Firstly, thanks to everyone who responded to my last message regarding Rides outside of Melbourne......was extremely helpful.
Currently i am enjoying the extra daylight needed to go riding after work, however I was wondering what people do when daylight savings ends and weather deteriorates ?
Do most people use trainers, go out on weekdays mornings or just have lights on your bikes and continue to ride as normal ?
Just trying to get prepared for the winter months.
Commuting to/from work I just run lights & rug up. Weekend riding, early starts like 6am & rug up. It’s just the cold heart of winter – July & August – that makes cycling in Melbourne a real commitment, we get pretty mild weather here, not like is snows. Best time of year to cycle here is autumn – March to early June – I reckon.
I don’t know anyone who has an indoor trainer, if that means anything.
Firstly, thanks to everyone who responded to my last message regarding Rides outside of Melbourne......was extremely helpful.
Currently i am enjoying the extra daylight needed to go riding after work, however I was wondering what people do when daylight savings ends and weather deteriorates ?
Do most people use trainers, go out on weekdays mornings or just have lights on your bikes and continue to ride as normal ?
Just trying to get prepared for the winter months.
PS: Hope everyone had a great X-mas / NY
Tim
When it gets dark and cold, I use lights and rug up... we don't have severe winters in Aust (even Melb), so we can ride all year round. Get yourself some flashers front and rear (if you ride in streetlit areas), as well as some shoe covers and waterproof jacket. Then you can astonish your co-workers with your display of hardiness in riding to work in winter.
When it gets dark and cold, I use lights and rug up... we don't have severe winters in Aust (even Melb), so we can ride all year round. Get yourself some flashers front and rear (if you ride in streetlit areas), as well as some shoe covers and waterproof jacket. Then you can astonish your co-workers with your display of hardiness in riding to work in winter.
Ritch
Quoted post said:
we don't have severe winters in Aust
What? In the middle of winter in central NSW we usually get a few mornings of -13 deg C. That pretty much rules out riding. I've tried but you can either rug up and sweat to death or not rug up and get hypothermia.
What? In the middle of winter in central NSW we usually get a few mornings of -13 deg C. That pretty much rules out riding. I've tried but you can either rug up and sweat to death or not rug up and get hypothermia.
Although -13C is cold, you'd be hard pressed to find many places in NSW that get that far down. According to the BoM, the only places in NSW that ever get that cold are the alpine regions. Upper New England areas get pretty cold though (Tenterfield has got down to -10C). Nevertheless, by international standards, our winters aren't severe enough to prevent year-round riding, except perhaps in those alpine regions.
Not wanting to start a pointless argument but that page is all about averages. All I said was that some mornings get down to temperatures that are rediculously uncomfortable for riding all year round. Away from the cities it is very common to get lower temperatures, fogs and frosts. I don't think I'd like to be riding my road bike on ice for too long. I would guess that a good proportion of NSW, Vic and SA would be like this for a couple of months a year. I would love to be able to ride all year round. I might have to consider moving to Melbourne.
Anyway, for Melbourne it's the same riding as normal for me, with the addition of: front and rear flashers, arm and sometimes leg warmers and at the heart of winter possibly full-finger gloves, windvest, head and toe warmers. Also, with rain, I add a rat-tail style mudguard. Not a great deal of difference summer->winter. Just don't slow down. 🙂
