It’s Too Cold to Ride! What Shall I Do?

Oh no!  It’s cold, forecast gives a 70% chance of rain – I’m not going out in that.

Here are some of the things you can do instead:

Give your boots a proper clean and polish – yes, take out any insole and empty out the crumbs, thoroughly clean any dirt from the sole and upper, then when dry give ‘em a good polish. A drop of silicone lube on the zips is the final touch.  Wow!  They look like new, and they’ll cope with the rain better for when you do work up the courage to go out.

Read your bike’s manual – everyone just skips through it when the bike is new or newly acquired, only then dipping in when a problem occurs. How do you adjust the suspension for your weight and riding style? What is the correct chain setting? Is there a helmet lock? Do you have hill hold and does it work from both brakes? How does the cruise control work? The more modern/fancy your bike the more features you may uncover.

Work out some new routes: are there areas you’d like to explore or are there different ways you could get to familiar destinations? Then get the maps out and plot some routes old school, or go onto MyRoute or other app and do it on-line. Perhaps you can then make use of them to lead a members’ ride!

Edit your kit – we’ve all got kit, gloves in particular that are well past their best, but we hang onto ‘just in case’.  Just in case of what – a long-lost cousin turns up and wants a pillion ride. If it’s knackered - get rid of it.

Helmet lining – any decent helmet will have a removable lining, which over the season will have become contaminated with sweat, sunscreen, dust particles etc.  If you haven’t already, then take it out for a gentle handwash.  You could really go to town and check whether your visor needs replacement or just a good clean and lubricate the pivots while you’re at it.

Barry Smart