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Cycling Fallacies - Counters to Common Anti-Cycling Arguments
(cyclingfallacies.com)
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this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2023
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"The weather is bad": This one is the least convincing of them all.
Where I live it's 90°F (or higher) with 90%+ humidity at least six months out of the year (more like 9 lately though) and it rains heavily at random in random locations on any given random day. When the weather report says, "50% chance of rain" what it really means is that all day it will be raining down on 50% of the county for ten to twenty minutes at a time (LOL).
The argument that website is making is that if the weather is that bad it's too awful just to go outside (which is 100% accurate haha)... Therefore the weather preventing cycling is a myth? WTF? It's silly.
Yea, I think there's some truth in that argument when it comes to temperature - I know I can adjust to pretty hot or cold weather after a while. But yea, no matter how much I love biking I am less likely to do it in the rain or snow, where it's not only more uncomfortable but also more dangerous.
It's still feasible. I biked to work most days in the winter, and after 5 min or so, I'm plenty warm. I generally avoid going the same day as a snowstorm, but cold weather is pretty easy to adapt to (just wear more layers). Throw on some panniers and you can take off a layer or two if you want (though I prefer to just start colder so I don't need to stop).
Heat is a lot harder though. At a certain point, I just cannot drink water fast enough to keep myself hydrated (I'm in a dry climate), and in more humid weather I can easily overheat. That said, it's fine most of the time, and I only avoid cycling for a few days of the year.
That said, this is for newer cyclists, so I would leave the advice at: "it's feasible, but you'll want to work up to it."
Aerobic exercise in the heat is difficult. What I've found that works for me is "salt sticks." They're capsules of electrolytes that help rebalance during times of high water intake.
I take one after approximately consuming 1.5 liters of water, depending on temperature and water consumption rate. I also take one if my fingers start swelling; a certain sign of dehydration. It works for me and maybe it'll work for you.
This is the video that convinced me to give electrolytes a try is GearSkeptic's Performance Nutrition for Backpacking, Part 4: Electrolyte Balance. The whole playlist is good, as long as you're prepared for many hours of talking hands and reading up his sources.
I'll check it out, thanks!
Ice is an issue, no lie. shady side of things it can stick around. Had a rider go down on ice (I don't think it was consensual) on a ride last week, on a skinny tire fixie. He said he was fine; Winter has it's padded clothing, after all. I suddenly got a whole lot more cautious. lol.