Northeast - My Huffin' & Puffin' First Ride Of The Year Day!

Each season, before I can start riding normally, I always have to get past one physical and psychological challenge:

My very first ride around the block.

I am always amazed that my SECOND ride can be twenty miles and feel effortless, as this damned FIRST ride always almost kills me. Anyway, today was the day I brought my bike up from the basement and took it for a spin. By half-way around the corner, I was begging for mercy and cringing from the pain in my calves and the shortness of breath in my lungs.

Tomorrow's ride will be an entirely different story, as if today never happened and I never stopped riding in the Fall. Weird, isn't it? Or does anybody ELSE have the same experience each year?

Just asking, but why stop riding in the fall? Around here (NYC) there were plenty of days in the winter & early spring warm and dry enough to sneak in a ride. It is hard to do and I wish I had the strength of character to take more advantage of those days, but when I've overcome winter blues-fed inertia & headed out I have never been sorry. I finally got around to putting fenders on a really good bike so I have fewer excuses than ever! BTW, full fenders make a huge difference in keeping bike and rider clean & dry when the road's wet.

>>>>Just asking, but why stop riding in the fall?<<<<

I've been asked that in other threads before. I'm 48 now. When I was 38, I'd happily wrap myself in layers and a face mask during the dead of winter, hop on the bike, and whistle all the way to the bagel shop in the next town. A few years ago, I wimped out on a few morning rides and never got back into that groove again. Now my riding season is over by mid-November and doesn't start up until the temps hit around 70. I have no good answer to the question. I envy those of you who still have warm enough blood to ride in the winter, but I am done with it. Period!

35 degrees and dry are the cut off for me. Below 35 I'm not riding. Rain at the start of a ride will stop me. temperatures below 60 with threat of rain will keep me off the bike. It takes me 2 months to get back to riding form if I stop for more than a week so I try to ride all year to some degree.

OP ~ I hear ya. I've even had a few rides but still apprehensive about my next

Tom, I am older than you and do limited riding in the winter and have been riding consistently, twice a week or more, since early March. At 48 you are far from old.

If you want your grand-kids to see you for many more years get out on the bike a little more and stop the excuses of age, work and cold.

I'm 54, and though I'm not as consistent as v70cat, I do try to get out when it is above freezing and there isn't too much water on the roads. The biggest obstacle is inertia, I've found. Once on the bike, I am able to stay warm enough without riding like a maniac as long as the wind-chill isn't too bad. One effective motivator for me was putting together a dedicated wet weather bike. I used an excellent vintage frame ('62 Frejus TdF), stuck fenders on it, built a set of clincher wheels with good tires and equipped the bike with bulletproof components and a real low bottom gear. The bike is a dream to ride, so now I have one more reason not to wimp out!

I'm an escapee from the 50+ forum. You young'uns don't know how good it is to be a young'un. I've been out of ski mode and in cycling mode for about 6 weeks now. The first dozen rides were sort of painful. Subsequent rides have been only somewhat painful. After a month and a half and 400 miles or so, I'm finally up to where I was at the end of last year in mid-November. I sure wish I could ride one time and erase 4 or 5 months of lesser activity.

I sure wish I could ride one time and erase 4 or 5 months of lesser activity.Point is, we can't, after a certain age. Much better to keep it up: even one or two rides a month helps.