Fifty Plus (50+) - March is the cruelest month

I always feel like I’m starting over to rebuild my fitness during March, even after staying active during the winter.

Maybe it’s just cabin fever. Or maybe it’s because I’m lifting weights again for the first time in five years.

…or it could be the heavy snowfall that will keep me from riding for several days...

Spring is here and has been most of the winter. We have a couple cool days in the 40s then mid to upper 60s are forecast through the next two weeks. Add to that the change to DST and it makes for nice afternoon riding.

it gets to me when we have a few warm days in Feb, I dream of an early spring, then it gets cold and wet again. like today. and yesterday.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x40/TWLBA/50ca22ee.jpg

Payable to my PayPal account. Dig deep, darlings.

I got my upper body work-out yesterday shoveling 5" of heavy, wet snow!

HTFU or move to California

My "solution" has been to watch what I eat and do an hour a day on the spin bike at my gym. I also lift weights 2-3 times a week. I average about 4-5 days a week at the gym. When the weather becomes cycling weather here in eastern CT I'll find out if it actually is some sort of solution.

March is a great month particularly seeing and hearing hummingbirds courtship!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO3sXEky4WE

It is also spring with warmer weather and beautiful rides--not so good for hay fever unfortunately!

When I saw the title, I thought it would be about how all the early season tornados are ravaging the country. That has been dreadful.

When I saw the title, I thought it would be about how all the early season tornados are ravaging the country. That has been dreadful.

That's sure true. I'm hopeful all our 50+ cycling buddies (and everyone else) in those areas are okay. It's terrible!

If you can ride in March it is not a cruel month. Cruelty is not being able to ride.

First day of spring and today is the 4Th. Our winter drought broke today and the wind came from the North.

One thing to be thankful for is that we do not get the Extremes of weather that certain parts of the US are having.

One thing to be thankful for is that we do not get the Extremes of weather that certain parts of the US are having.

You can thank us for that. The Gulf Stream picks up heat from Florida to North Carolina and carries it to you. :thumb:

That Gulf stream has changed it 's route a bit in the last 10 years or so and now runs more North than it used to. We drag in the cold air from Siberia In the winter now. And wind strength seems to have increased a lot at all times of the year.

Move South(USA). Once spring hits, it's here to stay :). One thing I love about moving here some 18 years ago. Spring means spring, not the "end of winter". I'm all too knowledgeable about snows in March. Can be huge, wet crap.
And now that I have a mountain bike, I can pick which bike I want to ride, depending on cool air or.................WIND!

Northern Michigan checking in here. We just got dumped on with 2 feet of snow Saturday and today as the sun came up it was a -15deg snow palace. March is our mixed bag month like many others here experience but this one came in like an uninvited brat.

But then, we dont get twisters or hurricanes. It's all melting this week, starting tomorrow. When it hits 50, I'm out there.

Here's my take on the "tornado thing". Keep in mind I live in "tornado country". It's become a 'media thing'. Many people want to see the destruction so they show it. As for the number of them "increasing", my take is the number REPORTED is increasing. With our ability to communicate and keep data now, the number will increase but it is because that is the number that is being recorded. In the old days no one knew where tornadoes hit because the population was smaller(they weren't seen) and the number reported was far less. That doesn't mean there are necessarily more tornadoes now. As with anything nowadays, it's the record keeping that is increasing. You have to keep this in mind AND the fact the media wants you to watch, so they will tell you anything you want(they want) you to hear ;)

Move to the old south?.......yeah, no way!

I'm in Moab, UT this week and next, mountain bike this week, then the Skinny Tire Festival starts on Saturday with 4 days of beautiful rides in the canyonlands of the Colorado River. I always look forward to March.

Here's my take on the "tornado thing". Keep in mind I live in "tornado country". It's become a 'media thing'. Many people want to see the destruction so they show it. As for the number of them "increasing", my take is the number REPORTED is increasing. With our ability to communicate and keep data now, the number will increase but it is because that is the number that is being recorded. In the old days no one knew where tornadoes hit because the population was smaller(they weren't seen) and the number reported was far less. That doesn't mean there are necessarily more tornadoes now. As with anything nowadays, it's the record keeping that is increasing. You have to keep this in mind AND the fact the media wants you to watch, so they will tell you anything you want(they want) you to hear ;)

And, according to Pat Robertson, these tornadoes happened because people didn't pray enough.

Here in southwestern British Columbia, March does "roar in like a lion and go out like a lamb" most years. We got a bit of really wet and slippery snow on leap day, but since then the temps have been getting gradually warmer, although the lows are a bit lower this week. In March at the 49th parallel, we gain about 2 minutes of daylight at each end of the day (4 or 5 minutes more daylight each day) before we get the really dramatic increases in daylight in April. It's amusing that some people want to head south, but the closer you get to the equator, the closer sunrise and sunset get to 6 am/6 pm. The further north you go, the more daylight you get in the summer. Here in Vancouver, I'm out riding in broad daylight at around 9 pm in June. Of course, we pay for this in the winter when I'm riding to work in darkness at both ends of the day!

Luis

well the high today is supposed to be70f,and its 68.9f as I type,only hitch is, it's gonna snow for the next 5 days...getting ready to ride in a few minutes...
Bud

Wind is the tough thing about March. Temps are warming a lot in NC and days are getting longer, but the wind is almost a constant. Yesterday we had gusts over 40 mph in many places.

And, according to Pat Robertson, these tornadoes happened because people didn't pray enough.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x40/TWLBA/cfa193d4.jpg

That remark doesn't belong on this forum.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x40/TWLBA/cfa193d4.jpg

That remark doesn't belong on this forum.
great looking gato,what kind is it???
Bud

March just turned nice for us. We've had a 68deg swing in the last 48hrs. Monday was -12deg. The snow is going buh-bye and the Trek is getting antsy.

I always feel like I’m starting over to rebuild my fitness during March, even after staying active during the winter.



I feel much the same. Part of it is because of the vagaries of the weather, the short days, and not wanting to ride in 20 mph+ winds! :eek:

March is the cruelest month


I always feel like I’m starting over to rebuild my fitness during March, even after staying active during the winter...
Same here, even as a year round, nearly daily commuter of 14 miles one way. For me March is a drag because winter should be over, as it is further south, e.g. in Virginia and the Carolinas. Furthermore as an early morning rider in Boston, winter temperatures in March last an additional four weeks, no matter how nice the afternoons are.

My antidote to the late winter doldrums and to prepare for Spring is to get into an intensive training program of diet and cycling, and tie it to the practice of self-mortification of Lent. The time frame of Ash Wednesday to Easter is a nice transition of the seasons, and forty days is an adequate and well-defined length of time to adhere to a regimen. By Easter I'm ready to roll and enjoy riding longer miles again under more pleasant circumstances.

November is also a cruel month as we leave the pleasant cycling weather of Spring, Summer, and Fall, with no reprieve to ride in shorts until April. :(

Wind is the tough thing about March. Temps are warming a lot in NC and days are getting longer, but the wind is almost a constant. Yesterday we had gusts over 40 mph in many places.

True here in Nebraska as well. You try to get out when you can but don't abandon the indoor workouts thinking it's all going to be outside now.

I'm up about 10 pounds over the winter, because I spent my time downhill skiing instead of riding my bike and visiting the gym. Love to ski, but the chairlift and gravity do most of the work. Spring arrived very suddenly today. Went skiing Monday in -18C (zero F) weather, and today it was plus 12 (53 F). Skiing season is going down the drain.