In previous BNS blog posts, we covered the physical preparation needed for winter cycling, exploring how to dress and how to prepare your bike for winter roads. But there’s another hurdle stopping many fairweather cyclists from continuing through the winter: wrapping your head around what’s required.
Opting to cycle through the cold and foul weather does require some psychological preparation. No matter how well you dress or prepare your bike for occasionally nasty roads, if you’re not mentally prepared, you might run into some winter cycling difficulties.
How to Prepare Your Mind for Winter Cycling
Plan Your Route
With the uniquely challenging conditions of winter riding, it’s important to plan ahead. Are there stretches of your ride that are more likely to be ...
In our last post about winter cycling, we tackled the essentials of how to dress when riding in cold weather. In this post, we’ll talk about how to prepare your bike for the unique road conditions of the Nova Scotia winter.
Remember: ensuring your own safety and the safety of all road users is important year-round. Winter cycling in Nova Scotia presents its own set of challenges, so it’s essential to remember to always follow the rules of the road. Need a safety refresher? Check out the Nova Scotia Bicycle Safety brochure (PDF). Bicycle Nova Scotia also offers insurance coverage for members, giving you peace of mind to know you’re covered in case of an accident.
How to Prepare Your Bike ...
As the old cliché goes: if you don’t like the weather in Nova Scotia, just wait five minutes. The unpredictability of our weather keeps things interesting year-round, and of course winter is no exception. From nor’easter storms to unexpected snow, sleet, and rain, Nova Scotians get a little bit of everything from November through March (and beyond!). But that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to ride your bike all year.
Riding your bike during the winter can provide huge boosts to your mental and physical well-being. While your friends and family may think you’re strange for insisting on riding in the freezing cold, it’s easy to continue cycling with the right preparation. With a little bit of planning, winter cycling ...
You're just getting into cycling and have taken your new bike out for a ride on a nearby trail. You were having fun and feeling fit, so you spent a good hour exploring the trail and got home feeling incredible. Fast forward to the next day: your butt is super tender. It might even be tough to sit down. Did you do something wrong on yesterday's ride? Did you pull a muscle? If you're getting back into riding as an adult after a long break, having a cranky-caboose after your first long ride can be common.
Why is my butt so sore?
Bike saddles are meant to support you at or around your ischial tuberosities, or sit bones. On your rump, you ...
It's that time again! Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes the fair weather that riders of all ages and abilities love! It's going to be a strange cycling season, however. With the Covid-19 pandemic arguably in full swing, and many cycling events being postponed or flat-out cancelled, it's hard for new riders to connect with experienced groups and learn about how to pack for a longer day in the saddle.
So what do you pack if you're planning to get into longer rides, or trail riding on rough terrain? Don't let the picture above fool you. You don't need to pack a full set of tools and the kitchen sink. Whether you're riding a fixie or ...
If you were wondering why MTB trails around the province were vacant this weekend, we'll forgive you for not following the National MTB Circuit. For the second year running, riders from all over Nova Scotia (along with folks from New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Maine) descended on the Gorge in Kentville to attend the final leg of the Canada Cup MTB points-series.
The 2019 Kentville Canada Cup is a high-level XCO mountain biking competition that attracts riders from across Canada (as well as international competitors). Although the Gorge in Kentville offers many trails of varying skill, Canada Cup athletes can really hang-tough along the more difficult twisting tracks laced with tree-roots, stones, mud and --perhaps the most ...
