I get what IBA270 (Allen) is saying about risk management. I’ll give an example of how I look at this.
I enjoy riding in the rain (haven’t done it a lot ‘cause it doesn’t rain much here), in the dark, and on steep/twisty roads deep in the hills. Some times it can get stressful and fatiguing – steep and apparently slippery pavement in darkness does that to me – but I still enjoy it. On those dark and lonely roads, I often have the road all to myself, and I can ride at my own pace. The conditions may be bad and the risk may be high, but it’s up to me to stay in control.
Yesterday we had a pretty severe storm. Pouring rain, sustained wind at 40mph or so, gusting even higher. Looked like a gnarly, challenging day to ride, and I like that kind of stuff. However, I found the nearly white out condition (from the spray) on the freeway unacceptable to commute on a bike. I couldn’t be sure to see road hazards far and early enough. Drivers would have a hard time seeing me, especially if I went down for whatever reason. I’m talking down to 20-30 ft visibility at times, and at freeway speed that wasn’t much reaction time. I couldn’t control that, so I would choose not to ride on the freeway in that condition.