BluesDawg

There is a bike in that picture? Oh, wait. There it is...and I didn't even notice the first picture.

Bare Feet, are you sure you're old enough to be posting here?

AzTallRider

A belated welcome, and a +1 that you are doing great!

cyclinfool

Welcome - and don't hesitate to chime in.
Nice bike.
Since you are about 100 miles south of me I suspect you are also experiencing the onset of winter. You can extend that season into December with the right cloths, fleece under layers, shoe covers, full gloves. After that, it's time for spin classes. You should be able to retain a good portion of fitness for spring but it still will take some work in the spring to get back to full form.

AzTallRider

That's another great thing about group riding - it keeps you from lagging and not knowing it. If you are really interested in focusing on 'pace' for fitness purposes, you might want to think about your Cadence as being a better focus than your Speed. How quickly you are spinning has huge impact on heart rate and thus your overall conditioning. We all get told as we are starting that it's all about cadence, but most of us take a while to learn that lesson. If you keep your cadence up, your conditioning and speed will both quickly improve. And if you start riding with a group, it's a quick cadence that will enable you to keep up, especially when there is any kind of fast acceleration. If you don't have Cadence for your computer, then throw it away and buy... oops... I mean just match your cadence to an experienced rider and you will see what a proper cadence feels like.

RPM --> MPH

Bare Feet

Louis, Hi! Thanks, I have joined the local club. Not confident I'm ready to ride w/a group yet. I am planning to go on one on Monday. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted.

Hello BengeBoy, I don't know about winter riding, but you're encouraging me to think about it more! Could I really stay warm enough to enjoy, or will I freeze my butt off? What is the lowest temp. most cyclists ride in? Maybe I need to figure a low limit that's tolerable.

Jiffyjam, right, want to keep it fun.

BengeBoy 

Well, the hardcore winter riders go all the way down to zero degrees (F) and below -- check out the Winter Cycling sub-forum here or https://www.icebike.org/

I'm not that tough, but I do ride all winter in Seattle. Our typical winter day is 35 to 40 degrees *and* light rain; I'm equipped to be very comfortable in that kind of weather. Occasionally we'll have a week or two of weather in the 20's, and last winter we had a week around 15 degrees (F); the lowest I saw was around 13 degrees. I'm sort of a wimp in cold weather -- I over-dress, and won't get on a bike unless I'm feeling pretty warm. That usually means that after a few miles I'm having to peel off a layer, or unzip my jacket.

For typical 35-ish degree weather, I'm wearing a Showers Pass jacket on the outside, a skullcap under my helmet, a helmet cover, a long-sleeve wool jersey under the jacket, long-finger gloves, tights, and high-topped cyclocross boots. If it's raining hard, I might also have rain pants on.

For colder weather I just add more layers -- maybe a pair of looser tights *over* some cycling tights; a thin pair of skiing socks under my thick socks; glover liners under my gloves; and maybe another layer on top, under the jacket. When it's really cold I'll wear a balaclava as well.

Other than my Showers Pass Jacket (which is great) and my cyclocross boots (Specialized BG), nothing I have is that special -- just cold weather stuff mixed and matched in different layers, depending on the temperature.

TSL, who lives in Rochester, probably rides in much colder weather than I do.

For Seattle, this was a special occasion:

Bare Feet

Stapfam, Sure glad you got to this part of your post I was like, "what is going on?"

Shifty! I'm so glad to hear it's a great bike & comfortable for long rides. I was beginning to wonder!

AzTallRider, at first I thought your name was AzTrailRider. Hi. Funny line, about throwing out my computer . . no it doesn't have cadence. It has a clock, and I've counted the revs per minute, if that works just as well. I've got the feel for the rhythm. I bookmarked a great dialogue on cadence, and refer to it often: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ding-technique

Bare Feet

+2 next month

Bare Feet

Maybe one day we'll have a club ride

cyclinfool

BF - for me, in upstate NY, It's not a matter so much of the temp as it is the road surface condition. If there is ice on the roads I won't risk it. TSL and others mount up studded tires, but he needs his bike to commute as he is car free. Me, I stop riding when it is no longer fun to ride and for me that's when I have to worry about ice. If the roads stay dry I'll usually make it into December, last year it was mid December - but the winter was mild. I am still riding at 6AM two mornings a week before work, we have had temps down to about 30 so far. I'll wear a fleece base layer under my tights & jersey, full gloves, shoe covers with expedition weight fleece socks and a balaclava. When the ice comes I'll go to spin classes and wait for spring.

cyclinfool

I'm thinking about a century next summer in Jersey - if I can find one near the shore.

stapfam

Winter riding is not a problem but can be expensive on clothing. Doesn't have to be but There are some items that you might need for a "Cold" days riding. If riding in the rain- then you need a good waterproof topcoat- not cheap but there are some that will keep you dry for the occasional downpour. Hands- feet and ears need some protection. Feet and 3 pairs of socks works- Hands and long fingered gloves are good. Ears and you can get a headband that will cover the ears. Other than that it is just Layer up. You may feel like the Michelin Man and will ride slower but at least you can keep riding.

The other alternative is to get a mountain bike and go out for some fun riding when you can't safely ride on the road. Not to be recommended unless you can bounce well though. But at least the Ground is softer than the road.

fat biker

Hold Up Here!

Bare feet + clipless pedals?
So then, where do the cleats go?

Seriously, well done!

Jeff, still fat