From http://italianbicycles.com.au
Beat the cold & grab your GOLD*!
Hello Beautiful People!!
It is winter time! The sun leaves us earlier, temperatures become rigid and the winds at times can be merciless. However, if on top of these conditions it also starts raining (or hailing!) then really, it is not great to be out on a bicycle, isn't it?
Come on! Who of you in the past has never suffered from a strong temptation of leaving your bike in the garage and take the public transport or, even your own car during the colder months? There is nothing to be ashamed of, after all in some areas of both AU and NZ the cold season can be very harsh.
On the other hand, are you aware that stopping to cycle in winter could have a negative impact on your fitness, as well as on your overall well being? Nowadays it is widely demonstrated that cycling in winter can keep or improve your fitness level, on top of contributing to a good amount of savings from public transport tickets and fuel bills. In fact, there is also significant medical evidence from both Australia and international certifying the outstandingly positive benefits associated with regular winter exercise, such as bicycle riding. Hence, you have no excuse to keep your bicycle in the garage when it's cold or over winter.
With as little as a small degree of preparation and the right gear you will be able to replicate in winter the same amount of fun and freedom of summer riding.
Today, we are pleased to list few tips which will indeed help you out to be ready to ride in winter time:
First Step, getting organized!
1) Keep your bicycle well functional with periodic mechanical services. If you visit a qualified professional bike mechanic these services do not cost too much and often save you from broken part hassles or part malfunctioning. Also, good services make your rides smoother and more energy-effective, plus most of the time will avoid the extra mechanical work to repair the occasional damage, hence reducing the risk of faults;
2) Always conduct an adequate pre-ride check. We have talked a massive amount of time about pre-ride checks in this blog and we could not stop talking about these because they can truly make a difference between heaven and hell on a bike. Do not take this last comment as a joke, indeed it is quite real because a good pre-ride check will spot straight away potential "in-ride" issues and preventable failures;
3) Do not over commit and don't try to be the winter roads hero. Be realistic, you might not be able to ride 5 days per week in winter straight away however, you can start with just a single day and once comfortable enough then you can move onto 2 or 3 days per week. No matter how small is your winter riding log book, you are still doing better to yourself than those sitting in their car angry and agitated due to high fuel cost, traffic delays and road works;
4) Count regularly the money you save from public transport and petrol. This is a fantastic bike-to-work and bike-exercise motivator;
5) Find yourself a reliable bike-buddy. As with most sport-related activities this will maximize your fun, self-trust and safety, plus you will feel it less likely to pass on riding together knowing someone else is counting on you. In most cases you will definitely be able to rely on your buddy who in turn will look at you as one of the greatest reasons to biking together;
6) Keep a constant check of your local weather. Online there are plenty of options available, such as the bureau of meteorology. However, believe us, it helps checking more sources online.
Second Step, have the right clothing and tools!
7) Gear up, but with caution. Do not start spending too much money here and there thinking the more the better and most important, ask other winter riders or a professional but do not take for granted or correct everything you are being told. Chances are you are different in many aspects from another person and have totally different requirements;
8) Dress like an onion but do not dress heavily. If you do dress heavily you will risk plenty of sweat and lots of discomfort throughout the ride, without mentioning the (un)pleasurable changing routine before you start work/school. Have selected layers of thin clothing and important have these in full cotton or almost all of it, to allow your skin to breathe during the riding exercise. Your very top layer instead, it is preferable if is entirely synthetic, water proof and easy to dry off;
9) Wear high-visibility clothing on your upper body, arms and ankles. There are plenty of options on the market, yet some are better than others and most important: these need to be highly visible in poor light conditions or when raining and not when the sun is shining;
10) Body parts at the extreme will suffer cold the most. The peripheral areas of your body system will indeed feel cold first off, therefore take this into account when you start your ride and protect these from the cold. On the other hand, your legs and calf warm up first and do most of the work, thus any elastic thin clothing will help. Remember, legs will need to be free from anything and equipped with good reflector bands or high visibility patches;
11) Wear a wool or synthetic hat, nobody will feel offended! Most of body heat is lost directly from the head, therefore protect your head from the cold as much as you can and this will make you more comfortable during your ride;
Third Step, feed yourself the right energy!
11) Remember
to keep hydrated. You are still exercising your muscles and your tissue will require liquids no matter how cold is the outside temperature. Therefore, best if you drink room temperature or slightly warmed up water or, a great alternative are green and ginger tea on a constant basis to keep you hydrated and warmed inside;
12) Provide your body with an adequate supply of
energy. Best if you feed directly from the land such as: bananas, apples, oranges
and mandarins. The occasional chocolate or muesli bar will indeed help, but there is no need for you to be an atrocious maniac about these bars and their benefits: the quality farmed banana and apple won't be beaten, never. We have pro-athletes among us and we do know about this no doubt.
13) Do not eat way too much. It won't make things easier or make you faster;
14) Do not drink alcohol. Other than affecting your balance and performance as well as your overall safety, the warming up effect of alcohol is easily replaced by ginger/green tea in the morning. I personally love green tea from Japan;
Forth Step, install the right devices on your bike!
This section is quite subjective although, it has to do a lot with local state or country legislation too. The area is very broad therefore, we will keep it concise and straight to the point with some key advices to remember when making your choice.
15) Choose a greatly-bright front WHITE light and a fantastically-bright rear RED light and have BACKUPS of both, always. There is nothing more dangerous than having your lights not working out of a sudden due to sudden malfunction or battery flat. You can choose from LED lights, Halogen lights, USB rechargeable and more & more but you cannot not overlook the first 2 lines of this paragraph;
16) When choosing a bike light focus on the LUMEN output and on BEAM RANGE instead of thinking "A lighter light will make me go faster" or "I need it with 1,000,000 Watts". Lumen is the unit referring to the ability for the human eye to be sensible to different light wavelengths, in other words the higher the lumen output the higher the chances to be seen. If you are more visible in poor light conditions thanks to a great lumen output provided by your lights, then you have certainly increased safety for you and everybody else on the roads;
17) In wet weather streets can be highly slippery, thus slow down. This is true at any time and even more so during the early rain drops, so take extra caution at all times. While a narrow or a thicker anti-sliding (or not) tyre might appear as the best solution for yourself, it is important to realize that fast cornering or high speed acceleration in wet streets can easily drop you on the floor. Particularly along metal, wood and painted substrate. The 2 very best solutions for safe wet weather riding are:
1) slow down during your ride and pay extra attention,
2) deflate both your tyres by 10-15 psi to maximize your grip on the road.
Keep repeating no. 1 & and keep monitoring no. 2 and you will be fine;
18) Always have a post ride quick check of your bike. When riding in wet weather your brakes will operate with a slight lag/delay and will be slightly less effective plus, your wheels and cables will be covered with dirt and debris. Have a rag handy in your tool box or pannier bags so that you can quickly wipe those parts needing a clean or a scrub. It is far easier to do so BEFORE you lock your bike and move away from it because the dirt will not yet be dried or clogged. Run a quick pre-check on your bike before you start riding again after work or school.
Remember, this above is a guide only. We are not here to lecture anybody and our opinion may well differ than yours or anybody else and there is nothing wrong with it. This content above is editorial and not advertorial, it is not meant for you to spend money unwisely but for you to be fully aware of important safety aspects when riding during winter or wet weather.
From our point of view, basing on both our athlete and recreational cycling experience, for you and everybody else to be safe on the roads while riding out in the cold, dark and wet weather it is important to keep an eye on few vital points:
- Invest in a quality bicycle and service it regularly.
- Find a reliable bike buddy;
- Always run pre- and post-ride checks on your bike;
- Dress up with the right clothing to protect from the cold, however ensure your
skin can breath;
- Wear high-visibility vests with reflectors;
- Keep hydrated and feed yourself the right type of energy;
- Be clever not fashionable about your bike light;
- Exercise caution in low visibility and wet weather;
- Have fun, keep fit, keep healthy and feel wonderful! *that is YOUR GOLD!
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