Winter training.

pedalfaster12 said:

Problem is, I'm not sure how best to accomplish this. When it gets cold and starts getting dark earlier, it will be hard to keep the miles coming at the same pace if not impossible. I'm thinking of trying to ride once or twice a week during the winter, plus either swimming or running and a little bit of weights.

I train on the road throughout the whole of winter & it only becomes impossible when the snow starts to lay, which doesn't necessarily happen where I live. Although ice patches can keep me on edge at times, but not off the road.

Just make sure you wrap up warm & when darkness falls, use lights & wear high visibility reflective clothing, stickers etc.

There are also mental benefits to training throughout winter on the road & exposed to the elements.

Cross training certainly brings increased benefits IMO.

oh yeah, Its definitely possible with the right gear. I have however gone on 30+ mile rides in summer gear in 36 degree weather - never again. I think its important to cross train a bit too, reason 1) the pros do it, reason 2) you have muscles other than those you use for cycling, and they still need exercise.

Chapeau! said:

I train on the road throughout the whole of winter & it only becomes impossible when the snow starts to lay, which doesn't necessarily happen where I live. Although ice patches can keep me on edge at times, but not off the road.

Just make sure you wrap up warm & when darkness falls, use lights & wear high visibility reflective clothing, stickers etc.

I agree and disagree with this at the same time.

I ride through the winter too, but not on the road once there's any chance of ice. Seen and heard about too many crashes (almost always resulting in bad injuries including the usual wrists and collarbones, but also some fractured hips and pelvises) to risk it, frankly! So when it turns really cold and icy/snowy, I switch to my cyclocross bike and do some good off-road riding. Much warmer (slower speeds, less windchill), less injury risk if you crash, no cars to contend with. I also race cross which imo is the ultimate winter threshold training! And tons of fun too.

You can of course also get an indoor trainer and hook your bike up to that. Boring and mindless at times, but can be made more interesting by good interval sessions and stuff like the Sufferfest (google it). Also you can ride in the dark indoors on a trainer and get quite a bit of training out of an hour or less.

It's not the miles you ride or the outdoor speed you're doing that matters, it's the effort you're putting in. Keeping that in mind, there's tons of good training to be had in the winter without risking silly accidents, frostbite, and miserable conditions.

smaryka said:

I agree and disagree with this at the same time.

I ride through the winter too, but not on the road once there's any chance of ice. Seen and heard about too many crashes (almost always resulting in bad injuries including the usual wrists and collarbones, but also some fractured hips and pelvises) to risk it, frankly! So when it turns really cold and icy/snowy, I switch to my cyclocross bike and do some good off-road riding. Much warmer (slower speeds, less windchill), less injury risk if you crash, no cars to contend with. I also race cross which imo is the ultimate winter threshold training! And tons of fun too.

You can of course also get an indoor trainer and hook your bike up to that. Boring and mindless at times, but can be made more interesting by good interval sessions and stuff like the Sufferfest (google it). Also you can ride in the dark indoors on a trainer and get quite a bit of training out of an hour or less.

It's not the miles you ride or the outdoor speed you're doing that matters, it's the effort you're putting in. Keeping that in mind, there's tons of good training to be had in the winter without risking silly accidents, frostbite, and miserable conditions.

I'm in a Cycling Road Club and we continue riding through out the winter, it only tends to be on the weekends as it's to dark in the evenings but we aim to get between 60-80 miles in on a Saturday and Sunday so keeps the mileage reasonable.

The other thing that quite a few of us have done one or two evenings a week is spin class, some of the guys even take their own shoes and pedals and put on the bikes. We draw a few funny looks from people as we all seem to be sweating and suffering far more than all the other people there, but I do think thats because we work very hard. It is hard work but a good intensive 45 Minutes.

Ok I think whenever someone posts that "Oh yea it's nothing, I ride through the whole winter, no prob." they should also post where they live.

I'm in northern NE, and maybe it's just me but my freezing/salty/sandy/icy/snowed-in winters I save for some lovely and always so pleasant trainer sessions. 😄

gman0482 said:

Ok I think whenever someone posts that "Oh yea it's nothing, I ride through the whole winter, no prob." they should also post where they live.

I'm in northern NE, and maybe it's just me but my freezing/salty/sandy/icy/snowed-in winters I save for some lovely and always so pleasant trainer sessions. 😄

Lol, that is a fair point. I live near Bath in the South West of England and although I say we ride right through out the winter it can get very icy at times which is obviously very dangerous and we have had to miss the odd day. I did come down twice on the ice last year and so did a number of my friends so we are very careful and I would say brave but think daft is more accurate.

gman0482 said:

I'm in northern NE, and maybe it's just me but my freezing/salty/sandy/icy/snowed-in winters I save for some lovely and always so pleasant trainer sessions. 😄

Have you ever thought about relocating to CA? & moving away from dull as dish water NE?.

gman0482 said:

Ok I think whenever someone posts that "Oh yea it's nothing, I ride through the whole winter, no prob." they should also post where they live.

I'm in northern NE, and maybe it's just me but my freezing/salty/sandy/icy/snowed-in winters I save for some lovely and always so pleasant trainer sessions. 😄

I'm in SW London (England) and like I said, the moment there's ice on the road I will not be there -- I'll be off-road or on the trainer. The last two winters here we've had a few weeks of snowy/icy weather, but usually the temps are well above freezing so we do get out on the roads quite a bit in that case. There are some fanatics in my club who will ride on the road no matter what but I just don't see the sense in that. More than egos will be bruised if you go down on black ice!

Living in Chicago, most of the winter months are spent indoors on a trainer. If the temps go above freezing, we will ride on the road, but that only happens once a month, at most, December-March. However, indoor trainer sessions are not all that bad. We use computrainers so we can train with power, and we train as a team, so we aren't suffering alone in our living rooms. We do a really nice periodized training plan through the winter that starts with on-the-bike strength training, moves on to threshold work, and starts to transition to VO2 max work just as we are starting to get outside. Throughout the winter, we also incorporate a lot of endurance miles to maintain our base. These can be especially brutal indoors, but done with company and a good movie, are do-able.

Basically, my philosophy is that I would rather suffer on the trainer all winter than start the spring, and the racing season, from minimal fitness - that would be way more painful!!!!!

I live in New England and ride out doors as much as possible during the winter. We usually have about a six week period where it is impossible to do so. I keep a good eye out on the road conditions while driving back and forth to work. Whenever it is safe for me to ride I head out. I have just purchased a mountain bike which I am planning on riding during the winter on the trails when they are not covered with snow. Cycling outdoors is a source of pleasure for me. I do not enjoy riding on my trainer and do it only to maintain my fitness. 😄

Chapeau! said:

Have you ever thought about relocating to CA? & moving away from dull as dish water NE?.

It would be nice, but my job is really nice and good $ here, and in this day & age I wouldn't want to jeopardize that.

CalicoCat said:

Basically, my philosophy is that I would rather suffer on the trainer all winter than start the spring, and the racing season, from minimal fitness - that would be way more painful!!!!!

Exactly !! +1 on that philosophy. I take it one step further and try to not only keep my form, but kill myself to a point where I hopefully improve (power mostly).

davereo said:

I live in New England and ride out doors as much as possible during the winter.

Yea me too, but as soon as it comes to a point where I feel like I'm not getting at least 80% of a quality productive ride, I jump on my trainer for some focused, controlled training. I'm already preparing my winter weekly training log, lol.

thanks for the tips. I'm going to plan on riding at least twice a week, hopefully three times, and throw in some running and weihts for cross-training. My university (Middle tennessee State) also offers spin classes. Though like you said, any real cyclist will be working alot harder and suffering more than anyone else in there, should be interesting.
With arm warmers, leg warmers, and shoe covers, cycling year round should be pretty easy to accomplish around here if you can ride early in the day.