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“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a bike, and that’s pretty close”
Well, in my case I didn’t even buy a bike, I just got it second hand, but… you get the point 🙂 Biking has been such a wonderful source of happiness, peace, and grounding in my life this summer and fall, and I’m sad that that season of biking is over. I now have my bike trainer tire on, which means that I’m stuck biking in my living room until April or May (depending on the weather this spring). So, as one season is closing out, I thought I would do a summary of fall riding.
While I did bike last year in the fall (my first fall to actually bike), I stayed exclusively on the roads near my house, which meant that I didn’t really get to experience fall biking on the trails. So many things about this fall felt different! While I missed the beauty of summer biking, I loved watching the changing scenery.
The biggest thing I had to adjust to was the shifting weather patterns. Some days were still warm, while other days were rainy or windy. I didn’t bike in the rain, but I went out on a few rides that were far too windy. Once, I went out 2.5 miles that felt fast, and then turned around and was immediately getting knocked around…badly. I was inching along, getting tossed sideways, and I was terrified I was going to get hit by a car. I got home right as I hit mile 5, and I was actually shaking. Yikes!
I also had to get used to the increase in bugs. I’m used to bugs hitting me while biking, but there was a big increase in the quantity once the cooler weather hit. On the trails, there were crickets that kept hitting my legs, which took some getting used to on my rides!
I also had to figure out what to actually wear as it was getting colder. Last year I never biked in anything warmer than my jersey, biking jacket, and biking shorts. This year I biked outside long enough that I needed pants, multiple layers on top, and gloves! There was a bit of trial and error needed to figure everything out! My ride in the middle of October was the coldest ride I had.
I’m glad I was able to extend my road biking season a few more weeks this year than last. I finally caved and put on my bike trainer due to a mix of reasons, but mostly due to shorter daylight hours and worse weather. I’m sad to be leaving my road biking behind (it’s hard to think about going a couple hundred miles all in one place over the next few months), but I’m really pleased with my 2014 season of biking, and I’m glad to have gotten to struggle a bit through some of the challenges of fall biking.
Cycling during the fall months is pretty special, especially when the weather is on the warmer side. How often do you think you will ride on the trainer each week throughout the winter? Do you have goals for next year?
I’ll ride 1-2 times a week to keep a good base, just like I did last year. I am considering a half ironman for next summer (we’ll see about that though). I’ll probably peak trainer rides anywhere from 20-28 miles in length like I did last winter, but we’ll see. How about you? Do you know what you’re going to do yet?