Luchito

I might be moving to Canada next year (Toronto), I was wondering where u guys train, cause I have been there before and I havent see any posible place or highway, I mean where I ride , we can go into the highway with no problem but up there I dont think so.
And during cold days in fall and winter where do you train??

Thanks

operator

There's no opportunities to train in the city. You'll have to get out into suburbs, most likely north.

Machka 

And during cold days in fall and winter where do you train??

Outside. No different than during the spring and summer.

sunninho

Are you sure about that? My friends in Mississauga tell me the street freezes over in front of their houses where they would play ice hockey (with their ice skates ).

Machka 

Yes, I'm absolutely sure.

Why do you think they make studded tires?

Check out the icebike site:
https://www.icebike.org/

sunninho

Wow, wish I could roll with them here in Socal, looking like the Road Warrior

Looks like fun. Can you put those tires on your road bike?

[edit: After checking it out, 700x35 won't fit a roadie. More reason to get a cyclocross ]

Machka 

Yes, if your road bike could handle wider tires.
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1123728151916

Most people up here ride mountain bikes or cyclocross bikes in the winter.

cooker

You can also take up ice skating...it's a very compatible sport for cross training and some athletes successfully compete in both .
Robert

sunninho

Well, my friends know why I don't visit them in the harsh winters, coming from sunny LA. Now, I have an reason to

Machka 

Snowbiking is a blast! I'm not a mountain biker - it just doesn't appeal to me ... but cover the trails in a couple feet of snow and I'm there!

Plus I get a kick out of riding around in conditions that others think are too severe. It's all about dressing for it ... and knowing that you're out there for fun, not for speed and efficiency.

They do icebike races on one of the Great Lakes (Lake Erie, I think), and Winnipeg, Manitoba (where I spent 13 years) holds an icebike race every February ... I've watched it, but never participated.

sunninho

Seven months til winter :sigh: If I do this, my friends will think I'm nuts, but they already know this

Machka 

Seven months?? The first snowflurry of the season up here will probably occur in two or three weeks ... and then the snowfall that stays for the rest of the winter will be here by mid-October! That's only two months away.

operator

Don't worry, Toronto doesn't have the problem Machka is describing.

crazybikerchick

Cars cannot drive safely on ice. (well many drivers can't drive safely period.) So to facilitate car travel here in the great white north we have two devices: one known as the snowplow which clears the roads of unwanted snow, pushing it up into large piles (usually if there are bike lanes on a road, they figure that's a good place to dump the pile). The other is known as the salt truck which sprays way too much bike-destructive salt all over the roadway to make it less slippery. (and also melts snow) So approx 12 hours after a snowfall there are plenty of clear roads to be riding around on. But if you ride a nice non-beater bike through winter you have to take meticulous care of it to make sure the salt does not destroy.

Residential streets usually get last priority in this process, hence some seem to turn into skating rinks before they do anything about it.

Machka 

What problem was that? I don't recall describing a problem.

USAZorro

I can't speak for winter, but I visited a friend in Toronto a few weeks ago. Their club (D'Ornellas) takes many of their training rides to the north of the city. There are plenty of roads that are clear enough of traffic once you get out far enough.

goldfish

where do you live? in manitoba we don't even get the snowfall that will stick until mid-late november, and somtimes even the first snowfall doesn't come untill then. thats global warming for ya.(then one week into january its -50)

brewster1972

You could always move to the west coast and ride year round. Out here on Vancouver Island we get the dreaded white stuff for about a week per year and copius amounts of rain the rest of the time. Many of Canada's top athletes choose this area to train because of the moderate climate (never get too hot or too cold). Good luck with your move.

clausen

I cant see snow flying here in 2 weeks or 2 month, it's 31 degrees here during the days. As for good roads to ride go north of the City.

uxrider

Well, when I woke up in my igloo this morning and slipped on my mukluks to feed the sled dogs, it was about 77F where I live around 1hr north of Toronto.
Snow was not an issue.
Roads and traffic north of Toronto (Stouffville, Uxbridge, Newmarket, Aurora) are perfect for cycling. Rolling hills, usually not too hot (except for this summer! ) just avoid Fri. and Sun. afternoons to miss the cottage traffic.

Good Luck in T.O.

jit2

Your friends are pulling your leg. I train outdoors year round in Toronto. There are group rides available 12 months of the year. And during the season there is an active race schedule.

Machka 

Alberta ... I just moved here from Manitoba where I lived for 13 years ... but I lived here in Alberta before that.

It snowed here in Alberta in early August in 2002, and one of my coworkers has been keeping track of when the first significant snow fell every year for the past few years ... and it was mid-October.

However, I agree that it is a bit later in Manitoba ... but that said ... it snowed overnight on the July long weekend near Neepawa in 2004. I know because I was cycling in it. And Manitoba doesn't get chinooks to melt the snow during the winter. Once it is winter there it stays that way till May.

Perhaps Ontario is warmer?

henesse

wow, in 2 - 3 weeks?
we wont see any snow for another 2 monthes for sure, maybe in 3+ monthes.

krazyderek

oh jeeez... here we go... you know some of the northern states acutally get colder then parts of canada. And no, you can't skate around town, or bobsled, or dogsled from one iglue to the next.

A good sunny day with clear roads(no excessive wet pavement, rocks or fresh salt, and you can get it a pretty nice ride during mid day. Otherwise i stay to my rollers.

operator

haha..!