// Autumn weather blues
Posted on Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
This is one of my favorite times of the year to ride, especially here in the Bay Area. The leaves scatter across the lane, brilliant fiery shades of red, yellow, and orange. The crisp air tastes and smells so very fresh, and feels amazing through a head full of sweaty hair. My only wish would be that it still stayed light as late as it does in the summer.
I was just digging through some old boxes of my dad’s and discovered some really awesome headband/ear covers that are super crucial for this brisk air. I definitely ride with gloves on so my hands don’t go numb, but my ears are often still forced to endure extreme wind chill. These headbands should make a world of difference!
At least the rainy season has yet to begin. How do you protect yourself in the rain? Some sort of fender over the back tire to prevent mud splashing onto your back is a great idea, especially if you’re on the way to work in nice clothes. There are also numerous options for waterproof pants or shoes. There are even capes available that allow for ventilation to avoid the swampy humid feeling that arises when pedaling aggressively under several layers of clothing.
But more importantly, we must calculate the additional road space required to stop on wet asphalt. As I ride, I tend to assume that everyone else on the road is going to make a maneuver that endangers me. If that sounds paranoid, just this weekend I was riding with a friend, my buddy moved directly in front of me very suddenly and I had to skid a little bit to avoid a collision. It was nothing serious, and I made no point of it to him, but these little habits of caution are the type of action that avoid escalation into larger incidents.
One day after work last winter, I had to ride home in a sudden torrential downpour. Luckily, my house was only a couple miles away. Even so, I ended up completely drenched from my waist down. I had worn a waterproof jacket on top, but regular jeans and sneakers on bottom. My socks were literally saturated, which has to be one of the worst feelings. I was reminded of Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump, who was adamant about the necessity for clean, dry socks: “There is one item of GI gear that can be the difference between life and death: Socks.” I tend to agree with his sentiments, and love the feeling of a fresh pair of warm fuzzy socks. When I finally got home from my rapid ride though the squall, I was lucky my dad had a fire roaring. I immediately changed into dry clothes and made myself cozy by the fireplace.
Weather is an extremely powerful phenomenon, and humans have generally done a pretty awesome job of adapting to it in order to thrive in places like the Himalayas.
There are times, however, when an alternative route probably should be taken.
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