Road Cycling - Winter approaching

As a new recruite to road cycling this year (for many years anyway) and loved every mile of my 3,000 miles+ travels.

I consider that i have built up a lot of strength in my legs which i would like to retain as much as possible for the following season.

Now.... I will not continue using my expensive road bike when the time comes when the roads are salted, probably from the beginning of November onwards. I will be doing my 3 days 10miles commute and Sunday shopping trip with my faithfull old hybrid.

So am in a bit of a quandry as to the best way of keeping my legs in shape over the winter months.

I have looked at and am considering spinning sestions at the local (relitavely) gym. but looking at the spinning cycles they do not seem to me to simulate road /racing cycling position to well, they are a sit up and beg mtb cycle positon, this also goes for all the purchase for home exercise type trainers.

Another option is the purchase of one of those turbo trainers where you sit your cycle on rollers and then have the advantage of working out on your existing bike but in the dry and salt free environment.

My downside thoughts on one of those is the expense of wearing out ultegra mech`s and i believe they eat up rear tyres quite rapidly.

So any guys/gals advice on which they consider the best will be gratefully accepted

There is no need to stop cycling in winter. Most serious riders have a winter training road bike which can take fenders and wider (28mm) tyres, and is not so precious. Winter trainers are not something you usually find in bike shops, but you can usually pick up a decent one the big UK mail order shops (Freewheel etc). Some people use a fixed wheel singlespeed, some people use multiple gears, but with lower ratios. Winter is definately a time to work on a fast spin.

Winter is the time to be riding long slow distances, to build up an aerobic base. Usually there a couple of weeks in Januray when its a bit icy, but apart from that, it never really too cold to ride.

There is plenty of good winter clothing around, but footwear is a bit harder to find. Most roadies use neoprene overshoes.
This time of year, most magazines run an article on winterizing a bike. My latest CTC magazine has a survey of lighting systems.

Years ago I had the same concerns as you, I bought a mambership to a gym and took spinning classes for the winter. They were a great cardio work out but my legs went to hell, it just wasn't the same as a bike. I purchased rollers and various other trainers and all of them were ok for a workout but lacked the feel of the bike on the road and did a poor job of immulating hills for leg workouts. Three years ago I bought a Cyclops fluid 2+ trainer and built up an old road bike with a 39/53 double up front and an 11/21 rear cassette, I set the bike up dimensionally the same as my other bikes and I leave it in the trainer fuul time, I installed a cyclocomputer that reads the rear wheel. This trainer feels and works you like the road, it's smooth and quiet and has been dependable, set up a fan on low speed about 12 feet in front of you and knock out 1.5 hours on that baby and your legs will burn like never before. For the past three years I've come out of the cellar in the spring noticably stronger than I went in in the fall. Every year I make my first ride a hilly century just to jump start my season. You can increase the resistance by gearing up your bike and stand and hammer on this thing, it really does it's job well. Save your money, if you want an effective trainer the cyclops is it, I figured it out after spending a lot of money on a cellar full of junk (other trainers) and a gym membership that I'm sure helped my heart but wasted my legs. Good luck, If you check with your LBS they may let you try one before you buy.

Oh the pain of it. Yes we don't have the change of seasons here in Ft Lauderdale, we don't make fires (except the grill), we don't salt our roads, we just bike all year. What a blessing it is to be able to ride almost everyday!

Get a cyclocross bike, an "Audax" bike or a used light touring bike.

An Audax bike is made for long, lightly loaded tours done by randonneurs, who are not racing, but doing long metred distances (200 to 1200 km) in a limited timeframe. They are quick frames, yet still have room for slightly larger tires (say 28-32 mm) and fenders. See St. John's Street Cycle (http://sjscycles.com) for an example of Audax bikes.

I'm not sure about your weather patters, but if you rarely have snow, regular summer tires are OK in Winter. They are even OK on black ice, as long as you remember to stay upright on the bike. As such ice riding is a great help for training: you need to spin very regularly, slow down enough to stay upright in curves, etc.

The essential element for wet roads is a set of fenders (mudguards, I think in U.K.), with long mudflaps. They not only keep you free of road grime, but they also keep your bike free of it.

Then, just dress up for the conditions.

Regards,

I definately agree that Cycle Ops makes the best trainer out there. It's quiet and has progressive linear resistance. Mags tend to flatten out at high watt outputs.

The spinervals videos worked for me last winter and kept me entertained. I find that if you aren't motivated to train in the winter, you will get bored of the trainer thing really quick.

We have been lucky in New England the past two years. We've had good cycling weather and my club rode together every weekend last winter.

I saved my money that I would have spent a healthclub and bought a computrainer instead. It definately beats a spin class!

Originally posted by roadtax
Oh the pain of it. Yes we don't have the change of seasons here in Ft Lauderdale, we don't make fires (except the grill), we don't salt our roads, we just bike all year. What a blessing it is to be able to ride almost everyday! True . I love Florida.:beer:

Tru dat.
I can't wait for the frigid 70's of the winter to set in:cool:. Riding is gonna be niiiiceee:thumbup: !!

ChipR

Thanks everyone!

There is some good sound advice, just what i was looking for.

The suggestion that i purchase a cheap or second hand bike, combined with a turbo trainer is an option i had not considered in my post. That is making more sense the more i think about it,
giving me the choice of indoor exercise when the weather is really foul and using it outddoors when the weather relents.

Here in the N.E. England the winters can be ubelievably depressing for weeks at a time....no extremes of cold, but long periods of raw mizzerly dampness that drifts in from the North sea, also our roads are perpetually wet with the constant salt/gritting of the surfaces by the local authority`s, excessivly so most of the time

So as you can imagine, corrosion is very prelivent during our winters.

So... thank you all, i shall start making enquiries regarding the purchase of the suggested combo.

Regards Willi`c

we don't have the change of seasons here in Ft Lauderdale,

You people down south . . . I hate you, I Hate You , I HATE YOU!!!! :mad: :mad: :mad:

There . . .I feal much better.

Sorry for all the yelling.

I get like this in the fall.

Gee, hope the rain doesn't freeze before I get home.

Living in Ft. Lauderdale isn't always easy. Sometimes we have a hard time knowing which sun screen to use.

Originally posted by roadtax
Living in Ft. Lauderdale isn't always easy. Sometimes we have a hard time knowing which sun screen to use.

Instigator:D

Seriously though...

Going at high speed around a corner covered in beach sand can be really hairy, regardless what time of year it is.;)

Well, I'm very happy to live in California where it doesn't get humid, there aren't very many bugs, and you STILL can cycle all year long. I'll take that over Florida any day, thank you very much. :)

yeah I'll have to agree with that.. SoCal is where it's at.. although when I went out last Sunday morning, it was a bit chilly.. probably around 60 or so ;-)

still thinking of getting a trainer myself.. took a spin class last night... great cardio... and the only thing that hurts this morning are my calves... those spin bikes have a weird geometry... my calves cramped up 3 or 4 times during the class.... At least with a trainer I could ride at home at night, since it's too dark now..... just have to convince my wife/financial adviser of this :-)


Jeff

I don't know about the FLA factor. Isn't it just a tad too friggin' hot down there a lot of the time? Seems to me that where I live (northeast) is a pretty great place to bike.

The summers aren't oppresively hot (at least not ALL the time), the terrain is incredibly varied and the scenery can be just breathtaking.

We have to deal with winter? Big deal. If there's no snow on the ground (which there usually isn't) Just dress warm.

Now Since I just started this sport this summer I don't know what it's like to bike in cold weather but it can't be much different then running or even skiing. And cold weather has never bothered me while running in the winter. IN FACT I actually prefer running in cold weather to hot.

You can keep your mundane-weather-never-changes sunshine state, give me rolling scenic vistas and a chill in the air anytime.

Who's with me?

You really have to try winter riding to see that its not difficult.
There is nothing quite on fresh snow in the dead of night. Even my nightly rides through wind and rain are an experience, and a ride along the shore during a winter storm is a blast.

People do stuff outdoors all winter, walking, skiing, climbing, we are quite well adapted to it. Summer riders, wearing summer clothing are not, but its a simple matter to wear winter clothing in winter.

I'm waiting for the rain to end in Atlanta. It seems like it's been raining here for weeks. Actually I think it has been about 4 weeks.
I'll take cooler weather with sunshine any day.
Actually I'll take a 90 degree day. :D

The weatherman is saying the morning lows will be in the 40s next week. I guess that will give me a chance to try out some new cool weather clothing.

All the rain has given me time to try out my brand new Cycle-Ops magneto trainer. Quieter than my old mag trainer.

To save my rear tire, wheel, and rear cassette I had an old Rolf wheel with a "used" Ultegra cassette and put a cheap tire on it. I just swap the rear wheel when riding on the trainer.

Well soupcan, I've been riding in the fr***** cold, wet, slimey, crappy, salty, bike wreckin, foggy, rainy new england weather for years. I don't know why I live here, I would love to ride in the dry, hot, sunny roads of the south with the green scenery to look at all year round. Instead, this weekend I'm going to ride a hilly century in the rain at 50 degrees on roads that are broken up and covered with wet leaves, sounds like fun dosen't it. I must be out of my mind, I should move south and do a flat double century and not have to carry 5 changes of clothes including shoe covers, rain suit, dry jersey and wind jacket, 3 different types of gloves, about 5 tubes for the cracked up roads and cell phone so I can call someone just after I crash due to the wet leaves. Yea, I love it here, great cycling weather, make sure you don't tell too many southern cyclist about this place, it may start to get too crowded around here come december.

Okay, okay. Point taken.

What I was trying to say though was that our weather in the summer combined with the terrain up here would, I think, make for more enjoyable over-all riding.

And for every rainy, snowy, sleeting day we get in the winter we also get sparkling clear, albeit frigidly cold, days as well that I would imagine are perfect riding days as long as the clothing is adequate.

If you are the type of person that just HAS to ride every day no matter what, then I guess you are correct and the south would be your nirvana.

I'm just saying that if one is flexible enough to be able to adjust one's riding schedule to the weather than you could be just as, if not more, content to be a rider in New England as Florida.

Again though, I have not yet ridden through a New England winter. Check back with me in April and let's see how I feel then!

Well soupcan, I'm old and I tend to get cranky in the fall, winter and early spring, I didn't put 10731 miles on my bikes sitting in the living room, so I"m out there in the crap. I think that if you ride through the winter you will have a different opinion of all of this. I do have a bit of advice for ya tough. If ya got one of those fancy expensive bikes, ya might want to pick up an old one for the season, the roads and the salt will will turn a good bike to junk in a heartbeat. You will never get the salt out of every pin, bearing and bolt. I'm speaking from years of experience, Mother nature is a tough old girl, she will beat you and beat you bad, you can't win, she will freeze ya, try to drown ya, blow ya around, wreck your bike and keep ya in the dark as much as possible. But soupcan ya gotta keep ridin the bike, ya gotta show her who's boss. When ya think your ahead she'll get ya in the middle of a ride with a freezing rain and a freshly salted road, Then and only then will you appreciate new england.

Ride the bike (everywhere)

Hey you S.California. florida people.

Would you care to do a winter location swap.
The cash i am going to spend on a trainer and winter trainer bike ,should nicely cover the air fair to your locations.

Winter seems to have set in already here, its 13C, raining and windy. the last few days.

The scenery around here is nice tho` to compensate (when its fine enough to see it).

So come-on you guys do a swap,"please", as my depression is kicking in strongly. Not been out on the bike for 4 days

:crash:

I think if I had to decide between CA and FL, I'd choose CA, although I've never been there. HOwever, I have been to FL and I know I could never handle the oppressively hot sticky summers, gigantic beetles, psychotically senile drivers and the lax gun laws. And CA also has mountain biking galore!


IN the meantime, it's not like it's a choice for me.

At the risk of sounding like a hypocondric (sp).

I must sort out something to get my cycling body parts going again, 5 days now since this rotten weather "holed me up".
My depression is worsening by the day. To make matters worse"Panorama" tonight on t.v. investigates the addictave and side effects of Seroxat.

I take those bloody things.

The "creeps" have they addicted me with their pill popping cure-all.
:mad:

Why are so many people on pills anyways? It seems like every other person I know is on some kind of drug.

Mrfix, winters are tough,but it makes it makes you appreciate spring all that much more.

Originally posted by willic

Here in the N.E. England the winters can be ubelievably depressing for weeks at a time....no extremes of cold, but long periods of raw mizzerly dampness that drifts in from the North sea, also our roads are perpetually wet with the constant salt/gritting of the surfaces by the local authority`s, excessivly so most of the time

I know the feeling. We live in the same kind of weather here. If it weren't for bicycling, the winters would be unbearable.

I used to cross country ski in the evenings before global warming, but there hasn't been enough snow in the parks here to ski, so bicycling takes the place of skiing.

The fun thing about winter bicycling is that it give you a good reason to ride different bikes. I have an old 1964 single speed that I repainted and put Christmas lights on (It gets dark here early in winter, so the lights add safety as well as chuckles). I put on some fat-tire mountain bike tires and use this bike for bashing around in winter.

I'll post a pic of it one of these days. It is a riot.

Originally posted by wabbit
I think if I had to decide between CA and FL, I'd choose CA, although I've never been there. HOwever, I have been to FL and I know I could never handle the oppressively hot sticky summers, gigantic beetles, psychotically senile drivers and the lax gun laws. And CA also has mountain biking galore!


IN the meantime, it's not like it's a choice for me. I always ride with a gun. As I said , I love Florida. Cali's gun laws have hurt , not helped .

Well here it comes..... we are bracing ourselves for a cold front, and as fronts go here in Ft. Lauderdale is severe. It is suppose to be in the mid sixties over night in a day or two. Sounds like a long sleeve'r to me.

brrrrrr...

:D

It is well documented that water freezes in Florida at 67 degrees.
Bring in the pets.:roflmao:

I guess it's that time of year.

Time to get out the sweaters...
stick in the "fireplace" video...
turn the thermostat down to 60...
curl up with a nice blanket and a cup of cocoa...

For the first time, I got up this morning and the temperature was below freezing, celcius. Though, if the past few years are any indication, we will get some fine weather before Christmas!

The last couple days were a bit nice too. Daytime highs of 14-17C

Hey!!

If you Florida/California guys are trying to wind-up us poor northern hemi` people, your sucseeding.

I am already having withdrawl symptoms from this despicable cold weather we are having.

Summer rides are already just something to dream about

In the Great White North, its not officially winter until you can't walk on the sidewalks because the slowplows have push all the street snow onto them. ;)

I miss the sun terribly.......the chill so far doesn't faze me, I've got the right clothing...I have taken to decking out the bike like a Christmas tree, and am buying illumiNITE jacket and long tights......and a light that goes on the helmet......

I have a mountain bike that I am replacing the fork and headset on, and that will be the bad weather beater.

I also still have the fluid CycleOps, and change the rear tyre on the road bike to ride the trainer.

I read in an earlier post that someone replaced the entire wheel. Why? Is the use on the cassette that damaging?

I rode three centuries this past season - I gotta say that I love the challenge, especially on the hilly courses - two centuries were hilly, one was flat.

Next year, I plan on entering a few duathalons, and have been running, but suffer terrible pain in my quads after running.....wonder what's up with that?

OOOOOPPPPS off topic, sorry.

it's almost frozen spit season!!

Willic;

Short of moving to a Mediterranean climate zone (no wonder the Italians are so much into cycling) you might try a cross training mix of cycling and rowing. I have a Concept II rowing machine and a MagTurbo trainer. I spin one day and row the next (always waiting 48hours between each endeavor). This works well for me and I’ve been at it for many years now. Winter cycling, while doable, just isn’t enjoyable enough for me to deal with. Besides short day light hours I find are more limiting than temperature (riding with tunnel vision isn’t my cup of tea). To keep the boredom to a minimum I listen to music with headphones (Never on the road though!)

The Concept II Rowing Machine is quiet, and only requires on a chain lub once every couple of months. I have many hundreds of healthy hours on it and it’s never had a mechanical problem what so ever! (Nice) Many gyms have them so it’s EZ to try before you buy. Rowing is the only aerobic conditioning (that I’m aware of) that strengthens the back: Latissimus dorsi Trapezius and Deltoids. Note: not all rowers are equal, the Concept II is considered the standard in the industry, and I fully agree.

I also do progressive resistance (weight training) for strength conditioning (as directed by my orthopedic) three or four days a week. This program has been the wisest fitness/health investment I’ve ever made! If you’re new to progressive resistance, PLEASE start slowly and getting knowledgeable guidance, otherwise you’ll end up with serious muscle soreness (and probably give it up) thus not realize the magnificent benefits that strength training has to offer. Cheers;

Originally posted by pistolwhipped
True . I love Florida.:beer:
i definitely envy you Bud!!!!!!!, out here is getting cold and you really have to dress warm, I mean were double layer cycling outfit.....

Thanks for all the exellent suggestions!

Faith, "rowing machine" now thats a good idea!
I`m familiar with rowing as in my teenage years i was in the local rowing club, and looking back all those years ago reminds me of the similar muscle structure used in both cycling and rowing (skulling).

I don`t think i can afford the purchase of a home rowing machine, for this winter, i should imagine they are quite expensive?,
But i`m sure the leisure centre gym has rowing type simulators, i shall enquire.

Regards Willi`c

Well the road salt has arrived.

Yesterday! the local authority were out spreading the roads, so as i intended my new road bike is to be layed up till next spring.

This morning i busied myself cleaning the bike for its storage,

A couple of questions to all you knowlegible people.
I have given the chain a good degrease and clean, should i leave it as it is until i use the bike again or, should i lubricate the chain even though it will not be used again for many weeks.
Will the tyres be better stored deflated or left as they are.

Regards Willi`c

Originally posted by willic
Well the road salt has arrived.


Already? why is there such a need for road salt? Where abouts are you (like in northern Cumberland or something)? England's temperatures rarely dip below zero?

Hi Spire!

In reply to your Question, my location is Northumberland, only 20 miles from the Scottish border.

The temp last night was down to -3 , very low for this time of the year. Also England is very much motor vehicle orientated, the least hint of low temp`s forecast and local authority`s feel it is absolutly essential to be prepared or face an immediate rebufe from all motoring orginisations.
Litigations for any unsalted roads where an accident occurs are riffe.
:mad:

Willic,
I didn't realise that it was that cold. If it is getting to -3 each night (and close during the day) than for a motor vehicule based society, salting does seem prudent because with all the drizzle that you get, it could easily freeze into a sheet of ice overnight.

Originally posted by willic
This morning i busied myself cleaning the bike for its storage,

A couple of questions to all you knowlegible people.
I have given the chain a good degrease and clean, should i leave it as it is until i use the bike again or, should i lubricate the chain even though it will not be used again for many weeks.
Will the tyres be better stored deflated or left as they are.

Unless your bike is stored in a dry place with an even temperature, there is the likelyhood of some condensation and rust. Therefore lubricate it just a bit (to protect it), and lubricate it thoroughly next Spring.

Tires: I prefer air at half pressure or more if the bike remains on the floor (to prevent flat spots). If you hang the bike, the pressure could be reduced a bit more. Still, I feel that air is better than no air.

Regards,

Just a small point about storing bikes, I keep my bikes in my wooden shed and I have never had a problem with condensation or rust, it seems the wood absorbs the moisture, but friends who store their bikes in concrete sheds or garages seem to have a big problem with rust.

Maybe if somebody is going to store their bikes in a a brick shed for several months maybe they should consider some form of wooden box, it might help.

Just a thought.

Ouch !

Maybe your wooden shed isn't air tight? That way, it wouldn't be too damp.

Cycler Ops Fluid...change the rear tire (tyre??;) ), and try Spinervals tapes (I have four, one of which came free with the trainer) two interval sessions of 45 minutes per and an hour time trial workout. For real fun, try Carmichael Training Systems "Train Right Climbing" workout. You can get that off his website www.trainright.com. You have to do the test, first, because unlike Spinervals, the effort and gearing is tied to lactate threshold and that's determined by heartrate. So, when the weather is too bad out, I rotate these workouts and use the climbing workout every other session and do this daily. On "off" days, I'll do two sessions with the Spinervals.

The climbing workout is pretty cool because they actually have you set the bike with the wheel block and put a phone book or something else under that to simulate the climbing position. I did it without and with the tilt. Tilting the bike makes a LOT of difference in the muscles that get the most work.

These are all programmed workouts, and vary with strength, cardio-spinning, and tempo programs. I was, on average, over a mile and a half per hour quicker this summer after doing these workouts.

This is typical of the vagaries in British weather, to quote a well known tv comedy line "I don`t believe it".

Two days ago I put my bike up for winter storage, as it was -3/4,cold N.E. wind, roads salted by the council.

Now this morning after a day of heavy rain/sleet, it is downright barmy warm, with a light Southerly wind and spells of sunshine,

So the bike is going to have the chain oiled, tyres inflated and off i shall go, just when i thought that was the end of it for this year.

Crazy or what!!!!!.... :rolleyes:

I have gotten to where I enjoy the cool temperatures of winter, as long as it's dry. Here in the high desert, we actually have all four seasons, with temps below zero for a good part of January. The kicker is the sun; it's actually out more often than not. It's actually great to ride with temps in the 20's (F) and the sun out. If I'm lucky, it'll be wet enough this winter to break out the winter bike, but I've been able to avoid that for the last couple of years. It's all in your head, the cold. Think yourself warm and don't buy a trainer!

ImprezaDrvr;

You’re inference on the “cold” being physiologic is not valid. Hypothermia is a very real and well-documented philological condition! Every pilot qualifying for their FAA rating (all classes, even free balloon) has to have a firm comprehension of its symptoms and marked effects. It’s most dangerous effect is a noticeable deterioration of the ability to think clearly, concentrate and react to changing conditions in the medium and traffic which one is passing through

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation includes an entire section on training riders to recognize the early symptoms of hypothermia and take immediate appropriate actions. Bicyclist are not immune to hypothermia, and need to understand how it can adversely effect their ability to rationally analyze and retain suitable control in the environment in which they operate.

I totally respect your ability to cycle in subfreezing temperatures, however be advised that many individuals do not possess the physical tolerance to endure such exposure for more than a brief period. And yes the grand solar orb gracing a clear sky is indeed a magnificent comfort on a cold day. My visit to your region of the world retains warmhearted memories of the beauty and grandeur of the glorious southwest.

Cheers;