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I just started riding in July and love it. I am up to riding 30 miles on Sundays and 6 miles a few times a week after work.
I am so bummed now that it is dark by 6:30 and 50 degrees.
There could be snow on the ground in a month.
How do those of you in northern areas cope?
Sign me sad! :(
Anyone else??
+1 on the crabby!
I'd encourage you to get proper clothing and ride on decent weekends when you have time...
Lots of layers of thin wool that I can put on and take off.
As long as it's daylight, the road is dry and it's above 20F, I can go for a ride.
Balaclava (sometimes 2), several layered gloves, regular pedals and heavy insulated hiking boots with good wool socks. Helps to have a decent sized saddlebag where you can put layers you peel off as you warm up. :)
I keep my rides shorter, 20 miles or less when it's really cold.
Good gloves, good shoes or shoe covers, something thin to cover your ears and face, blinkies and studded tires. Winter is a blast :) Well, snow isn't, but once the snow is plowed, riding in the cold isn't that hard.
Yeah I'm crabby too. The sun comes up so late now that especially on a cloudy day, I don't have a hope of waking in time for a group ride unless I use an alarm clock, which I HATE waking up that way.
I so carefully set my alarm last night and for some reason it didn't go off this morning. I woke up with still time enough to do the club ride if I rushed rushed rushed. I got up, looked at the clock, rushed around for about 15 minutes, realized that I had 5 minutes to get dressed, put my contacts in, load the car and eat breakfast if I wanted something more than scarfing a Pro Bar in the car, and even then I'd have to keep the gas pedal floored the whole trip ... looked at the weather report (44°, chance of sprinkles, mostly cloudy and high of 58°) and just blew it off.
Plus one of my riding buddies sent an email around late Thursday night, looking for somebody to ride with yesterday, and I didn't get that until too late yesterday morning either. So another riding opportunity blown yesterday.
Grrrrrrrrrr.
K..all i have to say is..RIDE..Just ride..Your bike is calling.
Get yourself some warm riding gear, (layering is the key, pit zips are wonderful!) good lights and you're set. Just remember to clean your bike after each ride, especially when it's been pouring etc. Don't know about snow care though.
If it gets below -10C, get some Spinervals DVD's :D:cool: & have tons of fun with Coach Troy. He'll brighten up your day :)
Have fun & remember riding in the cooler months isn't all that bad! Think of how many cyclists won't be out there :D & the room you'll have :D
Like everyone else just said, layers! I ride on nice weekend days. I usually wait for it to warm up a bit so I start later. Rides are shorter but I get out on those sunny (cold) days. On the nasty days I go mountain biking. I also return to the 5:30 PM spin classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I went for the first time this past Thursday and my spin instructor welcomed me back. She said like the birds flying south she knew she would see my face when the weather turned.
I love riding in the fall and winter for a few reasons:
Other riders (who don't ride all winter) see you as a die-hard, which is fun for me because I'm so not. I wouldn't ride if it wasn't fun.
There's little chance of getting passed when you're the only one out there.
You warm up without getting sweaty.
The roads are aren't as bad (at least around here) as you'd think. The salt and sand can be a bummer because you have to clean your bike more, but that's a great excuse to buy a winter bike. There will be days where you just won't be able to ride because of the weather, but there are lots of beautiful sunny days with clear rodes that are just perfect if you're dressed right.
You feel so much better than you do during a winter spent bundled up indoors, eating too much holiday junk, and getting too little sunlight.
For me, a big perk is that traffic is far less around here in winter. Riding without the summer crowd is a luxury. I'd rather be a little cold than have tourists constantly cutting me off.
When there's snow on the roads it's just too scary to ride outdoors. I've got my road bike on a trainer and a bunch of Spinervals. It's the only way I can ride in the winter.
Oh, I thought of another reason I like to ride in the winter...
If I don't do some kind of riding, spinning, whatever in winter, that first spring ride after taking months off is PAINFUL (in my experience). You remember all you could do at the end of your last riding season, but all the gains you've made will be gone, and you'll be back to square one physically.
It's not the cold so much for me, it's waking up before sunrise, and having to rush. I'm a huge believer in natural light and keying my body to solar and lunar rhythms, so it p*sses me off anyhow to have to choose between riding and natural awakening. And I just do not do being in a huge rush the second I wake up. Not when there's nothing enormous at stake, anyhow.
I don't like to ride in the wet, but that's true even when it's warm - yes it's freezing when it's cold and wet, but it's really the cleanup I mind the most anyhow. And as far as ice, I haven't ridden on ice since my second year in college when I hit black ice and wrapped my front wheel around my forks. No thanks.
I cope by.......GOING SKIING!!:D Cross country skiing is my first love, biking is a not too distant second. We don't have snow yet, so this time of year is kinda hard, but I'm doing a bit more mountain biking now. A lot of years I just sort of turn into a slug for a couple of months, but I am doing better this year. We haven't had too much of the 40 degree windy rainy crap yet. Once winter is here, I'll be all set. I really like having different sports for different seasons - keeps me from getting burned out. I tend to get bored with my regular routes after a couple of months.