Thursday 3 March 2016

Winter riding #3: Still no mudguards

Actually I might need to buy some new ones...

So I've actually only been out on the bike once* in February which is not what I planned at all. Although having only got in about 5 foul weather rides means my winter kit will last "forever"

I've had the usual sniffles and days when I should be riding but there are jobs to be done, but nothing to really get in the way. I've got decent enough kit that I arrive home frozen through but not delirious. I think in this instance it might have been nice to be going on club rides. Camaraderie and a group of fellow sufferers.

Another issue with winter riding is timing. In the summer you can get up at 6 or 7 and head off out for 80-90km and still be back by lunch. If it's pitch black at 8 o'clock then you need hi vis and lights. Likewise in the summer if it gets to 3 o'clock and I've finished whatever I'm doing I might head out for a ride. In winter you can start to feel the dark creeping in and an afternoon ride can suddenly become negotiating busy retail areas as they close down for the night.

I have this week, however, been finally allocated a locker in the work shower area so commuting in for a ride out after work as the weather picks up suddenly becomes a real possibility. I'll have to look into routes out of London from tower bridge...


*Once on the road bike. I've done errands and the odd commute on the Brompton