The Daily Grind

By Rob Manning

High Intensity Riding

Well, it's November already. Hard to believe just a few short months ago I was riding 6 days a week, sweating and dousing myself with water bottles, cursing the fact that shorts were the coolest thing to wear in the summer heat. Ahh, those were the stuff of memories. No leaves on the trail, nightfall was pushed to 8:30pm and the days were full of epics. It wasn't unusual to ride for 4 hours after work. Now it's a different story. Darkness falls at 5:45pm, merely stepping out the door puts a chill in my bones, and I'm cursing the fact that even a good set of Under Armor cold gear isn't going to keep my legs warm. The trails are slippery with wet leaves, the dew is heavy, and the snow is beginning to fly on that rare occasion. Pumpkins have replaced apples, parks and trails have closed for hunting season, and I'm stuck riding inside on a trainer two or three nights a week. Oh boy, could this get any nicer?

Well, yes.

The one thing that the fall brings (besides ghosts and goblins and turkey) is early darkness, and with that comes the prospect of night riding. Trails are generally deserted in the darkness, and the experience is completely different. There's something magical about strapping that lamp to your helmet and watching your breath condense in the beam of the light as you gear up to ride. Hopping on a bike for the first night ride of the season is reminiscent of being a kid and learning to ride again. Everything is so different from riding during the day that you'll almost need to re-learn your riding skills. You'll need to really focus on where you're looking, where your light is shining, and what your tires are doing. It's like a new beginning.

Besides the challenge of riding in new conditions, you'll notice quite a few different kinds of wildlife poking their heads out at night. How often can you stand on the trail and watch a small field mouse wander through a rotting pile of trees looking for nuts and seeds? Maybe you'd prefer to look up and see a large barn owl flying through the trees, roosting on a branch and singing in the cool night air. Deer are plentiful on the trails and in the fields (just don't challenge a buck during mating season, or you'll likely end up as shish-kebab) and there are no such things are mosquitos to bleed you dry. Different? Oh yeah.

So, knowing that there's a whole new world waiting to be ridden, is the season over? Not by a long shot. Pull out that long underwear, throw on a long sleeve jersey, throw some heat packets in your Sidis and hit the trail.