Cycling Tips and Stories

Why would you want to consider cycling in cold weather?  Well, perhaps for all the same reasons you bicycle in pleasant weather:

With the first snowstorm of the year hitting most of Missouri today, it looks like a great day to do our annual post about winter bicycling.

Whenever I talk about bicycling in winter, I can my friends' eyes start to roll (if they're polite) and the fingers start to twirl around their ears (if they're not . . . ).

But I really enjoy my winter rides--and so do thousands of folks around the world.

Why would you want to consider cycling in cold weather?  Well, perhaps for all the same reasons you bicycle in pleasant weather:

Imagine you're out for a fine day's ride, just approaching the top of a climb, when suddenly you're greeted by TV cameras, a motorcycle escort, a finish line, and a huge cheering crowd--just the winner of a big race would be greeted at the finish line.

That's what French prankster Rémi Gaillard set out to do to a few unsuspecting cyclists--check it out:

Want the experience of riding a major stage race yourself, right here in Missouri? Timing, finish line, all the rest?  The experience of riding a Tour de France or Tour of Missouri stage--whether you're just starting out and completing your first 15-mile ride, or a hard core cylist looking for your personal-best century time?

Check out MoBikeFed's new ride for 2014, the Tour of Kansas City Gran Fondo--the best elements of an epic recreational ride and a scenic touring ride combined with the color and flash of a great road race.

Just got back from a pleasant ride around town in sub-20 degree temperatures--which made me think it might be a good weekend to do our annual post on winter bicycling. 

If you can figure out the right clothing to be comfortable in temperatures down to 32 degrees or so, you can bicycle most weeks of the year in Missouri--most of the winter temperatures are in the 30s and most streets are clear and dry most of the time.

For example, if you made the decision to bicycle only when the temperature is above freezing and when roads are clear and dry, you could get in a few rides most weeks of most winter months in Missouri. 

And if you have the right clothing down to 10 or 20 degrees and a bike that can handle snowy roads with the occasional patch of ice--which can be as simple as riding a mountain bike with knobby tires, or purchasing special studded snow tires for your bicycle, which are excellent at handling icy patches--you can easily bicycle pretty much every day all year around.

The Katy Trail Biker Chicks is a group in the St Peters area that does regular weekly rides and occasional longer rides on the Katy Trail:

We are the CHICKS --- "The Katy Trail Biker Chicks" Many of us are long-time friends and others are new riders brought in by neighbors or friends. Biker Chicks are building cycling at the ground level, getting and giving new women cyclist an opportunity to get out and share the sport of cycling with friends and like minded folks in a fun and exciting way.  

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How it all began....

The Southeast Missourian recently profiled Bill Logan, a world-class duathlete from Cape Girardeau: 

An avid cyclist and runner, Logan has been a dedicated participant in athletic competitions since his high-school days. But high school has long since passed for the 71-year-old Perry County resident who in August won the gold medal in his age group at the 2013 Duathlon World Championships in Ottawa, Canada, the Southeast Missourian reports. . . .

Logan moved in 1980 to Cape Girardeau, where he began a 20-year career at Saint Francis Medical Center as a respiratory therapist and a nurse. And if his continued passion for cycling wasn't enough, Logan also became interested in running, and in 1990 he started competing in duathlons and marathons, the 26-plus mile road races.

"I was about 50 when I started doing that," he said. "For a single event like the marathon, things are kind of simple; you just run. But for a duathlon, you have to blend things together. For instance, you have to be careful about the transition time when you change from your running shoes into bike shoes and helmet, and then back into your running shoes after the bike ride."

Being able to scan for traffic while maintaining a straight line is one of the most basic bicycling skills.  Check out this video that explains how to get on track with scanning:

The League of American Bicyclists has videos on this and many other basic (but very important!) cycling skills on its web page.