So the colder seasons are coming up, and I was wondering what most of you do to keep up your fitness. I've tried trainers and am wary of rollers, simply because the greatest joy of cycling for me is to feel the road and get out there. Running could help with cardiovascular performance, but what I'm really worried about is maintaining the strength in my legs (which I have only really started to get).

PS, I'm pretty cheap and paranoid, and I don't really want to use my entry level road bike when the salt and slush hits the road. Any ideas?

I ride a lot more than the summer since the weather is better!

I take December off, I do no riding, exercise, nuthing. Pretty pathetic I know. By 1 or 2 Jan I'm ready to go again...trainer time, and my workout machine. This goes on until late March, then it's sporatic riding outdoors mixed with trainer time indoors.

I don't know, two weeks off the bike with no physical exercise already starts to get me a bit irritable and my legs feel like jelly without any "zing" to them. A month or an entire season would probably be terrible.

Ride..

Same bike year-round? I have one road bike and am not looking forward to pulling out the mountain bike.

Elliptical and weights.

I live in California...so I ride my bike

I just keep on riding, too.

If you're worried about your bike, check into some other cheaper, maybe fat-tired bike, and a good headlight.

There ARE people that bike when it's cold...largely a mental thing as to whether you want to do that or not.

I ride to work, ride to my son's soccer games, do some CX. Swim. I also like to ski and snowshoe. This year I'd like to incorporate some yoga into my offseason routine too.

Chiming in from South Florida, must agree. The spirit crushing heat and humidity is coming to an end

I ride.



Not on this bike though, I broke the frame and fork last spring...

YAY!

This summer was a real object lesson on why I need to find that summer home in Colorado or Washington or somewhere like that

Riding the same road bike year round. This photo was taken this Feb.,
check out the ice on the river:

Curl up in the trunk of a tree and hibernate until spring ??

Yep. Carbon road bike, and of course my cross bike, in the frozen mud.

My rides get shorter.

Crossfit and trainer (spinervals).

Ride till it snows.

WTF? One of you is paying off these noobies to aggravate the crap out of me with these stupid questions, aren't you?

I live in south Louisiana, so "winter" here usually just means cooler, more pleasant temperatures for cycling. Cold days (below 40F) are infrequent and sustained below freezing temperatures are rare.

i ride here when i can. indoor trainer, P90X, and drive south for weekends when my schedule permits.

Clean my bike more often.

wrestle.

H t f u.

pcad, you should offer courses on the following topic at HTFU

HTFU 101: ride in the rain
HTFU 102: ride in the cold
HTFU 103: ride in humidity
HTFU 104: ride in a rainy, cold day.

I have taken the first three courses and will gladly take an F for HTFU 104, though with newer winter booties & fenders, i'm hoping to get a C in that class.