Why autumn is the best season for cycling

The end of summer or the switch to winter time causes a drop in many cyclists who are not able to see that autumn is ideal for riding a bike. A time of year when pedaling becomes a joy for the senses and allows us to enjoy, without any stress, the rewards of summer.

Bicycles are for autumn

If we were to survey cyclists, asking them about the best time of year for riding a bike, we are sure that summer months would come out on top. However, when these months actually arrive, it turns out that most people do not ride as much as they do during the rest of the year. The stifling heat, fatigue from biking in the first half of the year, or the many alternative activities, including family vacations, make summer far from the ideal time for biking.

Obviously, winter is not desirable for anyone: cold, rain, wind, and few hours of daylight make it difficult to maintain cycling activity and often force us to retreat to our "pain cave," spending hours on the indoor trainer.

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We are left with the two transitional seasons, with spring as the peak moment of the season leading up to the main goals that we all, to a greater or lesser extent, set for ourselves. Left aside, like the ugly duckling, is autumn. A season usually overlooked and yet, it has strong arguments for being the best time to enjoy biking. Here are some of them.

Pleasant temperatures

While it is difficult to stop wearing long sleeves until well into spring, in autumn the temperatures remain mild during the so-called Indian summers, which sometimes extend until November. It is true that in these months the mornings are usually cool, but that does not prevent us from riding in short sleeves during the central hours of the day without any problem, at most resorting to arm warmers and a vest until the sun starts to make its presence felt.

Also, depending on the region, rain tends to take longer to appear and when it does, it usually comes in the form of stormy episodes that do not last more than a day, making it easy to find days to go cycling.

Perfect terrain conditions

While road cyclists are not affected much, those who practice gravel or Mountain Biking are eager for the first rains to soften the terrain and enjoy a grip that allows for much more enjoyable riding. A softer terrain where tire treads can fulfill their function.

During summer, the hard and dry terrain, which ends up with a thin layer of surface sand, has very limited grip that requires constant tension in every turn. In addition, grip in these conditions depends almost exclusively on the tire compound, often softer for optimal performance, which causes them to wear out quickly.

Colorful landscape

What can we say about how beautiful the mountains become in autumn, especially if the vegetation in our area is deciduous and passes before our eyes in a thousand different shades before falling to the ground and covering everything in a blanket of ochres.

Stress-free

For many cyclists, spring is a time to prepare for various events that they have set as goals, especially the bulk of the cyclosportive events that take place during the months of May and June and that require a certain level of planning for our bike rides.

However, in autumn the season has already come to an end except for those who compete in cyclocross and who already have a flurry of races coming up, practically every weekend. For the rest, it is a time for recovery where we go out to ride without the dictates of power or heart rate, simply for the pleasure of cycling.

Clean air

While most events take place in the late spring, for those who suffer from typical pollen allergies of this season, achieving an acceptable level of fitness is a real challenge during those months when simply breathing becomes a triumph.

It is now in autumn when allergy sufferers can fully enjoy pedaling without worrying about pushing too hard to avoid asthma attacks or being able to maintain a steady breathing rhythm without having to struggle to overcome the constant congestion that plagues us during the worst months of spring.