45 degrees, no rain in the forecast for 24 hours, I'm riding to work today. Might be a little chilly when I get off at 9, but I'll worry about that then :) I got a balaclava and that really helps. Keeps the wind off my neck and my forehead. I have a Symax and I've noticed a cold breeze on the left side of my forehead. I've got some Highland Pants coming and those should help keep my shins warm. I'm interested to see how low I can go.

Good on ya!, IronMan...!

I've ridden in temps as low a 40deg, but that's as low as I'll go. TourMaster PolarTex gloves and abt 4 layers of clothes allows me do ~ 30mi tops. I've gone as late as Christmas here in central OH.
Don't ride to work when it's this cold, tho...just too much trouble to dress and then peel the layers off to do 10mi.

Ok. That was interesting. Got off work at 9 and the thermometer I put into the "trunk" said about 38 degrees and the seat and tank are soaked in dew. Fortunately I carry a couple of paper towels for just such a situation. Hmmm. Oh well, got to get home. I have to say the balaclava, Fieldsheer jacket with the quilted liner and the flannel shirt kept my top half comfortable enough. But man, my legs. I'm still cruising with the wool poly blend slacks, and baby, was that cold. Really, really cold. Lucky I only have a 20 minute commute. I'm sure looking forward to getting those Highland pants. And maybe some oversize sweats to wear underneath them too :)

I rode to work three out of four weeks in October when I was working second shift. Only had to ride home twice in the rain. But most nights when I left I too had to wipe off what seemed like an inch of water on the seat, and it was a bit cool. After a few days, I ordered some chaps and that made a big difference on the legs. Don't know why I waited so long to get some.

RB

Ok. That was interesting. Got off work at 9 and the thermometer I put into the "trunk" said about 38 degrees and the seat and tank are soaked in dew. Fortunately I carry a couple of paper towels for just such a situation. Hmmm. Oh well, got to get home. I have to say the balaclava, Fieldsheer jacket with the quilted liner and the flannel shirt kept my top half comfortable enough. But man, my legs. I'm still cruising with the wool poly blend slacks, and baby, was that cold. Really, really cold. Lucky I only have a 20 minute commute. I'm sure looking forward to getting those Highland pants. And maybe some oversize sweats to wear underneath them too :)

I got my Highland pants and like them a lot. Heavy nylon shell with denser nylon on the butt, hips and knees. CE armor on the knees too. Long zippers that come almost all the way to the top. A cargo pocket on each thigh. Really like the 1x9 reflective stripe that sits over each ankle. Inside there's a rain resistant liner that's sewn in. Not surprisingly they're really warm. No problems with cold legs now! Of course, as soon as I fix one thing, I notice something else. Now I'm noticing the arctic blast coming through my helmet. It's like a death ray made of the essence of cold hitting my left forehead. Even my balaclava can't keep it at bay. It's looking like 40 is my lower limit. The other thing that really bugs me is fog. I was riding around in low 40 degree weather, sun was out, not having too much trouble with the shield fogging up, when I hit a pocket of really cold air and fog. Jeez, nearly as soon as I entered it, it starts to condense on the face shield. So here I am wiping off the shield, like every 30 seconds. Then I have a brilliant idea, lift the shield up. Not so brilliant. Remeber the death ray of coldness? Yeah, now it's smacking me right in the face. My eyes start to freeze in their sockets, and oh look at this, I'm starting to get condensation on my glasses. AAAAAGH. Fortunately I was nearly home by this time. Got there just in time to see the garbage man blocking my driveway picking up my garbage. So I have to cruise down the block and back, trying to see out of two ice cubes that are my eyes,with the pounding pain of intense cold penetrating my skull, while he goes on his merry way. I got some Cat Crap for my glasses (and maybe my faceshield too) to keep with my riding stuff in case I get caught in the fog again. From here on out, I think I'm just going to avoid fog at all costs. Bad ju-ju. I don't know if I'm going to be able to commute until the days get longer again. It's either too foggy in the AM if I work early, or too much dew at night when I work late. I should be lucky enough to get some riding done on my days off though when I can go out after the fog lifts and before the dew settles :) At least my legs are happy now.

I've been out every day for this past week. High 40's to low 60's. 30 to 150 mile rides. Silk long underwear really works well. Very comfortable, thin so you don't feel so bundled up.

Friday was a real pain though. Seems like I got stuck behind every school bus, moving van, cement truck, dump truck, garbage truck, flatbed hauling front end loader, tanker truck, honey wagon truck and whatever in Harford County.

Thursday my bike was attacked by a small brown hawk. He broke his wingwhen he hit my leg, then hopped across the road and down a hill into some bushes while I was on the phone with animal control. Waited around for them to show up, then helped them look for him. Never did find him. Shame, I love to see them riding the air currents. He will be some fox's dinner soon.

Sunday looks pretty good, and some days next week look promising.

Weather's been teasing me all week: mostly clear, highs in 60's and morning lows in mid and upper 40's. But I've been working overtime all week so it's been dark when I come in and dark when I get home. Figured I'd be better off in my nice protective SUV (!!!! Let's not start that!). Weatherman last night promised partly cloudy and highs up to 70 today so I chanced it. Sprinkled on me all the way to work and been foggy, cloudy, misty ever since.

Oh well, it's still a chance to ride after a couple of weeks out of the saddle. Extremely therapeautic!!

I feel you Ironman I'm in Puyallup not to far from you. Even on the sunny days witch are few and far between you only get from 2:30 to 4:00 before the fog, cold, dark and rain come back and last untill 2:30 the next day. Still riding every chance I get the chances are just getting fewer and fewer.