[Blog #14] Cycling When It's Cold | Layer Dressing | Winter in Brazil
Hooooooah Readers! How are you? Unfortunately we don't have virtual reality for bike riding, still gotta face the weather.
Passing by to share a quick post on how the weather is in southern Brazil at the moment; cold, windy and humid. Life is kinda busy this week but I do plan to release my weekly Travel Story, it'll be one of those long posts again, full of craziness. Stay tuned for that.
View from my fridge, mean, bedroom. Click image to enlarge!
Will I let that stop me? Hell no! The bike will not cycle itself and if I want to keep a good health condition for my upcoming 1600 km bike trip I better get out of bed and go train, no matter what. After all, on the road, you can't choose the weather, he chooses you.
I woke up this morning shaking my skinny legs, it was cold and at first I though I was in Antarctica - Wish I was.
Layer dressing. Source:Experience Ketchikan
A tip for those willing to cycle when it's cold: Use thermal skins, they make sure your sweat gets out of your body. On top of that you can use a windbreaker to avoid feeling cold by convection. After the first kilometers you'll be warm from the exercise. However, it's important to carry a coat for when you stop; opt for those ones capable of holding your heat.
This all is called 'dressing in layers' and it's the best way to pack ligh and maintain a good heat management, great for any outdoor activity.
So, my training today followed the same old path to the beach and everything went smooth, apart from a lady crossing the bike lane with her car without checking for bikes, forcing me to put into practice the ninja master blaster technic to avoid entering her side window.
HERE IS THE CLASSIC BEACH PHOTO
I'm starting to like the idea of taking photos of the same place throughout the year, it's so cool to compare the difference between seasons. From blue cristal clear skies; to dark cold clouds - Winter is indeed here.
And not only the view changes, but the vibe too; not many people walking/running, closed houses. The beach becomes kinda lonely during the winter.
Photo taken with my cheap cellphone. Click Image to Enlarge!
THIS IS THE WEATHER TODAY
Mín=1°C (freeeeezing). It wouldn't be a problem if we had dry air, but take a look at humidity - 95%. Holly Pepperoni! That combination freezes you to the bones.
You thought Brazil was all about warm weather, beaches and beautiful women. Right? Come enjoy this warm weather with me hahahah.
Source:: INMET.
What do you do to motivate yourself to cycle when it's cold? Drop a message down below, I love talking to you all.
If you liked this post, please, consider leaving your upvote for a hot coffee.
~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broken backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
I'm Arthur. I blog about Adventure Stories, Brazil, Travel, Camping & Life Experiences.
Follow me to stay tuned for more craziness and tips.
You may also want to read:
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[Blog #13] Come Cycle With Me | Showing You My City & Exploring Trails
7 Day Positivity Challenge | Day 2 | Being Grateful For Being Alive
7 Day Positivity Challenge | Day 1 | My Parents Started It All
A proud member of the Steemit Travellers community:
Muito boa cara!! a gente so acha que o brasil e so muito sol e calor, ta errado! ahaha, que bom conhecer irmaos do meu vecinho pais! e mais si a gente gosta da bike! e mais do viagems! temos muito que compartilhar! Eu to fazendo um "Cycling Series " no Dtube e no blog de Steemit com amigos, si voce quer pode olhar la! so confira! Saudades do brasil!! abraço desde Uruguai!
Awesome! Muito feliz de ver o amigo no canal do Discord. Você não tem idéia de como gosto do Uruguay!
Foi criado um canal no Steemit Travellers chamado Cycling, onde poderemos discutir assuntos relacionados a bike; perguntar e dividir experiencias. Temos o nosso cantinho! Só precisamos chamar os amigos para lá.
Vou conferir sim e também o seu material escrito! Sempre que escreveres sobre viagem e tiveres mais de 250 palavras no texto fique a vontade de usar a tag #travelfeed, caso o post siga os critérios poderá ganhar um apoio legal!
Espero ve-lo novamente no Discord, abraço!
One of our bike shops has a season length scavenger hunt every winter to encourage people to get outside despite the cold. It's pretty awesome making a contest out of it to get people motivated. My team won the first year. Some stuff includes riding to Niagara Falls, going snowshoeing, shoveling a neighbor's sidewalk and playing bike Polo. The most ridiculous this year was doing a century (in miles) by riding in a circle around a statue in one of our parks.
That's a really amazing idea, and it seems like your weather is waaaaay colder than mine. I can't imagine how cold it is to ride on the snow.
Now... 100 miles riding in circle? Really?!? How much time did it take?
I wasn't able to do it this year due to an injury. I did it the previous year. I can be fairly comfortable in anything slightly below freezing, down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. But my rides also tend to stay closer to home in such cold weather.
I couldn't imagine doing the century in a circle. I've yet to ride that far in a day and I wouldn't even do it in a large circle. I would want to be 100 miles away by the end of that. From recollection, it took people until around sundown to finish it. Everyone would be talking about who was doing this challenge and people would go down to watch.
AAAHAHHA imagine, you have lunch and go there; still cycling. Have afternoon tea and go there; still cycling. Take a nap and go there; still cycling.
It's insane. But I can imagine how proud are those who finished.
Was your injury caused by the bike? - sorru for asking, just curious.
I was hit by a car while riding my bike last fall. I had a concussion, neck and back injury. Was in physical therapy all winter. The doctors didn't want me riding in the snow.
Gee! Is everything good now?
This week I almost crashed into a car too, the lady crossed the bike lane without checking.
I'm glad I got a bike with good disk brakes otherwise I would've crashed.
I'm feeling a bit better now but the neck gets sore sometimes. I wish I had been on a lighter bike so that i would have made it through the intersection faster.
We do. Its called Zwift :D Times are a changing my friend!
But i rather ride out in the open instead of virtual reality biking. That is no fun at all.
I learnt the fine art of layer dressing when i started motorcycling.
Pro Tip: (Perfect for hitchhikers and other poverty stricken travellers!): If you need an improvised windcheater, take some old newspaper and spread it out inside your jacket. Almost zero air will get to your body. It works like a charm. I have tried it out multiple times on a motorcycle.
VR for biking? really? No, thanks.
Now that's one fine tip. I've heard that brazilians in WW2 during the cold winter in Italy used to use newspaper all over to protect from the cold. I didn't know it works all that perfect, still gotta try!
1 C? that's crazy. Yes i thought it was warm and humid in Brazil all the time!
Great view out your window. What city are in you in? It's southern Brazil?
Forgive me my dumb questions. I Haven't studied the weather there very much. it's warm all year in Rio isn't it?
Heyho Ross,
my city is called Pelotas in southern Brazil, here in the winter it is freezing, cold airs that come from Antarctica struck us hard.
In Rio it's hot all year, I went there for the Olympics during the winter and I wore shorts all day and went to the beach hahahaha
I believe they do have some cold days during the year, but not as freezing as here.