DnvrFox

Walking a lot

I keep looking at my trainer in the basement, and then at the walking trails in the area, and the trails are winning.

Right now there is a sheet of snow and/or ice over just about everything, and the lows at night have been about 12F.

I have no desire at 68yo to break something skidding on the ice, nor do I enjoy it in any way. So, I have been walking 3-4 miles daily, starting at 6:30 am, seeing deer and coyotes and very much enjoying myself. I can walk fine without fear of falling, and I can walk in just about any kind of weather - snow, near blizzard, etc.

I don't mind riding down to about 40F with cleared streets or trails, but I just don't enjoy the snow riding and the ice riding.

To me it is about 2 things:

1. The exercise;

2. Relaxing and enjoying myself.

The trainer just does not satisfy the "enjoyment" criterion.

Anyone else?

maddmaxx 

Rode the trainer yesterday. Every day I'm on it makes it harder to go back.

Walking the trails this time of year is hard on the knees though.

Trainer...knees...trainer...knees? Wonder if the CIA could use trainers instead of waterboarding?

DnvrFox

I walk mostly on "soft" trails - dirt or snow, not cement. Agreed, the cement is hard on the knees (and hips). I avoid it like the plague.

bcoppola

I'm trying to ride the trainer a half hour every other day. It ain't easy. IMHO, it's good for one thing: to keep the 'biking legs' from going totally to mush so I won't get dropped on early season club rides.

On Saturdays I go on hikes with a club on the MTB/hiking trails at Stoney Creek metropark. Two hours on those hilly trails at a brisk pace gets the heart and lungs pumping!

maddmaxx 

Its winter.....the dirt is cement....and unlike you we haven't had snow yet just ice.

There will in all likely be more time on the trainer. The only advantage to the trainer is that this is the time of year that I try different saddles, or angles or reaches......ride a little....adjust a little...take notes on what seems to work so that it can be tried for real on spring rides. (trainer adjustments do not always point to real world adjustments)

Pamestique 

This time of year I do alot of walking. Yesterday it rained in the morning and the wind came up so I did a nice hike around for 3 hours instead of riding. Probably not as intensive of exercise as a ride but exercise nonetheless and you get to see and hear more. And during the week, not being a fan of night riding, I walk. Denver like you, I rather be safe than sorry. 'Sides its a chance to work out some other muscles!

Longfemur

Where I live, I only need to look down from my bedroom window just about anytime to see local bike messengers and assorted other stalwarts riding by on a bike in -15 deg Celsius weather, even in a snowstorm. Me, I ride down to about 7-8 deg Celsius, but I don't find much pleasure in riding like that, to be honest. Last time I did was on Nov. 16, and I'm sure it contributed to the cold I developed a few days later. Below that, the bike stays inside.

Ideally, I would love to have rollers and a second road bike for it. But I don't, and so I walk instead. There's no way, in my opinion, that walking at any speed during winter is a substitute for riding in terms of exercise value, but I think it's good enough to keep me reasonably fit so I can start over in the spring. Walking in winter is kind of risky in terms of the potential for nasty, bone-breaking falls -- no matter how careful you walk. I'll probably end up just buying a cheap, big box store exercycle for the winter, just to keep in shape.

Beverly

If the roads are clear and it's above 25F I'll be out on the bike most weekends.

Walking can be more dangerous than riding in my neighborhood. They clear the streets but the sidewalks often remain covered with ice and snow. The nearby park has paved trails but it's quite hilly and the paved trails aren't cleared. There are plenty of places to slide off into the river or lakes.

Indoors I find myself using the treadmill or weights before jumping on the trainer.

maddmaxx 

Indoors I find myself using the treadmill It turns out that there is something I hate more than the trainer. On a treadmill I can be bored to death and wreck my knees at the same time.

John E

As much as I love cycling, for safety reasons I am so selective about weather conditions, time of day, and route that I end up spending almost as much time walking, hiking, or jogging as I do cycling. Either way, it is great to be outdoors and great to be exercising.

I also do a fair amount of mixed mode commuting, such as riding in a bus or a coworker's car to the coast and then walking or jogging home along old coast highway 101. (I know, life's tough. )

DnvrFox

My experience is that this is the order of trail hardness around here:

1. Cement - absolutely no give.

2. Asphalt (tarmac?) - enough ridges, depressions, etc., to have some "give." I (and my hip) can very much tell the difference between cement and asphalt.

3. Our dirt trails are horsepaths which follow along the cement paths, and are filled with depressions, ridges, etc., which is great exercise for your ankle muscles as they adjust to those depressions and ridges, and there is a lot of "give."

4. Along many of our trails is grass or wild low growth. I almost always walk on that, instead of the cement.

5. Somewhere in there is fresh snow/older snow, which can vary a lot. I have wide open fields I can walk in to avoid the ice ruts caused by snowplows, etc., if needed.

Tom Bombadil

I love walks too. Love to take one right now if I could find a path that wasn't ice covered. As to hardness, I agree that I like dirt and chip paths much better than concrete. But if you have a well-padded shoe, it does help a lot. I need some additional arch support, so I use Spenco padded arch supports over top the regular insoles. The combo makes for quite a bit of give in the sole. I can step on small rocks and not feel them. A good, padded modern walking shoe is sure a lot easier on the knees than what was out there 20 years ago.

stapfam

Have to admit that I do not fancy the idea of a trainer. I get bored after 10 minutes down at the Gym so the idea of riding one at home most definitely does not appeal to me. I also do not do walking. Old knee injury means that walking for any distance of more than 5 miles will hurt. I'd rather get out on the bikes on the road-or preferably the hills on the MTB in bad weather- and ride. Luckily-we do not have the severe weather that would stop me going out- but I do occasionally feel that I ought to have gone down the gym instead of riding.

BSLeVan

This time of year my walking goes up, but I still spend time on the trainer. I don't spend as much clock time on the trainer as I would on the road during better weather. So, walking and weight/resistance training fill in the void.

Coyote!

Hey 'Fox. It's spiritual. "Out there" you're in contact with the fundamentals of Earth. It's real. It's basic. You can "feel" the truth that thunders up from the planet. On a trainer, a coyote's just another sorry Dude breathing dust, burning calories, sweating, and planning the next hour. . .often in the gunsights of life's predators [media, other people, tyranny of the immediate]. Yeah, grow a pelt and get outside.