I’ve had my current bike for about 6 years so far. It was a replacement for a Giant ATX1 that was stolen after less than two years of use, sniff.
My current Giant ATX3 carries a few components that I’ve had for almost a decade, that have moved from bike to bike over time. The bike computer being the most notable. Much of the rest is a makedo kinda effort for the meantime.
There’s something wonderfully refreshing about the dark.
I’m not talking that semi-dark in the city, where the distant glow of street lights are always visible, and the glaring stare of an LED is always close at hand.
Pitch black. Just you and the glow of the moon.
That’s how my ride on Tuesday morning was. It was dark, cold, wet, and fantastic.
Headed out just before midnight in a soft drizzle that would later turn into fully-fledged, taking a shower sized rain. I half-expected the rain to go away, that stupid hope that makes no sense and is simply used as a way of lying to myself when I don’t want to face facts. Surprise, surprise when it came pelting down and soaked through all my clothing. The only difference between the ride and going swimming being that faint warmth of stored up sweat soaking into my clothing, feebly trying to ward off the cold as the rain continually tried to push in the cold from the outside.
After an hour and a half of riding the remnants of the city started to fade away. Cars became fewer and those still on the road were clearly out with a purpose, because what other reason would there be for being out there. Street lights were spread further and further apart, their faint glow providing the guiding light to the next faint glow until, finally, the light from one was not even enough to light my way until the next.
And finally, no more.
Just me and the faint glow of my bike light. The bike light that is intended to alert other drivers to my presence, but not to cast a significant beam onto the road. In this case it was just enough to light up cateyes in the middle of the road and the warning beacons at the side for up to five meters ahead.
At first I was nervous and a little scared not having the usual lights to govern my way and warn me of anything coming up. It was like riding by touch, and although I didn’t want to touch anything my movements were governed by the proximity of those few indicators of going completely off track. Half the time was spent almost in the middle of the road, where the threat of running into a cateye beat the threat of running off the road.
The small beam of light was a tunnel trying weakly to break through the darkness ahead. And failing miserably. But it was enough and I adapted. Keeping straight with precious few visual queues, and using the little light available managed to guide myself and my bike along windy roads, long straights and finally over to the top of the mountain where the glow of the lights below were there to provide that sense of safety I’m so accustomed to.
Light.
photo credit: richardmasoner
The rain is starting to pick up and mercury is falling. Often the signal for the end of the riding season.
There is often to reason to stop riding, even when the weather gets very miserable.
Just as prevention is better than cure works for colds, so good preparation can make riding through the worst of weather pleasant or at least better.
I have to deal with the cold, with fluctuations in temperature during a ride, and rain. All suggestions revolve around these. I’ve never ridden in snow (well once and that was not heavy snow) but that is a whole other ballgame.
So what can you do to your bike to make it better at handling adverse conditions?
Waterproof and water-resistant parts. Sealed headsets, sealed hubs, sealed bottom bracket, sealed pedal bearing and basically all sealed bearings, which is the standard on most bikes, are good for consistent bike operation when the torrent comes.
Cables should be lubricated well, or be of the Teflon variety so the extra inner coating will keep things moving smoothly. Same applies to brakes, unless you have hydraulics.
Tires should match conditions. More tread will give more grip, if you are on full-slicks avoid riding on the white lines when turning corners. Avoid grates, manhole covers and other metal things on the road surface that are super-slippery when wet. Use a bit more caution around corners and remember you braking distance is increased, so keep your eye ahead and widen the following distance.
I wouldn’t have been caught dead with fenders a while back, but are making more and more sense. Spray from the back wheel will cover your back or whatever you’re carrying on your back with water and mud. The best are the full cover style, which stretch as far down as the bottom bracket on the one end and to almost the same level down on the other side. On the front end, the spray from the front wheel will get in your eyes, cover your front with water and mud, and aid in wetting your shoes.
I have neither of these yet. But I have ridden a bike with them and immediately noticed the difference. I’ll report back on how those go when I get a chance. Might just rip the crummy ones off my other bike and see how that goes.
photo credit: johnthescone
No wooly sweaters needed for rides anymore, or animal skins for that matter. There is a huge range of choices for good clothing, keeping heat in, keeping cold and rain out.
There is a host of stuff available, but these should do for just handling a bit of cold and rainy weather. Taiwan weather is typically humid, so wearing anything creates your own personal sauna pretty quickly. For now I just use arm extensions and a T-shirt under my cycling top and that has been fine so far.
How do you prepare for what mother nature has to throw at you?