Warming up before beginning a ride is something to which I\’ve never given much thought. As a rule, I ride easily in a low gear for the first mile and call that my \”warm-up\”.

It\’s easy for me to think I don\’t need much, if any, warming up. I don\’t go out there and immediately begin blasting away at 20+ mph! And in hot weather, the idea of working up a sweat before I even get outside isn\’t appealing.

When the weather is cold, once I step away from my electric heater I want to keep my arms huddled next to my body. It\’s hard to \”open up\” and do warm-up exercises, even though the point of such moves would be to warm me up!

But should I do more? Such as this routine? At the very least, ought I to spend a few minutes doing some hamstring and quad stretches? I could take a tip from this kitty when it comes to stretching!

Warming up is an individual thing, I suppose, that we learn as we go. How much warming up is needed? Do I need more of it before a ride that will include very hard efforts? Do I really need more of a warm-up on cold days? Do older riders need more of it than young riders?

Do embrocation creams really help? I haven\’t tried any so far. My worry about them is that they\’ll be too \”fragrant\” for my tolerance. I don\’t want to have to go riding with a clothespin on my nose.