 liters of water, depending on temperature and water consumption rate. I also take one if my fingers start swelling; a certain sign of dehydration. It works for me and maybe it'll work for you.
This is the video that convinced me to give electrolytes a try is GearSkeptic's Performance Nutrition for Backpacking, Part 4: Electrolyte Balance. The whole playlist is good, as long as you're prepared for many hours of talking hands and reading up his sources.
I'll check it out, thanks!
Ice is an issue, no lie. shady side of things it can stick around. Had a rider go down on ice (I don't think it was consensual) on a ride last week, on a skinny tire fixie. He said he was fine; Winter has it's padded clothing, after all. I suddenly got a whole lot more cautious. lol.
I grew up in a place with weather like that. And I loved the rain for walking or biking. If it got too intense I'd find shelter. Now I live in a place, and when the noble weather prognosticators say 50%, they mean "flip a coin", maybe it will, maybe it won't. Which to me seems a very different interpretation of what percent precipitation means. And I still love to ride in it, because it is such a treat when it does rain. I figure since it's my main transport, the gear to keep me comfortable on the bike is part of my 'transportation allotment'. Ya definitely need some warmies in this climate, in the Winter. Come Spring, and the warm weather people start riding again. I'm Citizen Smiley Face all, "nice to see folks riding again." We have some social bike groups/rides, and the numbers have a predictable sine curve over the course of the year.
I live in Boston and for years I'd bike for as long into the winter as I felt comfortable. And every year around November or December, I'd hang up my helmet and start taking the T until March or April. My situation changed a few years ago and I didn't have the T to fall back on. So I manned up and pushed through the winter. It wasn't pleasant or easy and there was still some learning, but I did it. The point is, temperature and precipitation are real.
Around here, winter routinely hits -20C, and we can have heavy snow at short notice. Riding in weather like that means (a) studded tires (and extra $400), winter riding gear, and likely a place to shower at work. Also, the skill to ride on snow, which is non-trivial. Winterizing your bike is another story.
-30C (and colder!) is pretty much out.
-20 isn't so bad. Neither is the winter gear, assuming you go outside at all during winter, as it's the same gear as going out for a walk.
Studded tires are nice, but also not necessary if there's proper bike infrastructure. Plowing bike lanes goes a long way.
You can get studded tires for $80-150 easy
The absolute cheapest trustworthy tires we could find here were from Amazon, at $140 per tire (cdn.). Most started at $200 and went up.