winter training...what do you do?

Hi everybody!
First of all I want to say something to people who are skeptical about home training. Why do you hate this kind of riding? Well, I absolutely agree that it's not comparable with riding outside!of course! However, doing rollin has his benefits. In fact, home training allows you to control every moment your heart rate, and this is a very important point as all serious cyclists know, also you can do a great work of intervals.
I have to say that I'm not an enthusiast of training home, I prefer going out, it's much better, more natural... But in my case, from Monday to Friday, this season of the year doesn't allow me to going out cycling due to my timetable, as I mentioned the other day, so I found training with my fluid training machine a great way to mantain my level or may be to try to improve it, too. And with a 2 hours session you can achieve a very good training.

I seized the oportunity to say that I'm using the Elite fluid model of roller, and thats incredible. very very great 😉

CAMPYBOB said:

when the temperatures drop to freezing, what do you do? (please...no california/arizona/florida responses. i just might have to buy a winter home there to stay warm!)

changing a flat tubular can be a challenge when your hands are so cold they have no feeling!

I like to put a tape in and ride my wattage trainer. I train with a friend inside and we motivate each other.
I have different workouts I do on different days. On long days I set my wattage and play poker on the internet. 🙂
If its not too bad , I go on my cyclo cross bike outside on the limestone trails around home.
It will be warm soon!!! 😎

[quote="frenchyge"]I think forcing yourself to ride when/how you don't want to is what builds discipline. but then at the end of the post they close with something like "it's fun." If it's fun for you, then how does it make you tough?

when it's over and you did it. that feeling of satisfaction....makes it seem like it was fun.
I am so terribly grumpy just before an indoor workout when I know its going to be hard.

I live in the northeast and its getting harder and harder to ride outside. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. On my days off I still ride outside but other than that I am inside on the trainer. Last year I had 4-5 spinerval videos I was doing 3 times a week at the beginning. After a while I had dropped to once a week and there was about a 2 week stretch where I didn't do anything but snowboard. There were many times I would bail on the workout half way through.

This year I got a taste of racing. Did ok but obviuosly would like to do much better. I never really thought too much of this base type training but the more I read the more it makes sense to me. So I have 3 of the aero base videos. This may or may not be a good way to develop this aerobic base most coaches and experts preach but its the way I'm going. Prior to doing this the longest I ever spent on the bike inside was 55 minutes, and that seemed like 3 hours to me. These aero series last about 1 hour 25 minutes. whenever I feel the urge to just bail on the workout I think of the upcoming racing season and that keeps me on the bike. So I guess having something to work for is what keeps me on the bike inside as opposed to just doing it to not lose fitness. I just ordered aero 5 which is 2 hours in length. We'll see how that goes this week when it comes in.

I don't know what the big deal is about using an indoor trainer. I doubt I have more dicipline than any of you.

Last Winter I did 3 hour training session every other week and one or two 2 hour sessions every week plus shorter days. In fact, during July when it was so hot and humid outside I brought the bike back inside so I could ride in air conditioned comfort with a large box fan blowing across me whille watching the TdF on on The Lance Channel (also occasionally referred to as OLN). Was doing four 2 hour steady state sessions four days in a row at 75% Max HR with three recovery days for much of July. In the first two weeks of August I set new personal bests in the 30 & 60 minute Time Trials.

Trainer time is VERY efficient. Doing a couple of hours at 75% Max HR on the trainer is much more effective than doing it outdoors when you can coast. Also, you can focus on the work instead of having to deal with stop lights, pot holes, dogs, bratty neighborhood kids, walkers & joggers (often the worst as they will suddenly jut right out in front of you with no warning!), obese soccer moms on cell phones, Bubba driving rusted out pickup on way home from tavern, pretentious snob driving BMW while on cell phone, urban chap with subwoofer blasting hip hop at 120 decibels, etc., etc.

I just move to Australia for the winter 🙂

Okay, well, I wish!

Here in Portland, we don't get snow, but it does rain constantly in the winter and gets dark early. Like others have said, I don't mind the trainer. Sucks compared to riding outside wtih your friends, but I take it pretty easy until February anyway.

I also run a lot more in the winter. Lately I've been doing a five mile run over lunch. Keeps the cardio capacity up, at least.

[quote="N_laplaca"]I live in the northeast and its getting harder and harder to ride outside. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. On my days off I still ride outside but other than that I am inside on the trainer. Last year I had 4-5 spinerval videos I was doing 3 times a week at the beginning. After a while I had dropped to once a week and there was about a 2 week stretch where I didn't do anything but snowboard. There were many times I would bail on the workout half way through.



I am renting the entire '24' television series which is very exciting to watch. I find if I only watch movies when I am riding then I look forward to getting on my trainer for the 'long' rides.

N_laplaca said:

I live in the northeast There were many times I would bail on the workout half way through.
.

Don't spend the winter 'training yourself to quit'. 🙂

I do a bit of indoor time on the trainer and a bit of time outside (am in MN). Outside I ride a MTB bike with studded tires (recommended for ice!!). The cold doesn't bother me. I stay off the road if it is too windy (my preference).

Training indoors is actually better for me I never miss a workout and never forget to stretch afterwards measuring my progress and controlling intensity is easier there are no traffic hazards. Diversion on the trainer is important movies are good for long rides. But it is still mid November by February I will be a few fries short of a happy meal and ready for the open road.

wiredued said:

Training indoors is actually better for me I never miss a workout and never forget to stretch afterwards measuring my progress and controlling intensity is easier there are no traffic hazards. Diversion on the trainer is important movies are good for long rides. But it is still mid November by February I will be a few fries short of a happy meal and ready for the open road.

winter's here are long ... pretty cold, wet and windy. Daily highs in Jan/Feb are about -2C but drop to -15/20C at night. This equals constantly melting snow, black ice on the roads .. combine that with no shoulders plowed ... salt spray, wind -> lousy conditions.

Well, call me a wimp but I generally get out only once a month (Sat/Sun) when the temp pops over 0C and there's isn't a pile of fresh snow on the shoulders. I'll then shoot for 4-5 hrs at a steady-pace.

The bulk of my training is on my trusty CT .. purchased in fall 2002 for winter training and for power feedback. Last winter I averaged 5.5 days and about 10 hrs/week (at least one day off and sometimes two). I'd highly recommend it for either basic mag-trainer workouts, controlled ergometer workouts or 'fun' simulated courses in 3D (when connected to a computer). Best training $$ I've ever spent and it's going strong after three winters. I'm sure I'd have burnt out at least two mag-trainers in that time 😉

My normal in-season volume is 15-18 hours/wk so I average about 60% of that during the winter with a focus on building threshold power (5-8% gains the past few years). In fact, I find the focused training so effective that I struggle to even maintain my spring threshold power over the season. Some may not call it tough but sitting in ergo mode at or slightly above FT for an hour or sitting at (for me) 107%FT for 20min intervals definitely isn't fun. It IS effective and IMHO more so than trying to stay upright, avoiding traffic and hypothermia on icy roads.

That being said, I suffer from cabin fever by March so if anyone has a cheap warm training camp to offer ..... 😉

Rick

"Well, call me a wimp but I generally get out only once a month (Sat/Sun) when the temp pops over 0C and there's isn't a pile of fresh snow on the shoulders. I'll then shoot for 4-5 hrs at a steady-pace."

I just drag myself out however cold it may be. The only exception is snow. Winter training ain't comfortable but necessary I guess.

rmur17 said:

winter's here are long ... pretty cold, wet and windy. Daily highs in Jan/Feb are about -2C but drop to -15/20C at night. This equals constantly melting snow, black ice on the roads .. combine that with no shoulders plowed ... salt spray, wind -> lousy conditions.

Well, call me a wimp but I generally get out only once a month (Sat/Sun) when the temp pops over 0C and there's isn't a pile of fresh snow on the shoulders. I'll then shoot for 4-5 hrs at a steady-pace.

The bulk of my training is on my trusty CT .. purchased in fall 2002 for winter training and for power feedback. Last winter I averaged 5.5 days and about 10 hrs/week (at least one day off and sometimes two). I'd highly recommend it for either basic mag-trainer workouts, controlled ergometer workouts or 'fun' simulated courses in 3D (when connected to a computer). Best training $$ I've ever spent and it's going strong after three winters. I'm sure I'd have burnt out at least two mag-trainers in that time 😉

My normal in-season volume is 15-18 hours/wk so I average about 60% of that during the winter with a focus on building threshold power (5-8% gains the past few years). In fact, I find the focused training so effective that I struggle to even maintain my spring threshold power over the season. Some may not call it tough but sitting in ergo mode at or slightly above FT for an hour or sitting at (for me) 107%FT for 20min intervals definitely isn't fun. It IS effective and IMHO more so than trying to stay upright, avoiding traffic and hypothermia on icy roads.

That being said, I suffer from cabin fever by March so if anyone has a cheap warm training camp to offer ..... 😉

Rick

I live in the northeast and its getting harder and harder to ride outside. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.

i hear ya!

the mercury fell out the bottom yesterday. it is 26° f and the wind is steady at 15 mph.

the snow belt near lake erie got 10" today! we just got a dusting.

balaclava...check
neoprene shoe covers...check
wool tights to wear under the lycra tights...check
wool gloves to wear under mits...check

CAMPYBOB said:

I live in the northeast and its getting harder and harder to ride outside. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.

i hear ya!

the mercury fell out the bottom yesterday. it is 26° f and the wind is steady at 15 mph.

the snow belt near lake erie got 10" today! we just got a dusting.

balaclava...check
neoprene shoe covers...check
wool tights to wear under the lycra tights...check
wool gloves to wear under mits...check

Here in Northern italy (near Mortirolo and Gavia where I live) it was a mild winter so far, but in these days min. temps are around 5-0°C.
This year training winter preparation works around cycling+running.
Cycling: easy peace, 90-100 rpm, 1h30-2h, 75-80% anaerobic threshold.
Running: only on very step uphills (mountain paths) with increasing distances, 90-95% anaerobic threshold.
So no rollers or trainers, if the wheater is bad, I bring my MTB for a free ride.
As a trainer I'm sure the best running exercise fo a cyclist are uphill (no big impacts, optimal angles, easy to reach high HR and control them with a cardio based plan).
PS sorry for bad English.

Here in Northern italy (near Mortirolo and Gavia where I live🙂 ) it was a mild winter so far, but in these days min. temps are going around 5-0°C.
This year training winter preparation works around cycling+running.
Cycling: easy peace, 90-100 rpm, 1h30-2h, 75-80% anaerobic threshold.
Running: only on very steep uphills (mountain paths), increasing distances, 90-95% anaerobic threshold.
So neither rollers or trainers nor weigth lifting.
If the wheater is bad, I'll bring my MTB for a free ride.
As a trainer I'm sure the best running exercise fo a cyclist are uphill (no big impacts, optimal angles, easy to reach high HR and control them with a cardio based plan).

PS sorry for bad English:o .

rob81,

your english is fine!

many years ago i climbed the gavia pass on a touring bike (a holdsworthy i bought in london) loaded with 45 pounds (20 kilos) of gear. of course, that was summer weather in italy at its' finest!

with a name like 'campybob' how could i not cycle the length of italy?! you have a spectacular country to pedal thru, rob.

this afternoon's ride was, again, just a short 12-mile sprint before darkness. the last three days have been beautiful! 50°f each day and sunny. tonight the weather report calls for the inevitable...freezing rain and snow.

happy thanksgiving to all!

xc-skiing and running, indoor trainer training and free rollers too, outdoor cycling if not too cold (colder than 14F if windy) or too wet/warm for skiing.

woodchuck said:

I do a bit of indoor time on the trainer and a bit of time outside (am in MN). Outside I ride a MTB bike with studded tires (recommended for ice!!). The cold doesn't bother me. I stay off the road if it is too windy (my preference).

How good are those studded tires on tarmac / pavements ?
What about this practice of deflating the tires .. does that really help ?
Can you concentrate on HR x Time when you've got to be extra carefull?
Is offroad riding when roads are icy likely to be any better ?
I think there's some offroad trails near the office (outskirts of the city) that could make for a lunch hour ride.

We've a rare bad winter kicking in here, it's getting frosty with the occasional ice patch. Having had a nasty fall in the past i'm apprehensive about cycling in such conditions.

I'm managing to get indoor trainer / gym stationary bike sessions in, 2 good weeks so far but I'm also tempted by the idea of getting a mountainbike.. the idea of no 'real' cycling for several months is a bit grim.

I do upperbody weight training too, another option to combat indoor boredom that I've used in the past is curcuit training. Not sure what that does / doesn't acheive in a cycling specific context though.. suits my goals however.

what i love about my indoor trainer is that i just keep my bike on it, in my living room. instead of having conversations with my fiance on the couch or in the kitchen or at the computer, i sit on my bike and even if its just pedalling... i love having the ability to get on my bike whenever i want! 🙂

When I ride in the winter I've never used studded tires.
If it's really snowy on the ground I'll let a bit of air out for more tread contact.

When I was a messenger in Montreal I rode a tioga framer john with a big cevron, then I'd reverse the direction as advised on the tire causing a big shovel pattern for grabbing.

For full on ice racing here tires are screwed with upwards of 1000 screws from the inside out. Then the tips dremelled to cut down the length of the protruding metal. The trick is in the sealing of the inside of the tire so it can be inflated. Many different techniques exist. This is one of the messengers races around here and in Montreal, and can be quite a thrill carving on the ice.