Will the winter do me in?

[mlove]

I just started riding late this summer so I don't have any winter riding experience but I am planning to augment my cycling wardrobe so I can get out when the weather isn't too bad.

I like spinning classes because they are really motivating (and challenging) and I do them all year round as well as walking/running on the treadmill. I will keep those up this winter. There will also be trainer cycling at our LBS starting in November and I plan to do that too--as well as riding when the weather permits. Sometimes you can get nice days even in winter in central Illinois.

[Geonz]

Well, you could just ride to work :-)

While it doesn't keep that same shape as riding in the summer, even riding a shorter ride on the weekend makes a HUGE difference when the season comes around. (When I was a kid, this was also true for swimming. We started having a Sunday night swim during the winter and we just lost so much less, even though it wasn't anything *like* the workouts in the summer.)
I genuinely do a lot less in the winter and I've learned not to fuss over it. As long as I don't drink too much beer I don't gain too much weight. (The winter I got in the habit of having one almost every night and occasionally two... BAD IDEA. Nice that "one drink is healthy" - but it's a ton of calories and suddenly it's January and the body mass is +15 pounds :-(

[SouthernBelle]

switch to red wine