Sunrise, Sunset

I'm in the cycling season wind-down funk. The shortening daylight makes it ever harder to fit a ride in either in the morning or after work. At this time of year I actually do better in the evening. I rode last Saturday at the normal morning time because Grandma and Grandpa were in town. I felt like lead and only managed slightly under 19 MPH average. I've often wondered if the change in seasons and temperatures affects me more than it affects other people. I think it contributes to the fact that I'm faster in June, July, August and even into September, and then start slowing after that, even if I'm still riding fairly often.

I think there is a facet of Meteorology that I would find fascinating, that having to do with the shifting daylight patterns and seasons throughout the year. I started riding regularly on 19 April this year. On that day the sunrise was at 6:43am. The temperatures were still quite cool. The earliest sunrise was around 15 June. And, 21 August found the sun rising at about the same time in the morning as it was on 19 April. But, the early morning temperatures in August were lots nicer than April because of the lingering radiant heat from summer.

With the nicer conditions in the evening now, I could still be riding after work on some days. I may need to get a light though because it gets dark rather early.

Some totals so far from this year's riding:
From 28 June through 5 August in 16 solo rides, I averaged 20.08 MPH over 442.54 miles.
I climbed about 51,000 feet of altitude (which is really nothing because I avoid hills religiously.)
I burned about 133,000 calories riding. That's 886 Twinkies or 83 pounds worth.
Even with a very marked slow down in the colder months, I will probably easily finish the year having ridden every third day on average.