Hi again.
Every autumn I try to get my mindset in the right place for the onset of winter riding. It starts off really well, and for the first few weeks of the dark cold wet nights, my enthusiasm for cycling helps me through. After that though , I tend to struggle along ,and my weekly miles suffer.
I've got three bikes. Ones a rather nice Specialized road bike which I'm reluctant to use in the winter. It cost a few ££s and I want to keep it the best I can by only using when the weather is only half decent. The other is my Boardman mountain bike. It's not in the best of health. It creaks just like my knees and no matter what I've done to it ,I just can't get it to run silently or get the gears to work perfectly.
The last bike is my favourite out of the 3. It's my old 80s steel framed Peugeot. It's heavy, old fashioned and has old school gears, but to me it looks amazing in its immaculate red paint finish and it's amazing ride qualities.
I'm a bit reluctant to use this too in the winter as I'm trying to keep it well preserved. So I'm left in this quandary of not having a bike that I'm fully happy with to use during the winter.
After 2 weeks of not going out cycling though ,I thought enough is enough. I'm starting to get really miserable not enjoying getting out there ,and have decided to use my Peugeot as my winter bike. I've choosen the Peugeot because it's simple to maintain and that it's got frame eyelets for proper full mudgards to fit. Yesterday I invested in some rather nice quality "flinger" full mudguards to protect me and the bike from all that the roads can throw at me. Fitting was really easy apart from cutting down the stainless steel stays. I went through 10 hacksaw blades trying to cut them down !! Once fitted though, they really do feel top quality and have proved to be quite effective on today's muddy ride. After having 2 weeks off from cycling because of the rubbish weather ,it's made me realize how much I've missed my cycling. It's made me think that just because the weather's rubbish at the moment, you shouldn't just moth ball cycling for it, because you want to keep your bikes looking there best. I've realized the bikes are there to be used ,and to be enjoyed ,and not to wrapped them up in cotton wool whenever the road conditions turn for the worst. If I was cycling for commuting to work ect I think I would feel different ,because cycling has more of a purpose (a means to an end) but cycling for pleasure often gives the cyclist more excuses not to go out for that ride at night after work, because they don't have to if they don't want to. It's very easy easy to fall into this trap this time of year with the weather as it is , so hopefully with my mindset rebooted I will continue to cycle regularly now throughout the winter months and keep my fitness levels up.
All the very best ,
Johnny
