{"id":943297,"date":"2026-10-23T11:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T11:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943297\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T11:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T11:54:12","slug":"the-clocks-are-going-back-this-weekend-are-you-ready-to-start-cycling-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943297\/","title":{"rendered":"The clocks are going back this weekend \u2013 are you ready to start cycling in the dark?"},"content":{"rendered":"

cycling through winter<\/a> in comfort and safety.<\/p>\n

Have a glow up<\/p>\n

First up, if you haven\u2019t already done so, this weekend is the perfect time to locate your bike lights<\/a>, front and back (plus all the cables and paraphernalia that go with them) and make sure they\u2019re fully charged up, and that the fittings and fixtures on the frame of your bike are all still in good nick (and actually correspond with the lights). If you can, go with a couple of combos. When riding roads in winter, you basically can\u2019t have too many lights and reflectors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromCycling Weekly<\/p>\n

Go up a gear<\/p>\n

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\"Reflective\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Rapha)<\/p>\n

Bright and reflective clothing is also highly recommended, of course, but the best winter cycling jackets<\/a> don\u2019t have to make you look like a lollypop lady or road worker, there are plenty of good-looking garments out there with less garish reflective elements that are still highly visible.<\/p>\n

Warmth, breathability and waterproofing<\/a> are obviously key factors to think about as well. Besides an outer jacket<\/a> that will protect you from the elements and help you be seen, go for some decent thermal underlayers<\/a>, invest in some good gloves<\/a> if you haven\u2019t got a pair, and consider a neck tube<\/a> of some sort.<\/p>\n

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Your choice of shoes is critical at this time, too \u2013 riding in the dark is one thing, but cycling with wet and cold feet will make the experience utterly miserable. Cycling shoes<\/a> notoriously let toes get cold, partly because of their rigidity, and while donning warm socks<\/a> and using overshoes<\/a> will help, you can\u2019t beat a proper pair of winter shoes<\/a>, with higher cuffs, increased insulation and breathable waterproof membranes all combining to keep you more comfortable.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re at it, you\u2019re not going to be able to keep all this clobber clean and pristine over the winter, but fitting some mudguards<\/a> to your bike will significantly reduce the amount of filth that gets thrown up on to your clothes and shoes, which means they will last longer and retain their reflective capability better.<\/p>\n

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\"A\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Continental)<\/p>\n

Re tyre early<\/p>\n

No matter what kind of bike you\u2019re riding, the turning of the seasons can be a good prompt to bust out some new rubber, in this case winter tyres<\/a>. Riders on gravel bikes<\/a> will be well aware of the benefit of extra traction during the winter, but when you\u2019re cycling a hybrid commuter<\/a> or road bike \u2013 or an e-bike<\/a> for that matter \u2013 some fresh tread can make a big difference to your confidence on increasingly mucky and slippery road surfaces. In diminishing light staying the right way up is all the more important, too, with other road users\u2019 visibility and reaction times also being impacted by low light.<\/p>\n

Puddles and darkness combine to conceal all sorts of puncture threats, on roads and trails, and even the best tyres<\/a> can only offer so much protection, so be sure to keep new tubes<\/a> and tools<\/a> in your biking backpack<\/a> or frame bags<\/a>. Or, of course, you could consider going tubeless<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter This weekend, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-943297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}