Balance

The scale of warmth between two states has been noticeably altered this week. The physics of the commute have shifted and many things have to be in fine equilibrium for it to be easy. This week a balance shifted and suddenly the variance between the temperature and attractiveness of under the duvet has increased dramatically in relation to the temperature outside the duvet. This shift in stability makes the start of the commute harder by a scale of about 200. It becomes infinitely more pleasant to stay in bed, rather than to get out, get dressed and get on the bike. Every day seems like a potential sick day, if you think you can get away with it.

It’s the start of colder weather, the days when riding fast is a balance between warming up from inside, and increasing the wind-chill which will undo the good work you’re doing. There’s a middle ground to strike as well in how hard you work. Too sweaty and you’ll freeze at the red lights, too little and you’ll suffer the whole way without ever warming up, and arrive at work chilled and feeling slightly ill. At the same time the action of staying on a bike and using all the skills that usually come so easily will start to get harder in the cold, with your muscles less responsive and supple than you’re used to. So far the weather just reminds you that it’s turning. A light coolness as you step out of the door, and the start of night rides which start to smell like bonfire night and winter, instead of hot tarmac, dust and sweat.

For a few weeks there will be days when it’s almost the perfect time to ride, cooler, but not too cold, but there’s always the higher threat of rain and the knowledge that winter is on the way when it might well get a lot harder to even drag you out of bed, let alone pedalling through the cold. It might well be the time of year where your rides are fastest as you don’t linger over a sunny ride or overheat, but also can still be warm enough to ride well.

If you’re preparing to brave the winter for the first time, then this time of year is the perfect for getting hold of any kit you need. The shows are on and next year’s stuff will be hitting the shops, soon so there’ll be brilliant deals on bikes and kit from this year to be had. Maybe that’s what makes you faster; after all, everyone knows that new stuff makes you quicker and cooler, automatically.

Talking of new things, autumn is the time of year when perhaps people think of someone to cuddle up in the winter with. It seems that in the dating world the bicycle can be a metaphor for life as you search for a wife, although whether what every girl wants is someone who sees their life as an uphill ride, all sweating and swearing towards a final goal, is debatable. Personally I think that the careering barely in control bits are the best of any ride, or, indeed, life. Otherwise the bike can be as X-rated a sex aid as you might find in the darkest corners of Soho. You never know where the people you ride alongside might be off to, it seems. Be careful as you deal with other cyclists, they might be lubed up and on their way to a kinky liaison.

A

PS. For those of you who tried to follow one of the links yesterday to find the page had been removed, I'm sorry. It seems the forum administrators were as suspicious about the posting as I was.