Autumn Cycling at Dawn and Dusk

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This afternoon I could ride to Geneva to go for a group ride that starts at 17:30. If I do so I need to keep in mind that by 19:00 the sun will be setting, and almost instantly the temperature will drop. That’s why evening rides have ended with most groups.

Losing Daylight

If the days get shorter by three minutes per day, then that’s half an hour every ten days. Within 20 days you have lost an hour of daylight. That’s why so many groups end their evening rides and focus on Saturday or morning rides.

Cold Start to the Day

Whereas you’re cycling into the sunset in the evening, you’re cycling into the sunrise in the morning but at the expense of heat. The coldest moment of the day is right before dawn, when the sun has beeen gone the longest. You get up in the dark, and you ride to the start point relying on street lights and bike lights to light the way. It’s cold. You need layers. It’s also dark. It feels great to know that the ride for the day is over, before a day of work, but it feels like a shame to waste a beautiful day, by riding when it is cold, and unpleasant.

Cold or Nocturnal

If I go for the group ride this evening, I will take advantage of the beautiful weather this afternoon but in the evening I will be riding in the dark along the lake road between Geneva and Nyon. The lake effect might keep me warm for most of the route.

With the morning ride there is another issue, aside from the cold. Succesfully getting to sleep early is one. The second is that last week no one signed up until the day before, and almost everyone signed out overnight. I was standing, in the cold. I was thinking, what if this is a solo ride. In the end two people did show up so the group ride took place. Tomorrow might have eight people.

The Saturday Ride

I enjoy the Wednesday Morning rides, but last week wasn’t as pleasant, due to how few people committed to the activity. This week should be better. With the evening run my primary concern is that I will ride further alone, than with the group, and I will have to ride home in the dark. I know of a safe(ish) route home. It makes sense to ride during daylight.

With Saturday rides the situation is different. I feel a very strong desire to do an easy ride, rather than a dificult one. I want to do a relaxed ride, as long as the route is an appealing one. Saturday rides, recently, have left me demoralised. Hitting the wall, and being dropped have that effect.

And Finally

For the first time in weeks, if not months, the Garmin Instinct 2 said that I am relaxed according to almost all the metrics. I would like to keep this status. I could ride this evening, but it doesn’t make sense. The weather is good now, so I should ride after I finish writing this blog post. Tomorrow morning I have a local ride that I can enjoy, so I should prioritise that.

In Autumn, when the weather is nice, it makes sense to cycle at the peak time of day. It makes sense to cycle when it’s bright, warm, and beautiful.