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What inspires you to keep riding through the dark winter evenings?

We ask what keeps YOU cycling in the winter when it's cold, dark and wet

Do you hang up your wheels during the winter, or do you keep cycling whatever the weather? We asked road.cc readers on Facebook what motivates and inspires them to keep cycling through the winter.

The replies are enough to make us want to get out on the bike right now.

16 Top tips to keep YOU motivated and cycling through the winter 

It’s clear many road.cc readers want to keep cycling through the winter to preserve fitness for the summer. James Claridge tells us it’s “To keep fit so you stay fast for the summer!” That's good enough reason for the road.cc team as well.

Jordan Fifield confirms this motivation. “The only thing keeping me cycling in the rain, cold and dark is the fact that I don't want to be the fat lad at the back, suffering every Sunday when the season starts (again)," he adds.

Alan Johnson uses similar inspiration, saying it's “the prospect of being many pounds heavier come next spring.”

Gavin Lewis tells us it because of the “First light on the morning commute. Beautiful.”

Dave Sewell likes his challenges big. He rides “an Audax challenge of at least one 200km a month every month for 12 months."

Goals like this are a really good way to keep you focused during the winter months.

- 10 top tips for winter-proofing your bike

Rachel Kennedy says: “There's something strangely nice about night riding. I feel cocooned by the dark. You just concentrate on the 10 ft in front coz that's all you can see!”

Joe Landers has a simply reply. “It makes spring and summer riding seem that much easier," he says. "If you've not a winter of cold and rain, I don't appreciate the long summer rides as much…”

Winter cycling can still be fun reckons Edd Stance. “I enjoy cycling, no matter the weather! Yes, winter is more painful but meh, it can still be fun!” he says.

Nigel Briscoe sums it up best we reckon though, by saying “Winter miles = Summer smiles”

Why do you keep cycling through the winter?

- 8 reasons to keep cycling this autumn

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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20 comments

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Shades | 8 years ago
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Keep fit, stop getting fat and a break from driving to work (longish cycle commute which I do twice a week); even though I look like Ziggy Stardust crossed with a Martian with all the lights and high-viz (I assume most motorists are idiots).

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barbarus | 8 years ago
0 likes

For me winter is probably 30% cycling 70% running; summer the other way round. I don't mind the rain and cold etc but perpetual drive chain wear and bike cleaning gets me down.

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2 Wheeled Idiot | 8 years ago
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Fear of having my ass whooped next year racing....

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Martyn_K | 8 years ago
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Only weekend outdoor riding for me in the winter months. When the cold/ wet/ dark evenings kick in it is perfect time to evaluate the summer performance and work on any weaknesses on the turbo. A single midweek turbo session plus Sat & Sunday rides helps to keep the legs loose while recovering from the summer of hard riding.  At the turn of the year we throw an extra turbo session in midweek to start dropping the body weight and work on conditioning for Spring Boot Camp in March.

If you want a reason to ride through the winter book yourself on to an early event or cycling holiday in 2016.

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SuperCollem | 8 years ago
0 likes

Same reason I cycle through the summer months. There is no better way to get from point A to point B. Different bike, different clothes, different daylight hours, different temperature, but the same satisfaction that for the hour before I start work in the morning and the hour after I finish work in the evening I am doing something I love.

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a1white | 8 years ago
1 like

The thought of having to use public transport in london during the rush hour.

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dmc | 8 years ago
0 likes

Goals ! That's what keeps me motivated throughout the winter. I plan my winter based on events I want to do spring summer  otherwise what's the point in training if you've got nothing to train for ? 

 

Dc

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LomaxFairchild | 8 years ago
0 likes

There are 3 elements to inclement riding: Cold, Wind and Rain. One at any given time is perfectly manageable (with the right equipment). Two together is a bit grim, but do-able. A combination of all three is when I usually throw in the towel.

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mrmo replied to LomaxFairchild | 8 years ago
0 likes

You missed one, dark.

 

Nothing like riding in the dark into a driven sleet. 

 

LomaxFairchild wrote:

There are 3 elements to inclement riding: Cold, Wind and Rain. One at any given time is perfectly manageable (with the right equipment). Two together is a bit grim, but do-able. A combination of all three is when I usually throw in the towel.

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LomaxFairchild replied to mrmo | 8 years ago
0 likes

Ah - I don't mind the dark. Like Rachel in the article, I find it strangely comforting.

 

mrmo wrote:

You missed one, dark.

 

Nothing like riding in the dark into a driven sleet. 

 

LomaxFairchild wrote:

There are 3 elements to inclement riding: Cold, Wind and Rain. One at any given time is perfectly manageable (with the right equipment). Two together is a bit grim, but do-able. A combination of all three is when I usually throw in the towel.

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mrmo replied to LomaxFairchild | 8 years ago
0 likes

I don't mind the dark, on its own, or as you say with one other element, It is when they stack up that it gets VERY miserable. 

 

LomaxFairchild wrote:

Ah - I don't mind the dark. Like Rachel in the article, I find it strangely comforting.

 

mrmo wrote:

You missed one, dark.

 

Nothing like riding in the dark into a driven sleet. 

 

LomaxFairchild wrote:

There are 3 elements to inclement riding: Cold, Wind and Rain. One at any given time is perfectly manageable (with the right equipment). Two together is a bit grim, but do-able. A combination of all three is when I usually throw in the towel.

Avatar
dafyddp | 8 years ago
1 like

Two month after  breaking my ankle, I'm only just able to start cycling again. Yesterday was my longest ride since the accident - a whopping twenty five miles at 10 mph, so I'm desperate to get back into shape and no amount of weather is going to be putting me off.

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CXR94Di2 replied to dafyddp | 8 years ago
1 like
dafyddp wrote:

Two month after  breaking my ankle, I'm only just able to start cycling again. Yesterday was my longest ride since the accident - a whopping twenty five miles at 10 mph, so I'm desperate to get back into shape and no amount of weather is going to be putting me off.

I am 10 months into recovery from breaking my heel. I am training hard to attain some decent figures (for me) in next spring TTs. Still can't walk properly but cycling allows me to keep fit via the Kickr/Bkool

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gwarpigs | 8 years ago
0 likes

I try not to give myself the option of not commuting by bike.  It's the only exercise I get so the weather can't be a deciding factor!

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rix | 8 years ago
0 likes

Turbotrainer

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Iamnot Wiggins | 8 years ago
1 like

I echo the sentiments of the Facebook community - so I don't get fat(ter).

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hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
0 likes

I go road riding before work- typically 30km of hill climbing and descending up the road from my house in NW London.

Alternatively I can sneak in a good hour on my mountain bike on my secret trails in NW London. 

Nothing like a fast, brutual workout to blow away any "winter blues", then 15km commute to work, and 15km commute home, lots of riding cures the blues  3

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mingmong | 8 years ago
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It provides balance.  

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mad_scot_rider | 8 years ago
0 likes

In my case the alternative is waking an angry scottish woman about 3 hours early to get a lift to the station - not a pleasant prospect

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flathunt | 8 years ago
0 likes

Same as everyone else, outrunning my demons.

 

[edit] I actually prefer it to summer riding (commuting in particular), there are many, many fewer people sharing the edge of the road and those left tend not to be the hyper aggressive, hairy-chested sunshine specialists, lights are more effective than daylight (imo), damp ground reduces rolling resistance noticeably, you feel like a hero and it lessens the pace of suntan deterioration.

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