Davide la Locomotive

Grey skies, damp roads, Woolie Boolies — waiting for the light to come back.

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Summer is ending. Winter is coming.

I hate winter. I really, really hate it.

Summer’s fading. The skies are still light, but on the horizon, dark clouds gather. You know what they mean. They’re slow, patient, unstoppable. They’ll be here soon.

On the bike, you feel it too. The days are shorter, the roads colder, the air heavier. You keep riding, but the clouds creep closer. There’s nothing you can do. It’s a slow slide toward darkness.

Soon the clocks will change, and evening rides will vanish.

Make no mistake: winter is on its way. It’s going to last six months, and it’s going to suck.

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Summer is special. Blue skies, dry roads, endless freedom. Holidays with epic rides through mountain passes under electric skies. Roads explored, routes completed, and still more waiting.

But it’s all over now.

The summer bike gets packed away. Out comes the drab winter kit.

Blue skies fade to grey.
Dark clouds are on the way.

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In winter you don’t need to check the weather — it’s always bad.

Everything is damp and cold. The whole world is tinted grey: sky, road, even mood. Roads never fully dry, a thin paste of mud waiting to coat you and your bike in filth.

To ride, you layer up like the Michelin Man. Every pedal stroke feels heavy and slow. The damp works its way into your bones. In the depth of winter the sun barely rises before it sets again.

The wind blows mostly in your face.
The rain falls mostly on your head.

And it feels like it will never end.

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But winter isn’t just random misery. It’s the price we pay for summer.

All those long, dark nights in December buy us the endless evenings of June. The seasons aren’t enemies; they’re a balance. You can’t have one without the other.

Nature doesn’t just tolerate winter — it relies on it. Plants need the reset. Ecosystems rebalance. Without winter, there’s no spring.

And maybe we’re not so different. We can’t ride hard all year. Winter forces us to slow down, recover, take stock, rebuild.

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Still, even though winter is miserable and I hate it, that doesn’t mean cycling in winter has to be. Over the years I’ve found a few things that make it bearable:

• Woolie Boolie socks
• A good base layer
• Mudguards
• Riding with friends who share the suffering
• Indoor rides that save time, even if they’re boring

Little things that make the big dark feel smaller.

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And here’s the thing: the reality isn’t as bad as the expectation.

Winter has milestones. The shortest day. The first evening you finish work and it’s still light. The first ride after work, outside.

By late February, everything shifts. Days stretch longer, plants stir awake, colour seeps back into the sky.

Storms feel endless when you’re inside them. Cold, grey, and wet enough that you can’t imagine they’ll ever pass.

But just as the clouds rolled in, they roll out again. Slowly at first, then all at once.

The light returns. The blue skies shine. Roads dry. The sun warms your back. The smell of spring in the air.

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Summer is ending. Winter is coming.
But winter will end.
And summer will come again.

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