laf

Hi, since cycling season is coming to and end soon where i live, I took a look at the different options for this winter.

So basically, it comes down to 3 choices for me.

VR Trainer (Tacx bushido with upgrade, i-vortex, i-genius)
Kurt kinetic rock and roll with trainer road
Or some rollers.

My goal is to be ready for next year as soon as the weather permits it. This will be my second year on a road bike, and I would like to be at least on par or faster than I am now.

What are you people using ?

In the past ive used some tacx trainer, but I found out that the biggest problem is motivation. It works for a time when reading or listening to music, but after a time it gets absolutely boring.

Thanks

StanSeven

Get some cycling videos. They keep interest more than just music or TV and make you work.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

Buy a cheap single speed and some winter gear

Machka 

1. There is a Trainer thread here ... https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...r-trainer.html ... and several other similar threads on the first few pages here as well.


2. Ride outside as much as possible. Get outside every weekend day that there is not a blizzard blowing and that the roads are relatively clear. Try to get in some longer rides.

This might mean getting some warmer clothing, but does not mean you have to spend a lot of money. You can pick up headbands and gloves at the Dollar Store or Walmart. You can pick up merino wool at your local thrift shops. This might also mean getting some decent lights. See the Winter Cycling forum for ideas: Winter Cycling


3. Join your local gym ... especially one with a spinning class. Attend the spinning class 1-2 times a week. A good spinning class will keep your interest and will help you maintain or even improve your fitness level. Supplement the spinning class by jogging on the treadmill, rowing, and doing weights.


4. Crosstrain. Take up cross-country skiing, go snowshoeing, go for long brisk walks at lunch, swim at the local indoor pool ...


5. Commercial Intervals. When you ride your trainer, do commercial intervals. Set the trainer up in front of your TV, tune into your favourite 30-60 min show. Ride as hard as you can during each set of commercials ... ride casually to catch your breath and rest during the show. You'll quickly discover just how long those commercials are!! But 30-60 min goes by in a flash.

halfspeed

too soon

CharlyAlfaRomeo

It snowed 11.8 cm here yesterday and we're supposed to get another 5-10 by noon tomorrow.

Machka 

And one more thing ...


6. Travel! Plan a 2-3 week cycling holiday somewhere warm. You might opt to do a cycling tour (see Touring forum) ... or maybe you might like to do a PacTour event (PAC Tour) ... or maybe a hill climbing challenge like the Audax Alpine Challenge in January (https://www.alpineclassic.com.au/public/index.php) ... or maybe there's a club in a warmer location somewhere in the world you'd like to ride with ...

Get out for a good ride every day or just about every day of your warm holiday get-away and you'll come back feeling fit and ready to take on an extra spinning class until spring.

TrojanHorse

Or just move. Winter is over rated.

Machka 

After years of dealing with long Canadian prairie winters ... using the methods I've described above to get through them ... that's exactly what I did. I moved to Australia.

I think I would have a lot of trouble moving back to the Canadian prairies. Someone would have to make it very worth my while.


However, I've lived in southern Australia (Victoria and Tasmania) since I got here, and although winters are not bitterly cold and snowy, they are dark and damp. So I still employ some of those strategies.

One thing we've really enjoyed here in Hobart is the Aquatic Centre ... good pools, a bright and airy workout/fitness area with lots of modern equipment, spinning classes. On chilly, rainy, dark evenings we can go to the Aquatic Centre and get in a really good workout in a comfortable, pleasant, climate-controlled environment.

And then we can usually cycle outside on the weekends if we want.


A few of the places I've lived in Canada have had similar Aquatic/Fitness Centres. Some even do them up with a tropical feel ... it's like a mini-holiday. For a couple hours, while you work out, you can pretend you're someplace else.


Meanwhile, over here, spring is just beginning. The leaves are coming out on the trees, the daffodils are blooming, the birds are singing, and the temperatures are warming up.

ooga-booga

dunno where you live but if it's in the us, winter training camp in arizona or southern california.

Seattle Forrest

There's a guy I ride with who's pretty quick on straight ground but can't corner for ****. Slows way down coming into them, always falls behind. Cycling is more than just going fast, and even that requires a bit of skill. You don't improve your skills on a trainer.

Best bet, ride outdoors. Good jacket, wool base layer, etc. Easy for me to say, we don't have a real winter here, we have a rainy season.

If snow and ice will make riding too dangerous, go do something else that works your leg muscles and cardiovascular system. Snowshoeing, tele skiing, etc. So much more fun than riding the hamster wheel.

laf

Thanks for the advices but they dont apply to me. I live in Québec and the winter is pretty harsh. There is no way Im gonna ride in the winter here. Especially not with an expensive bike.
Moving is not an option too
Gym also not an option. Too far away.

dagray

I have a Giant trainer and an old Centurion LeMans 12 speed for inside riding, and I plan to buy some winter riding gear (gloves, long legged bibs, jacket, head cover/skull cap) and grab the mountain bike or my other road bike and ride. I am trying to lose weight, gain endurance, lower blood glucose levels, and live longer. I quit smoking in November of 2009 so I am now undoing the damage from a 25 year habit (I started smoking at 13 because "it was cool").

cderalow

If there's folks in Alaska who cycle year round, pretty sure you can do so in frenchie land

Gramercy

Riding a trainer wasn't that much fun for me. I did it for a month and then just started doing wall sits and squats in my apartment. Maybe do some of those body weight exercises for a month, and go outside and see if your fitness level dropped on the bike. If it did significantly, then buy a trainer.

floridamtb

Winter training here means less sweat and maybe have to break out the arm warmers once if I'm unlucky

laf

Good for them, but there is absolutely zero fun riding in winter conditions (Salt, sand, calcium, ice). And i doubt they ride with an expensive bike too.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

I actually quite like winter riding, especially at night with some lights.

clausen

Go skiing.

MikeyBoyAz

woah, woah.... cycling is finally getting fun here again! I don't have to jump in the pool before and after rides now. The next 7 months are going to be pure bliss aside from the 2 or 3 days in January I have to wear a thermal top or something... maybe gloves?

clausen

Riding around is possible. Training on a bike as the OP is talking about, no.

Lazyass

achoo

The extra weight and drag of those arm warmers must make climbing overpasses brutal torture.

Machka 

As harsh as Winnipeg? I cycled year round there for many years. Not with an expensive bike, of course. I bought an inexpensive mtn bike for my winter riding. Logged a lot of km on that bike!

CharlyAlfaRomeo

Nothing's sticking for XC and the loose stuff at altitude is just hiding the rocks. Can't wait for November though.