When the summer languishes, the days get shorter, the first hour gets cooler, the sun is more horizontal, the light is dimmer ... the road is populated with dead leaves, ochre color, the mountain wicks of eternal tones for the memory and the cyclist enjoys in the intimacy.
Because in autumn cycling is intimate, an alchemy of sensations after a season full of appointments, rides, races and other experiences, while thinking about the well-deserved rest and a little further on, about the pre-season and the challenges to come.
That's why autumn cycling is the season of seasons, that's why cycling is the season of cycling. That time when the road is a little aside and goes into cyclocross, for example, or in the mountains.
The drop in the pulse of activity pushes to enjoy cycling through the four seasons: cool in the morning and good temperature, if not heat, at noon.
In a hundred-kilometer ride, the colors of the weather pass in front of the cyclist. If you go inland, you may encounter bone-chilling fog that leaves you cold. If you go to the coast, the sun awaits you with open arms, to rock you in the last rays of warmth before winter.
Autumn clothing
That's why clothing is especially important.
Lifelong garments, such as sleeves o leggings and removable garments, which are complemented with that vest windbreakerthat we will use on the downhills.
Autumn is the season of seasons: in a small stretch, tiny to the groove of a bicycle, in one kilometer, a road that climbs the mountain will have areas of twilight alternating with others of bright sunshine, dry stretches followed by that moisture that clings to the asphalt and may not let go until spring.
A merry-go-round of sensations that bring out clothes that have been in storage since spring.
If the jacket jacket is the most popular for downhill, the base layer is another key ally, for the entire outing as well. A garment that must be supportive, fit the runner, his second skin, dry and protect him from the cool of the descent, from those sections that are punished by the first cold of the morning or the wind.
The autumn outings
With the season's load of kilometers already in the body, autumn offers more relaxed rides. Two hours could be the standard model. Knowing that other modes can attract the attention of the good cyclist, taking it easy on the bike is a must.
And not only that, it is important to work those areas of the body that with the frenzy of marches and competitions are not present, to have a good muscular base for when the cyclist must return to put kilometers on the skinny.
It is time to compensate for all those vices that pedaling imposes on us at other times of the year.
Nutrition in autumn
There is a starting axiom for cyclists in autumn: How many kilos can be gained in winter? This figure is key to keep in mind that, with the decrease in activity, the kilos can fall off like a punishment.
Gaining weight is not bad, on the contrary, it is advisable, for two reasons: it helps muscle regeneration and facilitates metabolic processes that the body needs. Two benefits that will surely be noticed in the following campaign. Eat varied, without bad conscience, knowing what is the target weight when Christmas is over, because there is a mathematical maxim: Who diets in autumn does not arrive in March...
There are exciting days ahead, not many, but enough to prove that autumn is special, the season of seasons, a privilege that the good cyclist surely knows how to appreciate.
Texts: JoanSeguidor's Notebook
