Your end of season report.....
Originally Posted by
bruce19
Well...end of season if you're in New England for sure....
But, I created this post to ask, "What's your story?" Just wondering how everyone has viewed their season thus far.
Originally Posted by
CliffordK
I have an unending cycling season.
A little short on miles this summer, but still rolling quite a bit. About time to start thinking of getting bikes tuned for the winter.
Originally Posted by
MinnMan
I ride 12 months/year in Minnesota, so I'm not sure how one defines the end of the season.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
I don't think of a cycling season, but rather a cycling year with a cycle of seasons. I posted to this thread, “Does a near-perfect weather place exist?.”
Not to sound religious, but I I like to think of Ash Wednesday as my “New Cycling Year’s Day.” It occurs usually still well into the Winter and I use that forty-day period of Lent as a marker to define a tolerable length of time to go into a rigorous dietary and training mode to shake off the winter blahs, even though I ride during the Winter anyways.
By Easter, Spring is making itself known and I’m particularly ready for it.
But regarding the usual "cycling season" here in Boston, I call it Leg Season:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Here in Massachusetts I celebrate
Leg Season.
Originally Posted by
rholland1951
...Summer for the time being, and the more prized for it.
...
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
I celebrate the nice weather part of the year as a self-proclaimed "Leg Season," when short pants are the usual dress. It starts on the first Sunday in May with the Annual
Walk for Hunger, and ends on Columbus Day with the Annual
Tufts 10 K Road Race, both attracting thousands of participants.
However, Leg Season 2018 has been a bust; about 20 miles per week:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
...For the past few years I have been entirely satisfied with my carbon fiber road bike, aluminum road bike as a beater that accepts 30C studded tires, and a previous moumtain bike beater, now in storage.This year however has been a bust because this winter I developed a weakness in my neck muscles supporting my head upright (perhaps due to a two month unavoidable layoff) on my previously well-fitted bikes.
I had a subsequent fitting on both, with some handlebar adjustments. I recently got an exercise consultation for neck, shoulder and core muscles, and was given an exercise routine, that takes a big chunk of 50 minutes to perform. Exercise may fix it, but that’s a long-term solution.
All these remedies have barely allow me to ride my minimum 14 mile one-way commute with slight discomfort near the end. By this time of the year I'm doing weekly 50-60 mile rides easily, and even training for a Century. Just yesterday, I rented a hybrid style bike with flat handlebars, and was comfortable on the commute, even with a moderately heavy backpack
So now I’m giving in to the idea of a flat bar bike. I’m in a quandary if I should replace the drop bars on my aluminum beater (with endurance style geometry) with flat bars, see if I can buy this relatively cheap hybrid since it seems to work, or buy a new quality hybrid to my specifications. The Diverge is already set up as a nice all-weather commuter (see photo). I’m going to my trusted LBS on Saturday to make a decision.
So with about two weeks to go in Leg Season, I bought a Giant Escape bike and taken it for a couple of test rides. It should be adequate to usher me into a steady Winter Riding schedule. 
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 09-25-18 at 07:11 AM.