There is a subconscious desire for a lot of cyclists, especially on group rides, to speed up and challenge each other. There is the urge to go as fast as possible on every ride, to leave people in the dust. There is the urge to light up Strava with personal records. For weeks, or even months, I had the desire to go in the opposite direction, to slow down and be more inclusive of people who ride less.
When it is overcast colours are washed out and harder to distinguish. For several days clouds have covered the sun so it has been darker, and with this darkness so the Autumnal colours have been harder to distinguish.
This morning, during the morning ride we started in the grey light of an overcast day. As the ride progressed so the sun came out, and with the sun coming out, so did Autumn colours, and that’s why, when we were riding through the vineyards I was tempted to take more photos. As I was with a group ride I stuck with them. If I had been alone it could have been different.
This morning I woke at 0530 and thought “I can’t be bothered to go for a ride so early.” Within a few minutes I was up getting ready. I put on my Autumnal cyclist stuff and pumped the tyres to 80 bar. I then road to the meeting point. I arrived 15 minutes early and was surprised not to see anyone appear until 5 minutes before. I had considered going for a solo ride as a result.
The first bicycle ride, when it got cooler, felt unpleasant. My hands felt cold, the areas around zips felt cold, my legs felt cold, and then, over a few rides I got used to the temperature.
When you cycle in the pre-dawn dark the temperature is cool. You can feel it biting through your long cycling shorts, and through the first three layers, and especially through the zip. Add a think windcutter, and you’re warm.
Yesterday I felt strong cycling with the group, up from Nyon to Saint Cergue and on to the Col De La Givrine before heading towards La Cure. Part of the reason for feeling strong is that I have climbed the Jura multiple times this summer, so climbing up has become less strenuous. I am now habituated to heading up the Jura for the first climb of the day.
It’s on the second climb that I start to show fatigue. In reality it was the third climb. There is the climb up to the Col, and then you ride to La Cure, and then you climb up, before having a nice descent.
When I was scuba diving every weekend I would often feel tired in the afternoon, after I got home. It’s due to the huge change in pressure, from 40m down in the lake to 300+m above sea level around the Léman. Yesterday I went for a ride, and today I went for a ride again. I feel fatigue. I feel tired and in need of time to recover.
I believe that it’s due to the Autumn conditions. The mornings are darker, we’re wearing more layers to keep warm, and the environment is cooler. I believe that all of these contribute to the body needing to make more effort to warm up, and then to keep warm. The irony is that we go for morning rides, when an afternoon ride could make more sense. In the afternoon the air has had time to warm up, as have the roads. Just as importantly humidity has had time to decrease.
When I left home this morning the sun had not risen yet so my legs, and other parts were cold. I could feel that more layers might have been welcome. That’s because cycling in Autumn is about moving from a hot apartment to a cold dawn air temperature, before meeting with a group and cycling up a mountain, getting hot, and then heading back down into valleys hidden from the sun.
For years I have hated the shift from Summer weather to Autumn because as the days get shorter, and the weather gets colder, so summer sports come to an end. As summer sports come to an end, so the seasons of solitude begin. Autumn and Winter are lonely. The paradox is that I felt this way even when I was scuba diving every Sunday, and climbing every Thursday.
Tomorrow I could go for a run with one group in Nyon or a bike ride with two groups. One group starts iN Geneva, and the other stars in Nyon. If I go with the Geneva group I could ride another metric century quite easily. If I ride with the Nyon group, I remain local.
Yesterday I walked from a “village” to a town. In the process I saw very few people out and about. I don’t know whether they stayed in because of the weather, or if they fled because of the three day weekend. Today is a cantonal holiday so shops in Vaud are closed. This could explain why it was quieter yesterday.
It was funny to walk in the rain, equipped for it. Other people had gone out, expecting good weather. They got heavy rain instead. The castle in Nyon had a few people sheltering, but very few were taking photos and appreciating the view. On a rainy day the view is of white clouds, rather than the Alps. The lake was flat too, except for the ripples caused by falling rain.
This morning I toyed with the idea of wearing a proper winter cycling top. Instead I settled for a thermal layer, the usual top, sleeves, and a wind blocker. These weren’t enough for me to feel warm.
The temperature has dropped. it was 10°c this morning and I was cold when I set off and I seriously considered turning back for another layer but thought that if I did, then when it gets really cold, I won’t have anything warmer to wear on bike rides. I should have worn that top. It didn’t warm up.