Cycling in the Fall

When the leaves change color and the temperatures turn crisp, I’d rather stay inside with some tater tot hotdish and a glass of red wine. But when you have a cycling mileage goal, you layer up and get some miles in, here’s how I prepare to go cycling in the fall…

Lower Body

If you know me, you know I’d rather be hot than cold, so when the temperature is even flirting with 70 I layer up. Yesterday it was 50 when I left and 48 when I got home. Brrr! I wore my Gore 3/4 Tights and a pair of tall SmartWool socks.

Hands

Unlike most cycling, I don’t like cycling gloves, except when it’s super cold out. Enter my Novara bike gloves, I picked these up on clearance from REI last year, similar here. I also always wear my RoadID, especially when biking by myself. It has the names/numbers of people to call if I’m knocked out. I also have a little badge that says, “Shut up legs,” to keep me going on hill climbs.

Upper Body

Upstairs, I wear my long sleeve Pearl Izumi Long Sleeve Jersey and a super cheesy smile. When it gets really cold I’ll tuck a headband under my helmet to keep my ears warm.

Safety

Another must is lights! It looks small and faint, but my Cycle Torch Light is anything but. I didn’t use the headlight on this particular ride, but it also packs a punch and is USB rechargeable.

Tracking

To make sure I get credit for all my miles I always use the mapmyride app. It’s a pretty good app and my cycling friends use it, so I can see how much they’re riding- which inspires me to hit the pavement.

Along with the cold, it gets darker sooner, so it’s hard to get a decent ride in during the week. But the colors! Check out this beautiful tree in my neighborhood.

So I bet you’re wondering what my mileage is at, I last reported that I was at 555 miles and after today’s 8 miles I’m clocking in at 670 miles. I’m 132 miles short of my original goal of 802, not quite where I wanted to be at this time of year. The good thing about mapmyride is that you can track your indoor rides too, so I’ll be hitting up evening spin classes and tracking my indoor trainer rides, because this year I’m not going to miss my goal.