The Little Things
October 13, 2014

On Saturday I headed out for my first early morning fall bike ride while Melissa ran her last long run before San Francisco this weekend. It was the first morning I rode in the cold fall weather, and I was worried about what to wear. It was 41 at the start, with a feels like of 37…. almost 20 degrees colder than the coolest weather I’ve biked in before! I did what I typically do before a long run on Saturday- eat a granola bar in the dark in bed while checking weather and social media before getting up and getting ready.

We headed to the Carmel access of the Monon, which was fitting because it was 6 months ago that we first met doing the Carmel Half Marathon. I ended up wearing a long sleeve tech shirt for the Indy Mini Marathon in 2013, a thicker zip exercise shirt, and a biking windbreaker. I also wore my compression sleeves and running tights under my biking shorts (an absolute first for me!). I also wore my biking gloves underneath another pair of thin gloves, which was another first. I had no idea if that would be enough, but I decided it would just have to do.

October Biking

I also tried the blueberry pomegranate flavor of nuun for the first time, and I was a BIG fan! I think it’s my favorite flavor I’ve tried of theirs so far actually. I also used spotify for the first time on this ride, and loved all the music that I had. I guess this ride really was filled with firsts!

I rotated between biking by myself at my regular speed and biking next to Melissa as she was out running. I’ve really missed running over the past few weeks, but I’m trying to be smart and make sure I can get cardio without making my shin splints any worse.

October Biking

It was definitely chilly, although with what I was wearing, my core warmed up pretty quickly. Around the mile mark, my toes and fingers started to get pretty cold though, so if I was going to be out there longer, I’d definitely want a different option.

The changing leaves were definitely beautiful, and as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve love the changing scenery during my fall rides. It’s weird to be biking over leaves instead of the plain pavement, and I get worried from time to time that I’ll slip on them. From time to time a leaf would get stuck in the little gap between the wheel and my bike, and I’d have to stop to pull them out.

October Biking

Melissa took a few pictures of me towards the end of the ride today, which were interesting. I see pictures of me running a few times a year during races, but rarely get to see any pictures of me on the bike.

I am going to try to get in a few more weeks of riding outside before I put my bike tire on for the winter. The problem isn’t just the cold- it’s the fact that it’s getting dark earlier AND that it seems to be raining almost every day right now. I’m enjoying the differences of biking in the fall compared to the summer, but it’s going to be really hard to give up biking on the road for the next 6 months…

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One response to “Crisp Fall Riding”

  1. Kristen @ Glitter and Dust says:
    October 14, 2014 at 6:49 pm

    Fall riding is definitely a different experience than summer rides. It is much windier and cooler around here, which means I have to bundle up and wear layers. That is great that you are still taking advantage of the weather and sunlight!