Some people would have skipped this morning’s ride because it was cold. The temperature was forecast to be minus two degrees celsius and with the wind chill factor, and regional differences it could have felt like minus 5°c or cooler.
I skipped because the cold that has been annoying me for days is still around. Yesterday I was feeling much better and I had a big appetite,I thought it would be good to have another day of recovery.
During yesterday’s bike ride, at dawn, I noticed that grass near Grens was coated in a thin layer of frost. I also noticed that when we cycled in some places it felt much cooler than in others. I also felt the paradox of thicker gloves, and colder fingers. It seems that the thin gloves are more effective.
I noticed the frost because of a conversation people ahead of me were having.
Yesterday morning I felt a little under the weather so I considered skipping the 07:00 ride. I didn’t because I thought that I would regret not going, if I did not go. In the process I got to ride with the autumn/winter tyres and this time they felt less laggy than before.
Two days ago, when I was ready to go for a ride I noticed that the tyre was flat.
Routine is extremely important. With routine the question is not “whether you can be bothered” but “I will do this.” You go from asking “if” to automatically assuming that on Wednesday morning you will ride, and sunday morning you will ride. If a ride is cancelled for A or B then you’re asking “if”, but you’re also making other plans.
This weekend, for example, I saw that it would rain today.
Bike rides have been cancelled because of rain, rather than wind or other factors. When it rains cyclists don’t want to ride because it gets their bike dirty and they have to clean it, lubricate it and more. With hikers rain is also an excuse to be lazy, within some groups. With other groups rain is just rain and the walks and hikes go ahead.
Yesterday morning we had stormy weather.
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.
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.
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.
10°c 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.
This morning I set the alarm to wake me at five but I didn’t get up. I felt tired and decided I need sleep more than a bike ride. I don’t know whether I am affected by the seasonal change, or whether I am still tired from this weekend. Waking at 4am wasn’t that hard on Friday, but after cycling hard on Saturday, and hard on Sunday I need time to recover.