The joy of warm evenings

[evilclive]

I try and ride my bike most weekday evenings. Some nights are a bit of a slog, but even in winter there's the occasional clear night which makes it all worth while (especially if I come home with a frosted up beard :-) ).

After the clocks change, riding in the light becomes an option (if I set off early enough), and things start to pick up. For Easter I did a ten day tour, and the days after my return were quite a lot faster - very satisfying.

But then it cooled down again, and the riding got slower. A couple of evenings even required gloves - the week before I'd been in shorts and short sleeves. Oh well, there goes that fitness gained on the tour.

Except.. It's warmed up again. The last two nights have been record times for recent years :-) I come home more knackered than I do on a cold night, and can still feel the effects now, but it's a good feeling.

I'm pretty sure my body just works better in the warm. And it's a positive feedback thing - if I feel good, I push harder - same as with a nice bike. (why I don't think that the theory of riding a crappy bike to build fitness faster than on a nice bike works).

Ok, I'm still not at a racing speed, and I probably never will be, but it's great to get some faster rides in.

 

[Globalti]

Even cool evenings are great, as long as it's dry and bright. The endorphins from an hour or two of riding stay with you all the rest of the evening.

 

[Beaker39]

I'm pretty sure my body just works better in the warm. And it's a positive feedback thing - if I feel good, I push harder - same as with a nice bike.

That's pretty much spot on for me too. Over the last couple of months I have felt I was more enduring my cycling rather than enjoying it but going out last night in the warm sun was fantastic again. I only planned to do an hour but ended up doing a couple of hours, the time flew really flew by.

Let's hope this better weather keeps up a while