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Where do I tick for “the all too common cold”?
Although me recent one has now gone, and I'm back on the bike, it's the most often reason for not riding in winter.
The cleaning.
Work!
Cleaning the bloody thing after. Although cannock was nice today frozen fast ground.
Cleaning? I find the bike strays pretty clean in winter. Get home, shake snow off, put in garage to drip dry.
TBH, I think the whole premise of the poll is wrong.
Cleaning.
That bitter cold wind does it for me, I bailed out of commuting today.
Ice.
I hate being wet. 15 years of commuting in all weathers just kills my enthusiasm now.
Mud. Thick, claggy, speed sapping mud. It is fine in the Peak where it is just wet grit but riding in slop in the woods is rubbish. However, if your trails get mudy like that then they can't be that good. The best trails are wall to wall rocks.
Mud
Yep, ice. Don't mind the cold, or the wind, or the wet, or the mud, but I don't like the risk of hitting the deck suddenly and without warning in front of a car, or halfway down a Pennine in the dark on my own.
The shorter days. While I love night riding I prefer to ride in the daylight on my own and very often can't fit a decent ride in among other daytime commitments. (I still manage a few times a week though! 🙂 )
Mud, cold, dull, wet, cleaning bike, cleaning clothes.
The cold weather related illnesses interfere the most with my rides
Cleaning is a chore. But worth it.
Clambering into tights, overshoes and the extra faff involved in getting ready.
Cleaning. Mouldy clothes.
On road ice
Off road mud
Nothing. I'm a lazy bastard all year.
The fact that I work shifts & seemingly whenever I'm off, the weather is crap. I've just sold a factory that made tee shirts that said, 'I've ridden for 20 years in crap weather'.
Haven't been out this year & up to now I'm not even bothered.
Fear of ice on roads for sure. Every corner I think I'm going straight on my face
Faff, general faff. Dirty bike, dirty clothes, putting said dirtiness in the car or having to ride 5 miles in the road. Simply not interested at the moment.
Ice
Getting the hours in due to lack of daylight as everytime I've gone off road in the dark on my own, something has gone wrong with the bike.
So I just ride round the streets in town.
Ice!!!!!!
For those who put 'cleaning' - just buy a HT and put it away dirty.
From my cozy non MNPR throne at this very moment... The cold and the shitty mud that I can't wash off in my second floor flat. Doing that at the side of the road with a bucket is less than appealing and it's too dark to do a good job, too.
Although this week I couldn't get out there due to other commitments. Humpf.
Being a wuss.
Nowt really, don't ride much less MTB than I do in summer to be honest
Rigid SS, ride it from my door - no excuses really, would drive me nuts if there was a good reason not to ride. CX bike when it's so claggy that mixing some easy trails with road miles is a better bet. I think winter bikes that are good to ride in summer are the best sort of UK off-road bike.
Cleaning.
The faff of cleaning my clothes and garage after a ride. It will take a good hr to sort myself out after a ride, and on a Wed night ride, that means pretty late.
Get home, wash bike, peal off clothes, shower, rinse clean clothes in sink, chuck in washing machine, clean garage where I have been.
Snowboarding
Still ride plenty in winter but the endless cleaning of dirty kit does get annoying.
All of it, basically. I enjoy running just as much as cycling so just do that in Winter.
Shoes on>run>have shower>go about the rest of the day. The kit, the endless maintenance, cleaning bike, cleaning clothes, driving to trails,getting mud everywhere in the car, cleaning that, fixing punctures in the freezing weather associated with mtbing, **** that.
Nothing. I prefer winter riding.
Ok, not quite true, but I do tend to ride more in Winter.
Rigid singlespeed though.
Proper wash once a year.
[quote=takisawa2 ]Nothing. I prefer winter riding.
Ok, not quite true, but I do tend to ride more in Winter.
Rigid singlespeed though.
Proper wash once a year.
And what about the bike?
The sense of smug satisfaction when I know others won't have gone out, coupled with the feeling that its doing me some genuine good riding in the cold and wet, plus some really nice winter views persuades me not to make the sniffles/cleaning muddy kit excuses too often... But I do much prefer summer.
Rigid SS is the way to go but mines part disassembled currently so I was out on the 1x10 HT Sunday, 5 minutes with the hose post ride got the worst of the mud off, chain off and I'll quickly re-lube it before the next ride, wasn't that much of a chore TBH...
Deepish snow. You can't bloody ride just trudge stop start. Actually prefer cold to rain and wind too.
Rigid SS and not fussed about cleaning over here. Don't mind cold and wet that much as long as it's not raining. I'm with the OP, coughs and colds that last for months and suck the life out of me define my winters.
Nothing. Any season is rideable and shitty conditions requiring bike cleaning (eventually) occur in the summer too.
Snow is awesome and mud is fun to slide in. Loam is great when semi dry.
The common cold... just stay away from people. I'm a hermit freelancer who works for a bit and then is "between contracts" which so far seems to coincide with shitty cold season so that means I'm not stuck in a crap office environment or on trains catching everyone else's stinking colds they've caught off their kids who catch them at school. Oh and I don't have kids myself. Plus I have loads of spare time for healthy riding in the countrside 😀
Dog poo.
In the Summer, chances are it's dried out enough that it's won't stick to the bike or fly up in your face. Not so in the Winter.
That and the mud. And the washing. And being cold and dark.
Ice two years ago spent christmas on morphine with my chest smashed in from some unexpected ice behind water bar. I've had my best winter in years been riding 2-3 times a week since September. But i think this really cold snap may put pay to that.
Rain.
I've never liked starting a ride in the rain. All my riding is MTB pretty much all off-road, unless I choose to ride up to our local trails, or am on a bigger ride elsewhere using lanes to join bits up.
It's worse if I ride with some of my mates who are mostly younger and tend to ride very fast from the off. I can regulate my temperature quite well by shedding or adding probably just one layer, but tend to sweat a lot especially earlier in a ride . Rain and reduced clothing breath ability simply make for a truly miserable ride. Wearing prescription glasses doesn't help in the rain either. Not so bad if I'm already warmed up and it starts to rain, but a cold , rainy , start to a ride . No thanks.
Mud is a real local occupational hazard, but luckily I can get home and wash my bike quickly and easily, muddy kit, straight into a bucket of lukewarm water, then straight into the washing machine. Shoes wiped off then filled with paper and put near a radiator, can usually result in dry kit the following day . Pretty much a 20 minute routine from getting home to being in the bath / shower.