Cycling in winter is not an activity many of us are excited about. If you're like me, you've probably already signed up for spin classes or dusted off the indoor trainer for the long dark and cold days ahead. When it comes to winter cycling, forecasting and planning your ride is key as well as dressing appropriately. Last year I talked myself into doing a few winters rides and quickly learned that braving the elements takes time getting used to but having the right tools to equip your winter rides will make adventuring out in the cold worthwhile. Here are some helpful tips to keep you dry, warm, and happy on your winter rides.

Today's ride journal is supported by Route Feminent. I am deeply grateful and encouraged by the support that got me to pursue this journey. I hope I can continue to spread the good adventure vibes.

A pared down life. It’s what I had hoped to achieve when I moved out of NYC to the Hudson Valley. Being surrounded by lakes, mountains, and trees, the quiet and simple life would be the escape I needed from the domestic demands of day to day life. I thought that what I had achieved by leaving the city would sooth my cravings for the open air but even that wasn’t enough. Even in the silence of the woods, I found myself constantly in between the ebb and flow of escapism and this time headed to Vermont.



The excitement of camping out in the backcountry loomed over us as we drove. With bright eyes, we imagined the worst scenarios of camping and laughed at all of our worries of unpreparedness, getting lost, and fear of bears. After hours of driving, we drove into our first stop, Jamaica, where we spent our first night in a tiny cabin tucked in the woods behind a junk yard to prepare our route for the next two nights. With maps sprawled on coffee tables we planned 90 miles of cycling and camping through Vermont backcountry trails.

 I've always been super impressed by the girls who set their minds on something and go after it. The girls who know the challenges ahead and figures out the unknown along the way. I've always been a planner. When there is something I strongly want to do, I like to secure things in place before I can actually plan and share it. Like this bike tour I'm doing in October. Since my decision, I've had weeks of planning and training to get me to this point of sharing. I think when it comes to making it a point of making an effort to adventure, we gotta go with the mindset of just do it and the rest will follow.

Fall is rapidly coming and we can't ignore it. Whether you're a seasoned cyclist or newbie, you know the days are getting colder, nights getting longer, and with that comes changes in our riding routine. Despite darker and colder days, autumn is a great time to get those final miles in before winter. To help you set up for the changing season, I rounded up a comprehensive post to help you, and myself, stay on the road with some tips to guide our way through the golden season.

Bike Maintenance
It's important that we set our bikes up for autumn with a little TLC. If you're bike hasn't had any maintenance throughout summer, it may be worth sending your bike in for a tune up. Mechanics are more likely to thoroughly check all parts and give them a good clean or repair. Important components, like gears and chains, should be regularly maintained during the fall season to keep them in good shape so they keep you safe. Here are some way to maintain them:

Gears and Chains- If you know your bike is in good working order, maybe give it a little clean in the gears and chains. Add quality lube with a good wet chain oil to keep it moving better in wet weather.

Brakes - With any type of brake, it's important to know they are working smoothly. With brake pads, you need plenty of life in them to keep you going, especially when the roads start to get covered in leaves and water. Be sure to check them regularly and clean them from leaves, oils, or dirt to keep them in good quality shape.

Visiblity
Whilst in summer it was easy to forget about bike lights, the long dark days looming over us are a good reminder to dig them out. You may need to replace a battery, or charge them up to make sure they are working. I'd recommend that even in the daytime with fog, rain, or mist, that using bright lights is important to maintain safety for when conditions are the road are bad. Just remember, back lights are just as important as front lights to maintain your safety.

Hi-Vis Gear
Although lights are a legal requirement for cyclist, it's also recommended to stay extra visible during the daytime with hi-viz and reflective gear so that you'll be more noticeable. There are plenty of trousers, jackets, vests, panniers, and helmets on the market with plenty of reflective detailing to keep you noticed on a commute or ride. You can check out some of Bicycling mag's recommendations here.

Often gear is designed not to just keep you safe but also dry. While cycling in the rain isn't ideal for anybody, a surprise rainfall and turning up to work or a social gathering wet isn't ideal either. Some ways to avoid getting drenched is to wear a waterproof cover, carry your items in a waterproof rucksack or pannier, and wear waterproof shoe covers. There are loads of waterproof brands on the market that often come with reflective details too. For more, you can check out Total Women's Cycling post on waterproof cycling gear.

Mudguards
Mudguards are to keep your tires from spraying your back with water, mud, and muck from the roads. Fall is the best time to put mudguards on your bike to help you avoid any unpleasant puddles from finding it's way onto your clothes and back. There are a few thing to keep in mind when you are choosing your mudguards for your bike. You should be sure to check if your bike is set up to place them on to get the most coverage which is dependent on your tires size, length, width, and whether your bike has enough clearance and eyelets to bolt mudguards in.

Carry A Spare
Even with all these items to help you stay dry, sometimes they just aren't enough. A rule of thumb for most commuters is to carry a spare. Basically a kit of extra dry clothes, toiletries, cosmetics, towels, etc. If you're out for a joy ride, I'm afraid carrying little kit is usually the rule of the game, which in that case, waterproof kit and gear are your friend.


photo courtesy of cafeducycliste

When I moved out to the Hudson Valley, I had hoped to achieve something in my life, simplicity. Although buying a house doesn't exactly get rid of the responsibility of a mortgage, it does add a little stability. When you want simplicity, you also need stability. I haven't always been a stable person in the sense of where I live. I have moved to three different places in the last three years and have traveled plenty in between to almost render myself unstable every two months. When I return home from a trip, I find myself within the next week planning a trip somewhere else, often a place where I need to see people, family or friends, and often work comes along with me.

Going slowly, owning a few things, and using a few resources forces a simpler lifestyle. Within simplicity lies a world of breaking from the confines and anxieties of the Western world. A pared down life. It's what I have been longing for and hoping to achieve when I moved out of the Big Apple to the Hudson Valley. A town with no development but lakes, mountains, and trees was exactly the soothing landscape I needed to soothe my cravings. Cravings for adventure, nature, and freedom. I find in these long stretches of time spent on a hike or ride in the outdoors is the disconnect I need from the domestic to the primal, a world of realizations, gratitude, and simplicity.

Cycle Style has been a huge trend in cycle commuting that has encouraged more women to bike how they like; in heels, skirts, on step through frames or fixed gears. This trend, which continues, has encouraged women to express their style while adopting a lifestyle on bike. However, when it comes to the track, group rides, or the peloton, the debate about cycling fashion is a different matter that comes down to comfort. Although women have a track history of abstaining from cycling wear because of their unappealing design and fit, the trend of women's specific kits is changing how women participate in cycling as a whole. As women's cycling teams and women's group rides grow, cycle style is taking on a whole new look for the fashionista who loves putting in serious miles without compromising comfort on the saddle.

This year marks the 8th year of what I adopted as the cyclists lifestyle. Cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and Brooklyn have all been a very important part of this lifestyle transition where commuting by bike has gotten me from a to b in a city. However, cycling has become so much more than a commuter lifestyle. Personally, it's the adventure I seek everyday after my day job, my community, the country roads, the scenery, the wild nature of it all.  In a way, the cycling lifestyle has become a culture of my own, a lingo, a lifestyle, and a camaraderie that I cannot find outside of cycling.

Greetings. I just got back from Florida a few days ago and feel like the last two weeks have been a dream. While I was there for a short while, my initial feelings upon returning was that I didn't have enough. I attempted to tackle this holiday with the determination of cycling as far as I could to see as much as possible, always with the view of the more you put in, the more you take away. Memories, sunrises, and experiences are the things I collect and treasure the most, no matter how little sleep I get. The great thing about Florida is that it is full of so many surprises and this trip I didn't want to waste laying by the pool.

Last year I shared with you my first experience of biking in Florida. I was surprised at first sight and found myself to be continually impressed. There is always a new route, a new trail, a new view and lush parks and beaches to drink in. When settling in this year, I was looking forward to getting back into the routine of living in endless summer: biking off road, walking the beach, swimming the ocean, running trails, lunch on the terrace, happy hour with friends, dinner with family, and dancing. Florida has the effect of putting me in a deep relaxed state of mind and body that it gets hard to leave.

This trip, I didn't want to miss out. I knew that if I wanted to experience the part of Florida I was in, I would have to do so on bike. I knew from our first time here that there were many rentals from the resort to the bike shop down the road from us that we would have an assortment of specific riding bikes from beach cruisers, mountain, and road bikes to choose from. Since we were near so many parks, I often opted for a mountain bike. If I learned anything from last year, it's that mountain biking in Florida is great, everyone does it and loves it.

There is something great about cycling in a place so tropical. It's almost a feast of the senses. It's bewilderingly humid, breezy with the smell of sea air, with endless palm trees and beaches bordering the Atlantic coastline. In my final evening, I cycled to the beginning of one of my favorite nearby beaches and caught the most beautiful sunset I have seen. The water and sky was bathed in a purple hue, as the sun slowly sunk into the horizon opposite, lighting up the sky with intense shades of orange and pink. It was in that moment that I appreciated Florida. I watched the waves lap against one another, listening to their gentle sounds on the shore. It felt as though I had the whole sea to myself that I let myself get completely lost in the moment, reminding me why I travel and cycle to experience this.

To see more of my trip to Florida, scroll along my Instagram gallery here.

Over the years of cycling, I have watched the slow growth of women's specific products by major cycle industry providers, while women's specific bike shops like Cycle Chic, VeloVixen, Pedal Chic, Cycling For Girls, Terry Bicycles, Team Estrogren, Liv Cycling, and Eleanor's NYC have come out of the battle to meet the demands of women. While the availability of women's kits and accessories by major brands have been accessible to women online, florals, pinks, and paisley patterns don't speak to many women who have a knack for stylish and form fitting bike wear.

A few things in life make me happier than combining my passion for cycling, travel, and exploration. Mostly by choice, I do most of my exploring on my own, which sometimes leads me to getting lost. I consider myself a great navigator, reading maps and learning directions by memory used to be a favorite pass time, but I'm a firm believer that some of my most memorable experiences and adventures have happened in the process of finding my way or getting lost.

Bicycles and books. Two of my favorite things. When Elly Blue linked a Kickstarter fund of a book covered with a large neon pink corset and Victorian silhouette holding a vintage racing bicycle, I had to find out what it was all about. Which lead me to finding The Velocipede Races by Emily June Street. As I wondered onto Microcosm Publishing's website, I read a synopsis of "tough girl rebels against stifling gender rules... dreaming of racing her bicycle in the cutthroat velocipede races..." Already, I had found a kindred spirited character and began to download it onto my Kindle.

Even when living in cities, I longed for quiet roads to venture on by bike. Riding through crowded streets provided an adrenaline that kept me alive through the many obstacles that the city threw. I had to learn to be quick, strong, and risk taking. All these things I carry when riding through country roads and open spaces. The obstacles still require me to be quick and risky but I have to become stronger. The escape from the city to more simpler terms of living in the country also brings along it's challenges on bike.

So many of us probably have told ourselves that we will bike more this year. Trust me, I've been telling myself that everyday. Yesterday I got to thinking about the former girl that started this blog. I was in my early twenties, living in San Francisco, biking to school, work, and home. My life revolved around commuting by bike. Now, my life is very different. I work from home, drive to the market (20 miles), and spend most of my recreational time hiking with my dog and fiance in the woods that surround us. It's a complete change.

Happy belated New Year friends. It was a very busy 2015 and so far a very busy start to 2016. As some followers may know, a year ago, I thought of giving up this blog because of the direction my life was going. My story had changed when my now fiance and I planned to buy a house outside of New York. We wanted to live simply, sustainably, and well. Moving out of NYC meant that city girl rides was no longer in a city to bike. But just because I was moving location, my passion for cycling didn't stop, so I decided I would continue with creating content.