Biking Season?!?! In March...wow

So we snuck out for a couple rides this weekend. The weather here is above average for this time of year by a bunch.

Last year we didn't start riding until 5/2 (hell there was still a lot of snow on the ground this time last year) and the year prior was early April.

While I'm happy to be out on the bike I'll have to figure out what my plan, workout wise, is going to be. I was planning on another 5 week phase of P90x then start biking.

My rough goal this year is 1300 miles outside....I normally do 1500 but want to stay focused on weights this year.



*While I enjoy biking a lot I tend to put on a few pounds during biking season even with weights/alt cardio mixed in as its not as good of a workout as I'm use to and its a huge time suck.

That said we do have snow in the forecast next weekend.

Yup. We were lucky to have a beautiful day here for riding on Saturday - we took the tandem out and got some climbing in!

Where I live some folk bike in the snow

Making this somewhat travel-related. Do FTers rent bikes when they're traveling, or just use the gym?

Cheers.

Yeah a few "ice bikers" around here too. I keep telling myself that one of these years I'll gear up and have a full year season....I've just never done it.


If I'm going to be with a customer for a long period (more than 4-5 weeks) I'll ship a bike out there (if its summer and a nice ride area). I've rented a few places but find it to be somewhat of a pain.

Do you bring your own shoes and helmet? What about pedals?

I'll be in London for about 2 weeks for vacation in May-June. There's no way I'm shipping my bike, but I'm considering renting a bike and finding a group to ride with. I don't know how I'd deal with riding on the other side of the road either... I'm assuming the gears and brakes work the same way they do here.


Locally, it is quite possible to bike in the PHX area nearly year-round. We've had quite a bit of wind this spring though... The only thing that I've found worse than riding into wind is riding uphill and into the wind (I had both my slowest and fastest mile splits while riding AZ-87/Beeline Hwy on Sunday between Mesa and Fountain Hills).
I signed up for my very first bike event, a 65 mile ride on 3/31

I would definitely bring my own pedals and shoes, plus helmet and other personal items.

I bring my own shoes/helmet but never pedals. I use the pretty standard SPD and find the couple times I rented the shop had SPDs.

Good point. I use Look pedals and cleats so find it easier to bring my own since they are less-widespread than SPD.

My bike has standard mountain bike pedals, and my shoes are mountain bike shoes. The shoes work with all the spin bikes I've used.
Do you think I'll have trouble?

Do they look like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-SM-SH5...1851833&sr=8-1

If so you can always ask when you are calling to find out about rentals but this is pretty much the standard everywhere I've been (including many a different spin class/bike)

I went to college in New England, and my bike was my transportation. I rode in anything short of a blizzard or monsoon (RI rain has to be seen to be believed).

For recreational riding, I've rented bikes quite a few places. IME it's easier/better experience in Europe than U.S. but still possible many places to rent. I bring my own helmet (rental helmet - ICK!) but use any ol' pedals.

I've rented downhill biks at a few occasions - road biking it too boring to bother renting one for sports, although I once got one for a commute long time ago. Much faster than a car in US traffic.

I think they're more like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-XT-PD-...1942185&sr=8-7

I emailed a shop near my hotel yesterday; we'll see if they email me back.

I had a paper route growing up, and it was much easier to ride my bike to deliver papers. Each customer seemed to want their paper in a particular place, and I was able to ride across sidewalks, lawns, etc.

As this was in PA, in the snow I modified my route somewhat. When it was really bad I'd walk it. But what would take maybe 20 min by bike took close to an hour walking. Occasionally my father would feel sorry for me and drive me.