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How Cold Will You Go?

11.03.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

Screen Shot 2013-11-03 at 8.42.10 PM

Met a small contingent from the club this morning for our ride. No other B riders showed up, so it was me and seven A’s. They pretty much disappeared by about eight miles into the ride, and I was on my own again. No problem — I enjoy riding by myself.

But I did have to attend to some housekeeping. The temperature when I left the house was a cool 45 degrees (7C). I might have overdressed a little, and by now I was feeling overheated. I stopped in a high school parking lot, and traded my full-finger gloves for my fingerless, and stashed my ear warmers in my jacket pocket. I figured I would shed some more layers when I reached my turnaround point, another six or seven miles down the road.

I really enjoy riding in the kind of weather we had today. It was a beautiful fall day, with bright sunshine and temps on the cool side. It reminded me that the cold weather still has yet to reach Central Texas — but it will. January and February often see winter-like temperatures, even if we rarely get snow.

I started thinking about my northern friends, who have been riding in colder weather than this for some time. I’m from the north myself, although when I lived up there, I wasn’t really a cyclist. I wondered if I would have what it takes to face the kind of cold conditions they regularly deal with.

And that got me wondering — just how cold am I willing to go to get in a ride?

For me, it’s about 40 degrees (4C). Mainly, that’s because the biking clothes I own won’t keep me warm at lower temperatures. I think the coldest it ever was when I started a ride was 38, and that warmed into the 40s fairly quickly.

Thirteen years in Austin’s mild (and ridiculously hot in the summer) climate has had its effect on me. I’m not as cold-tolerant as I used to be. But I’m not the biggest wimp on the block. One of my cycling acquaintances, who has years more riding experience than I do, told me he doesn’t ride when the temperature gets below 55. What?

Meanwhile, a couple of the guys came to this morning’s ride dressed in just base layers, a short-sleeved jersey, and arm warmers. It would have to be in the 60s before I dressed like that.

How about you? Have you started riding in really cold morning temperatures already? How cold does it have to be before you decide to stay indoors? Or do you ride all winter long? And if you do — how do you cope?

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Categories // Cold weather Tags // cold

Riding When I Want To

02.10.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

Not a great riding weekend. I look forward to the weekends, because lately I have not been able to squeeze in a ride during the week. Late Friday afternoon, then, is something I wait for all week long.

I got out for a 20-miler Friday, and anticipated a longer ride Saturday. But Saturday morning dawned overcast and misty. The roads were wet. I decided to wait until conditions got better.

They never did. In fact, they got worse. It never really rained, but the mist got heavier. I decided to forget about riding, and wait for Sunday.

The Sunday forecast called for rain in the morning, but according to the weather radar, that had passed through the area about an hour before I woke up. Again, the streets gleamed with light reflected from standing water. I decided I wouldn’t be doing the club ride at 8.

It amused me to see how panicked some of my fellow club members got over the weather. The 8 a.m. ride was delayed until 9:30. The Yahoo board lit up with posts from people debating whether to go on the planned ride (about 55 miles into a very hilly suburb to the west) or do something flatter and potentially safer. Then some folks decided to go at 10 instead of 9:30. I leaned back in my easy chair to drink some coffee and read the paper.

I guess everyone got out all right. I rode with my wife at about 2:30 p.m., when the temperature had risen to 67 degrees (19C) and the roads had dried off. Ever notice that 67 in February is much cooler than 67 in June? It’s true. I was underdressed on our ride, and downright chilly pedaling into a light wind from the north. When my wife turned into our neighborhood, instead of peeling off to put in some more miles, I went with her.

So my mileage for the month is way down, what with one-and-a-half rides this weekend. You know what? I don’t care. We enjoy good biking weather here year around, and if this weekend wasn’t so great, I know great ones are just around the corner. From here on out, I’ll take advantage of that, and ride when I feel like riding. That means I’ll skip some days because they’re too cold for me (on that day, anyway), and other times, I’ll be first to show up for a ride in even colder weather. I’ve decided to skip riding during rain, and even in wet conditions after the rain. Call me a wuss, if you like. I enjoy my bike too much to ever feel like I’m forced to ride.

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Categories // Cold weather, Rides Tags // cold, rain, wet

New Year’s Day Ride

01.01.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

Skipped the Bicycle Sports Shop Resolution Ride I’ve done the past two years. I could use the weather for an excuse — it was raining steadily when I got up at 7 this morning. But the fact is, I had never planned to ride it. Instead, I wanted to start the New Year off with a ride on my own.

For awhile, it looked like there wasn’t going to be a ride. Our club’s Yahoo group was buzzing with back and forths about going, not going, waiting a couple more hours, waiting until this afternoon…

I decided that when I did go, I’d go on my own, because I was ready.

In the meantime, Mrs. Noob saw a blurb on the “Today” show that Jan. 2nd is the best day to start a new diet. So she figured she’d pull out all the stops for breakfast. A nice omelet stuffed with lots of different veggies, toast, and bacon baked in the oven. I think 2013 is going to be a good year.

Amazing how quickly 10, then 10:30 rolls around. It looked like some of the clubbers were going to ride at noon. No way I would make that start time. I gathered up my stuff and hit the road at 12:30.

The whole point about doing this ride, for me, was to set a good precedent for the year. Don’t let little things — like chilly weather — be your excuse to skip a ride. The temperature, which was supposed to go up throughout the afternoon, was 48 degrees (9C) when I took off , and instead of rising over the course of my ride, it fell off a bit. That, coupled with a brisk wind from the northwest, made for some effortless riding — as long as I was headed south. Once I finished up a Veloway lap and turned toward the 2.5-mile ride home, that wind was in my face. I was chilled when I pulled into the driveway.

That’s fine, though. The first ride of the year was 22.6 miles in a little over an hour and a half. Maybe some lunch, and some bowl games on TV (Uh oh…Mrs. Noob is watching a Jane Austen movie), and New Year’s Day will be one for the books.

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Categories // Cold weather, Rides Tags // cold, Rides

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