The sky is gray and possibly turgid. Orange and yellow leaves are drifting down in dozens with every movement of the air. For most folks, bicycling season is ending or ended, but not for me. I’ve decided that I’m going to be one of those crazy dudes who rides through the winter, or at least I’m going to try. In previous bicycling seasons, I’ve always stopped soon after it becomes unpleasant in shorts and a t-shirt because that’s when the exuberant, limitless, immortal feeling ends. But not this year. And largely, I credit DC traffic or, more particularly, unblinking DC traffic light timers with motivating me to keep riding.

As I am discovering, this endeavor requires some planning and a heavy outlay of cash. Though this may change once winter arrives, the problem at this point is the coldness of the wind that hits you when you’re riding at 15 or 20 mph. Even on days when you might set out on foot in a flannel and a light jacket, the wind blows right through the flannel as soon as you start pedaling. If you ride far enough and fast enough, you start sweating, and that cold wind becomes much colder.

The problem is that I’ve always inwardly scoffed at fashion cyclists and all their ridiculous cycling fashion—the little shoes ($100+) that clip into the pedals ($100+), the form-fitting jerseys ($40–$200), the padded shorts ($95), the vented racing helmets ($150), and so on. In the summer, I ride in cotton shorts and brightly colored sleeveless t-shirts I ordered online from some guy in Miami for $3 each. But now I’m suddenly seeing the benefit of the heavy-R&D synthetic fabrics that wick moisture and form a cushion of warm air to insulate your extremities.

They actually do work, at least from what I can tell in my limited experimentation thus far with the discount models I’ve hunted down in post-season sales and slashed-price websites. When wearing the Nashbar Lightweight Glove ($14), my fingers stay un-numb much longer than they would otherwise. My fluorescent yellow Novara windbreaker ($19 on clearance at REI due to a minor zipper defect) with velcro neck flaps and wrist wraps really is windproof, and has the added advantage of keeping my backpack from turning into a wet tea bag of rank, fermenting, sweat-stewed nastiness. My Thermolite Adrenaline Beanie ($7) sits under the helmet and keeps my head warm. These accoutrements have seen me through the autumn.

And now with shortening days, lighting becomes an issue. In most areas of the city, streetlights make a headlight unnecessary. But, as I have discovered by trial and error, there is no route through Rock Creek Park—a national park that runs north-south like a fat vein through the middle of DC—that is both illuminated and safe for cyclists. Military Road is well-lit, but is high speed and has neither bike lane nor sidewalk. So heading home from work requires pedaling through wilderness-black stretches of woods so dark you cannot imagine you’re actually in the middle of a city, illuminated only by a little blinky LED light ($19), enough to be seen but not to see upcoming obstacles such as gaping potholes or ten-point bucks. So this morning I found myself researching various halogen lights ($75–$350) with rechargeable battery packs shaped like a water bottle to fit in the frame-mounted cage ($3.50) I already have.

And so you see the pattern . . . . If you plan to be a year-round cyclist, you begin accumulating riding gear and accessories appropriate to each season, and the cost begins to add up, even if you buy everything in the wrong season when it’s on clearance sale. Soon, all that money you’ve been saving on gas starts getting funneled directly into bicycle accessories, even though it pains you deep in your soul that you might be mistaken for one of those annoying fashion cyclists who dons hundreds of dollars in spandex and lycra to ride to the grocery store on Saturday morning.

And, summer now over, it makes sense to present the results of the summer’s foray into bicycle fitness. You may laugh, as you consider how much effort and anality it must take to keep such diligent records. But one must remember that data analysis is not merely a job, it is a way of life.