How much rain does it take to ruin your ride?

It is England after all, so if whenever it rained I never went out, I wouldn't go out much. I was going to go to watch polo today at brick lane but it's just pissing down a bit too much :( So the Question is, how much rain does it take to make you think twice about riding?

(I really wanted to go to polo, Damn!)

I'll ride in the cold. I'll ride in the rain. I don't like riding in both at the same time.

yup, pretty much the same,

there was snow on the ground this morning. was going mountainbiking but the forecast for rain put me off rather than the snow/cold.

the cold doesn't put me off but, neither does 'damp' weather but rain that gets you saturated in minutes i can't be bothered with. i'll commute in any weather as i have waterproof clothing/shoes but don't want to wear all that stuff for a long distance road ride.

I will ride in anything, but I dont enjoy riding in rain but i kinda like riding in the cold, as long as I have decent gloves on, and my feet are warm, it is refreshing and you soon warm up.

Don't mind the rain but if it's been really dry the roads in Dublin get really really greasy and I've had a couple of falls after a fresh downpour so that tends to either put me off entirely or make me cycle like a granny getting her shopping home with a cat in the basket...still... nothing lashing on the headphones and pumping some 3 INches Of Blood can't fix ;)

I see blue sky! Maybe I'll be heading out after all?!

commute wise I'll ride in anything it still beats the tube, i sometimes think twice if its proper pissing down and blowing a hooley outside though. wind is worse than rain/cold imo

Two of my bikes have developed squeaks since the rain has started. i now have to strip, clean and re-grease. but i am out every day so 3-4 times a week i have been soaked

Like Erik says, the first rain in a while leaves that greasy film on the road which is a cluster fuck on quick corners.
But as for getting wet myself, i quite like it, except the getting back into wet clothes for the ride home its all good

Good point Clefty. Wind can fuck off!
That really strong headwind that tires your legs and if there is rain cuts it straight through you!
its as bad when you catch it side on, as other riders and high sided vans get swerving!

i dont mind geting wet if im all ready out, but if its pissing down before i set off i think twice, but i hate the wind more, being big boned! its like riding with brakes on, thats why they call me
"russell wind stopper saunders"

Rain's not really a problem, wind can be quite unpleasant, slick and used armadillos combined with rain and wind will surely bring you lots of trouble ...

I find that rain makes me ride harder, and enjoy the ride more, as most people are out there miserable as fuck, and I'll just have a beaming grin on my face.

headwinds are a bitch around here, theres one stretch of road near didcot where there is no hedge or protection for like a mile on either side and that piece of road kills me every time.

it does not properly rain for long here it drissels, and i don't mind that at all, but if its so bad that i can hadly see through it that will make me wait 15mins until it passes.

I don't mind rain or cold but wind can fuck the fuck off, Friday seemed to be one of those days when everywhere seemed to have a headwind or a crosswind, never a tailwind. It takes all the fun out of riding, going forward is just a struggle, getting blown sideways is sketchy and takes all the lightness out of your moves which is not fun when riding in traffic.

Any excuse to hear this again !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CCrA5Lq5XU

Riding in pissing rain can be fun if you don't have somewhere to be - you just accept that you're going to get soaked through and enjoy it. Having said that, my worst wet ride was coming home from work at 2am mid winter - I slowed down to go through an enormous puddle aware that a car was approaching from behind and the douchebag sped up and soaked me head to toe. I thought my toes were going to fall off when I got home and my shoes took a good 3 days to fully dry out.

Plaing the BFF polo comp in torrential rain was great fun. If you don't have to be dry you can ignore it.

I agree with everybody else that wind is worse than rain. People who don't cycle usually assume that rain is the worst thing, but I find that it always looks worse than it really is when you're not in it and I can't remember when I've last been annoyed by rain. It's just something you get on with.

Crosswinds can really destabilise you and headwind is obviously unpleasant. An additional problem are the turbulences created by large buildings in windy conditions. If you cycle past one unawares, it can really catch you out.

it does not properly rain for long here it drissels, and i don't mind that at all, but if its so bad that i can hadly see through it that will make me wait 15mins until it passes.

I've found the same thing--and in most cases of a downpour it's more like five minutes to wait. In London, it's generally not all that difficult to find shelter, either.

rain + wind in eyes = pain and fear (it stings and you just can't see where your going!)

Rain on the commute route means extra-long traffic jams for me to smugly fly past + no noddies = good cycling
It's also the ultimate way to clear away the cobwebs. The only weather I don't like riding in is the kind that puts ice on the roads - cycling on ice is not fun.

with a decent water proof jacket and gloves, i'll brave any of this fucking shite weather!

this morning stopped a brief cycle, managed to time it between the downpours from 1-3.

worst i've been is cycling home from football, lashing it down, feet pumping water out of my shoe with every down stroke.
rain is bad, wind is worse. i actually cried out of a pub quiz with the words, "it's too windy and i'm on my bike. i'm going home".

cold, nah, you get warm quick enough. hats or those twatty headbands that cover your ears ftw.

This weekends weather cycling checklist in Amsterdam.

Hail - Check
Rain - Check
Snow - Check
Wind - Check

Hail was not fun as I had my son on the front of the bike and he did not enjoy it one bit, strange that. Snow was fun as it was coming in horizontal, made for an interesting journey home.

I have repped myself for achieving HTFU status this weekend ;)

How much SNOW does it take to ruin your ride?

A couple of inches and a hard frost. Was going out this am on a series of local hill climbs. Got up early to spec out the route in case it was too bad to ride. Nearly fell off about three times. Went to the start pub to say it was pretty weird but passable with care - and not one bastard turned up. Multiple HTFU for my Sunday morning mates!

Actually, they were right. It was suicidal out here (the east anglian sticks). Retired home for big caffeine hit and the papers.