That Bl**dy weather again.
 

I am getting a little bit despondant after listening to the DOOM and GLOOM that we have been promised with regard to our weather. All the forecasters are telling us that in future Summers will be wetter and winters colder. Periods of Flash Flooding will occur more often as the storms will be heavier and longer than we have experienced in the past.

With that in mind I went to the Gym today. I hate the gym but when you cannot get out and ride for weeks on end there is not much choice if I wish to get fit. Only a Spinning class today and a one hour session with quite a gentle instructor. Went there with my Son-in-Law and a neighbour and I was surprised at how well I coped. It normally takes me about 6 lessons to get into the swing of spinning but today it was fine. Kept the "Effort" down a bit but managed all the exercise routines and also kept the cadence up. Even shocked the SiL on the speed sections as the new machines keep a record of the class for 5 minutes and for an "Oldun" I was not far behind him.

But now is the quandry. I hate going to the gym but in view of the forecast we have for this year-it may be the best way for me to get enough exercise in to keep the fitness I still have. Membership is not that high but is enough to say I will have to cut something out to pay for it. That may not be so bad though as without riding- The Pie bill will be less and I won't be replacing tyres quite so often.

So unless the weather starts changing- It looks as though I will be riding less but still getting on a bike down the gym--and the treadmill-and the rowing machine- and the crosstrainer- and any other machine that will do my brain in with all the effort required to look at a blank wall without going anywhere.

Rowing seems like it might be a good sport to take up ;)

My solution, when the snow flies, is the trainer in the basement, I put on some tunes, and just ride along, blank wall naw, I watch the little green light turn on every few minutes to indicate the furnace is firing up.... You can get small LCD telly cheap, and a $29 DVD player, buy a few training DVD's and run those when you can't ride, be cheaper then a gym membership..... View will not be as nice as some of the gym's I've been in, though....

Stapfam, The solution is simple, move..... :lol: I'm thinking the South of Spain:D I used to live in Seattle and you see where I am living now.:innocent:

On a serious note I do hit the gym for cross training but then I am not doing any leg training. I have used the eliptical machine but it isn't the same motion.

We never hear predictions of cool summers and colder winters here. From watching the news we are told there is a passage around the top of Canada making the trip by ship from Seattle to England much shorter.:rolleyes: (That's a joke Son...I say that's a joke.);)

Stapfam- before you lapse into deep depression, you need to come and visit us for a couple of weeks for some winter sun and easy riding. Not too good today with chance of showers but still 66F. Getting up to 79F next week.

Buy a winter vacation in Greece. I understand real estate prices are low. Or go to Cyprus...weather is lovely in winter.

It's all a matter of your expectations. We have snow on the ground here from November to April. I'm on a trainer in the basement all that time. Do you want to trade?

The weather in our area is either oppressively hot/humid or cold/damp (we have little or no spring or fall to separate the two extremes). The whole thing was a big "life changer" for my wife and I due to the fact that we both spent a lot of time hiking and dog walking at our previous residence/locale.

To address this weather problem we've setup an indoor bicycle trainer, treadmill, heavy punching bag, and a pair of variable weight dumbbells. The problem for me was that I quickly found the bike trainer and treadmill to be far too "boring" for the extended use required to provide any "real" exercise. My wife, however, solved this boredom problem by placing a portable DVD player in front of the trainer and treadmill. We also plan on hooking up a old TV as a means of supplementing the DVD player.

This setup now allows me to tolerate at least 10-15 minutes of non-stop treadmill/bike trainer use per session (my wife can easily treadmill through an entire 1 hour show).

I agree, you have been dealing with a lot of exceptionally depressing weather lately...

But, I still think it is the exception that proves the rule...

And, yes, I hear you about the wetter summers and cooler winters. But I strongly suspect they are talking about a change of 1% or 2% -- small enough that you probably wouldn't realize the change unless you were a weather man keeping track of average rainfalls and temperatures...

But, conversely, IF you can afford it, the gym is a nice complement to cycling. The aerobic work out you get on a bike is probably the single best thing you could do for your brain, your heart, your circulatory system and all the organs that depend on those things. But, with the gym you can also add strength training which is also important and will pay dividends down the road.

I vote that you go for both
... (but I have to admit that I am not practicing what I am preaching -- but I keep thinking about it!).

I have almost decided on Gym membership. They do a 60+ membership that is discounted by 25% and the only restriction is that you can only use the gym between 8am and 4.30pm. You can use the full facilities and do any of the classes within those hours and there is a spinning class every day if I want it. There is a sauna that I can use to wind down after the exercise and all the equipment is brand new and the weights room is now just a weights room with none of the exercise machines in it so you won't get the Macho lads pointing out how pitiful the weights are that you are pulling.

Just got to ensure that I would use the membership to its fullest extent.

And to show how I need the gym--Have a slight pull on a stomach muscle this morning. May be from the Home maintenance yesterday but I did feel a twinge when at the spinning class the other day.

That sounds like a play Stap. I just got off Skype Chat(text) with my SIL that is over near London and she was commenting on the weather.

Do be careful with weights--easy to cause injury.

Go for it Stap. But be careful and begin slowly.

I tried a gym membership for 3 months. I really enjoyed going, but as I'm still working for at least another year I was having to get to the gym when it opened (4 am). Our weather has definitely been wet and until I retire I'm sticking to my one good rode bike which I'm not going to ride on gritty, wet roads. My approach is to just accept gaining a few pounds and remind myself that I'm not a racer, I'm a senior citizen trying to slow down father time a bit. In the scheme of things one wet winter isn't a big deal.

Exactly what I thought in 2011. Settle back on riding as when I do retire-I would have all the time in the world to cycle.

But since April 2012 when I did retire- the weather decided to play a hand with rain and wind. Any good days had to be spent on garden and house maintenance as that had to be done. Cycling got put on the back burner for another year.

Hence my interest in getting to the Gym from now on. The weather pundits are not giving a long range forecast but the are saying that wet summers and colder winters will be the norm and the extremes of Storms and drought will continue aswell. I may not be able to ride oiften but at least I will be fit enough to do one when the chance arises.

My solution is to keep riding year round. I don't let the cold stop me and continue to commute to work and ride on weekends as long as its not snowing out. After the snow storms pass, and the roads get plowed, I resume riding with my studded snow tires and enjoy every bit of it. I can understand your rainy weather may be a major problem properly equiped you can still ride through it all.

Use the gym membership and get what benefits you an, Doug. With those flooded roads and the cold periods you in the U.K. are getting lately at least this allows you some training.

Bill

In Praise of Rain
 

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have an 'English' climate. As Tom Robbins says, "Our sky can go from lapis to tin in the blink of an eye." (The extended forecast currently reads as follows: a series of Pacific disturbances will bring rain, showers, light rain, drizzle, rain, wind, rain, scattered showers, heavy cloudcover, possible flurries, light drizzle, mist, heavy rains, possibility of flooding in low-lying areas, fog, thunderheads, low visibility, road spray, sleet, puddles, swollen streams, occasional mudslides, brief sunny breaks, and an 80% chance of rain). You have to learn to turn your face upwards and enjoy it. I haven't owned an umbrella in thirty years.

Maybe it's my Celtic blood but I LOVE to ride in the rain, especially drizzle. All the traffic pollutants normally inhaled into my lungs have been driven to the ground and the air is fresh and clean. The harsh sun no longer turns my face to leather and the tops of my hands into old man's freckles. My body thermostat finds its equilibrium as heat output counters cold input. To truly appreciate the rain you must read the works of Seattle's novelist and poet laureate, Tom Robbins - here is a link to one of his short essays, an ode to rain guaranteed to get you on your bike and make you Floridians and Arizonians want to pack up and move here.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsour...8&slug=1927435

Not sure where the cooler winter is:rolleyes: or has it not hit yet?

Do they mean cooler snowier winters or just cooler temps with rain?

If its just cooler drier winters thats not too bad but with rain and snow thrown in that certainly affects how much riding I will do.


But the weather, up here at least, is certainly picking up, now for that ride....

What part of Ontario, I live on the Bruce Peninsula, it's snowing here today, temps about 1 degree below freezing though, so it's sloppy wet and weighs a couple of tons per shovel full....

I can't quite work out which I dislike more, the gym, or a trainer in the basement.

I am counting the days to March, or whenever it will be warm enough to ride.

Do any of your gyms have sports events on TV in the gyms that you can watch while you exercise?

A few gyms here have them which is great when big events are on.