Preparing for winter :mad:

[Becky]

I ride outside (albeit shorter rides), ski (DH and XC), swim, and practice yoga. Winter is a great time for mountain biking because you're going slower and typically in the woods, both of which mean less wind chill than a road ride.

I'll occasionally ride the trainer, but I have to be pretty desperate for a workout to do so.

[rubysoho]

I just signed myself up for a gym membership (LA Fitness bc they don't require year long commitments) so I can swim, use weights and participate in their classes like yoga. I am also planning to keep hiking this winter with my dogs and after my first successful summer of running I am hoping to keep that going through the winter as well!

I may be buying a second bike but that depends on a few financial factors. However I could put studded tires on, etc... It would be able to continue when my road bike can't. I just need to save my pennies a bit longer (or settle for a less expensive bike but I think I have made up my mind and that won't happen.).

[Catrin]

Starting to think about this winter and what I want to focus on. I've asthma, and while it has greatly improved, cold air is about the only trigger I have right now. All of my allergies appear to have disappeared, and even riding in 95+ temps didn't bother my lungs. Cold air? Different story.

I will get a trainer, as much as I don't really want to. Considering winter shoes, but that is such a large investment...but I remember how cold my feet got this last winter when riding in only 40 degree temps... I've also clipless pedals on my Gunnar and that isn't going to change.

So it will likely be a combination of trainer, spinning class, weights, and probably a mat Pilates class at my gym. I will probably, finally, drop the training in December as much as I hate to and just work out on my own.

[SheFly]

I'm with Crankin'. Though I will usually ride most of the winter, this past year we switched gears and did a lot more x-country skiing. It was a nice break from the bike, and awesome cross training that translated in the spring. Around here, you can't go to a ski area without bumping into the same people you race bikes with during the season!

Of course, winter activities are always dependent on the weather. Last year was a good snow year for skiing, and bad for trying to stay on the bike outside. We have had years, though, where the opposite was true, and I logged a LOT of miles between January and March outside.

SheFly

p.s.
Catrin - if you are going to ride outside, winter shoes are the BEST investment. I have tried the Lakes, which are good, but discovered the Pearl Izumi winter shoes a couple of years ago and LOVE them. They keep your feet dry, and I rarely get cold feet with only one layer of socks.

[OakLeaf]

I ride all winter. you're in Ohio, get snow tires!

The piled up snow/packed ice left by the plow means the available road space is much, much narrower than in dry weather. Car drivers are expecting to see cyclists even less than they ordinarily do. Visibility is reduced because of poor light and dirty windshields; the effectiveness of any visibility gear the cyclist wears is reduced because lights and jerseys get coated with grime, cinder and salt. Reaction distance for cyclists and cars is increased because of the wet and/or icy and/or cinder-covered surface.

Then the salt will eat through any polished metal before you can even get home to wash your bike.

In Ohio, you join a trainer class at a LBS, mountain bike on MUPs - or on trails when it's been cold long enough that they're good and frozen and not muddy. And get most of your cardio from other sports.

[Catrin]

...
In Ohio, you join a trainer class at a LBS, mountain bike on MUPs - or on trails when it's been cold long enough that they're good and frozen and not muddy. And get most of your cardio from other sports.

This is what I am hoping to do, along with some good winter hiking I am looking forward to checking out the frozen trails!

[Ja Da Dee]

I love the winter! no bugs.

If it's above 5 degrees, I xc ski, snowshoe and run. If it's colder than that I tend to stick to the gym. I also ride my horse, but we have a heated indoor arena. My husband got a fat tire bike (Mukluk) last fall, and rode the mountian bike trails all winter. We would go out and showshoe the trails to give him a nice track, then he gets to ride them. He had a blast.

[Cynedra]

Late fall, winter, and early spring are the best times to ride, but the best time to run as well. Too hot to run in the summer at least at the speed (or lack thereof) that I run. Biking, thank goodness, lets me go fast enough to create a breeze of some sort. Of course, I don't have to worry about ice (or iced bridges) here in Florida.

[sgf726]

Can't believe we are talking about winter already, it feels like summer just started.

I usually ride outside on the weekends until about mid-Nov and start up again in March. During the week I do spin classes 3x per week from about Oct-Mar.
Mostly because I don't have enough non-working daylight to ride.

I swim year round as well as run outside year round. In the winter on the weekends we x-c ski and hike.

I usually find that by doing the spinning classes and keeping active all winter I haven't really lost any fitness when I get back on the bike in the spring.

[jusdooit]

This year, for the first time, I plan to ride. It's been such a hot summer, I can't wait for it to be cooler. I have an indoor trainer I plan to use if the weather is too bad. I hope to start out next season with a good base of fitness and see where that will take me.

[Velocivixen]

I'm essentially a gym rat. I lift weights, box, Pilates, boot camps, yoga, etc. I also run outside. We don't consistently get much if any snow here in the valley. If we get 1/4" schools close, etc. It's a big deal.

[goride]

I do not ride in winter for all the reasons Oakleaf noted, and I am also farther north. Our not snowy or icy road season ends in November, and with a little luck, I might get to ride outdoors by the end of March (short rides because it will still be less than 40 degrees). Over the winter I continue running, weight classes and yoga, and add spin classes, ride on the trainer, snowshoe, and xc ski. Just learning to xc ski and last season was my first season. I am not so sure I am actually skiing as walking on skis at this point. In fact I found that in general, my skiing is much slower than my running. This seems wrong; I am definitely not a fast runner. Since I have added the outdoor winter sports I like winter much more than I used to.

[chryss]

Well, given I'm in Alaska and haven't lived through an entire winter yet, I don't know. I doubt I'll join the hard-core winter riders (there are a bunch of those) my first cold season, but do hope that until the road ices over I can ride a road bike and during times when the temperature stays around the 0°F/-20°C mark I can at least amble over some snowy trails once in a while.

But mostly I plan on taking up regular cross-country skiing. My workplace's back door goes out on a trail system: I just have to cross a parking lot. The other items on the winter fitness plan are to start weight lifting seriously (I have "The new rules of lifting for women" and am intrigued) and then there's running ... I still have a hard time believing that the human body is capable of running continuously for an entire mile or even more. Time to try it out!

[jelee1311]

I ride all winter, of course we don't get much snow. I got great rain/ wind gear last year so I could ride outside. I'd rather ride outside than on a trainer because I feel like a hamster on a wheel. I swim,do yoga and pilates,and I plan to try snowshoeing this year.