Originally Posted by
2 wheeler
I ride rollers during the winter. It's not nearly as fun as riding outdoors, but it's better than nothing. As mentioned above, I'm planning on stretching the cycling season this year; being out of work allows flexibility.
I might try walking this winter. That will work sometimes, but I live at the top of a very steep hill and the ice makes walking treacherous. Winter injuries are very common here because of people slipping on ice.
There are really no other alternatives. Gyms are at least 25 miles away.
I really don't like winter. At all.
Yes, you are the same boat I am in. There is no gym, there is no indoor pool, there is no spinning classes whatever that is, there is nothing out in the middle of nowhere. Just me, my bike, and a 34 mile paved bike trail along the river with the deer and bald eagles. I ride 12 miles total and this weekend may have seen 3 people the whole weekend. Saw more deer and chipmunks than people, LOL. People ask me where I live and I tell them 45 minutes from Walmart. There's Walmart 45 minutes to the north, 45 minutes to the south, to the east and too the west, LOL. There literally isn't anything around me but farmland and State Gamelands.
The extent of my winter riding was once I dropped my truck off a mile down the road for state inspection and rode my bike home in the thick sludge of several previous 12 inch snowfalls. That certainly wasn't fun. Like I said though, that was the thick stuff accumulated and driven in over several 12 inch snowfalls. Might be interesting to bike on the trail in fresh snow along the river.
I do plan to see how long I can go riding the bike. Once winter comes in though, as others have mentioned, it is dark. By the time I get home from work for the kids to get off the school bus and I'd be able to get back out, it's pitch black out. On top of that, I'll suffer getting my rear end in to work in the snow, I'm not chancing losing the car because I'm heading somewhere to bike. My car does horrible in the snow and I'm hoping I can get winter tires this year. That's doubtful though again this year. Too much other stuff needed.
I was looking at rollers, in fact, found the thread here where someone did a DIY set. Would be much better than my wife's exercise bike, that thing is horrible and I can't last 5 minutes on it. Rollers or one of those like the link in Shepp30's post would be cool, but it would be a financial thing for something like that.