Foldable Bikes Party: 10 reasons to love winter cycling

Tuesday, 25 October 2016

10 reasons to love winter cycling

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Frosty mornings, quiet trails, and the sheer joy of a hot drink after a cold ride are just three of the simple pleasures that are to be found in bike riding through the winter months.

1. Bright, cold, frosty mornings

First and foremost, there's nothing like riding on a perfect winter day. It's hard to beat cycling through the countryside with frost coating leaves and trees, your breath clouding the air, and the bright sunshine lighting everything so it looks like it's in a David Attenborough documentary.

2. Unexpected wildlife encounters

Since a lot of your riding is likely to occur in the dark over winter, your chances of coming face to face with nocturnal wildlife is all the greater. Is that looming dark shape ahead of you a bush, or a resting cow? Expect to see your lights reflected back in the glinting eyes of various animals, and strange noises overhead. It's a little frisson of danger and excitement to what might otherwise be fairly tame trails.

That said, if you do happen to ride regularly where the wildlife is a bit more bite-y than the UK, where the worst you'll have to watch for is a rampaging badger, it's probably worth exercising a little caution depending on when and where you go out.

3. You get REALLY good at washing your bike and kit

One of the downsides of winter riding, whatever type of cycling you do, is the wear and tear that builds up quickly by riding on gritty, muddy trails, and the endless washing machine loads of manky kit. That means that washing your bike after every ride is all the more important, so expect to get your post-ride routine down to a fine art; off the bike, quick hose down (both bike and rider), wet kit in the washing machine while you clean off the bike, lights on charge, oil the chain, and you're good to go again.