Machka 

Regarding outside cycling (not trainers/stationary bicycles) ...

Do you cycle approx. the same amount of miles/kilometers each week throughout the whole year (i.e. 100 miles a week, 52 weeks of the year) ...

OR ...

Does your year have peaks and valleys which are often weather dependent (i.e. you cycle 50 miles a week in January and February, but 200 miles a week in July and August)?


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I live in Canada where the weather between early November and late March can be very, very cold with quite a bit of snow and ice ... so therefore my cycling year has peaks and valleys which are weather dependent. I still cycle outside all year round, and I still make every effort to do a century (100 miles) each month, but the amount of cycling I do between November and March is generally lower than what I do between April and October.

See charts:
https://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mac...=/5aa0&.src=ph

One problem I encounter with seasonal cycling like this is that I end up throwing myself into the season and almost frantically trying to get as many miles as I can while the weather is good. This year, for example, I've got ten 200+ mile weeks, with a couple of them up over 400 miles. But then, by the end of the season, I'm tired. I look forward to taking some time off and doing other things. I can hardly imagine riding consistantly all year round, but then, perhaps, the people who ride consistantly all year round don't feel that sense of urgency to pack on as many miles as possible before the snow flies.

hi565

yes. During the winter i dont get as many miles, at least this past winter. But I did alot more shorter LT workouts. And some longer rides. During the summer I would get in more miles. But now that I have commited to racing, the world has turned.

puddin' legs

More than the cold, it's really the short short days that put a damper on the desire to cycle. Then there's all that skiing to do!

Boudicca

I'd be really surprised if anyone rode the same miles in the off season as during the rest of the year. If I lived in a hot climate I'd probably ride more in the winter than in the summer because I don't like the heat, and, unlike Matchka, I stop riding when it gets too cold. Of course for some of us, the off season is longer than for others.

SpongeDad

I think there's value in having an off season. You can't spend all your time in training mode. I tend to use shorter winter workouts to work on spinning and some power intervals, but not so much on endurance.

I'm also going to try to mix ice skating in as a cross training exercise.

Ineedhelp

Don't ride much from January through April 15th because of tax season, not because of cold or snow.

But it's a trade-off for only having to work 3 1/2 months out of the year.

Richard Cranium

M, you're a year-round accident waiting to happen. Maybe spending more time on a trainier is a good thing.

Tequila Joe

I ride year round but my milage outdoors really suffers between November & March. The motivation factor to go for a ride when it is -20 C is very low. When the road get slick, the icy patches tend to take me down before I can unclip. Add to this all of the cagers that are sliding around and banging into everything/anyone and I tend to stay indoors to zone out on the "trainer of manotony" while watching T.V.

When we get a Chinook, I'm the first one out there cutting fresh tracks on my MTB.

T.J.

pinky

Peak distance is around March, with insanity-causing amounts of time on the trainer in January and February. Then figure a slight down turn as the intensity starts to take the place of distance, tapering down till about June-July then another distance hop as I start on the second peak of my season, then another shorter peak (now for cross season) which tapers till mid-December. Put the bike away for a few weeks and begin again. Weeee

Barca

I live in California... Mild winters so I get to ride all year, rain or shine.

pedex

dont care what the weather is doing, im riding anyway, I dont do seasons, I just change clothes

MasterSezFaster

Same here. If and when we do get a lot of wet weather (can not say cold because it never gets below 30f here) I just make the time up on my mountain bike.

RockyMtnMerlin

HMM, I live in Wyoming at 7200 feet altitude. Most days Nov thru Feb way too cold and windy to ride outside. Reduced miles on trainer only option. Very boring but viewing taped races helps.

EURO

Less miles in the winter due to no races, but we are talking the difference between 150 and 200 miles.

'nother

Yes, living in a mild climate, there's really no reason to have an off-season. As such, I feel little urgency to try to pack everything in. If I don't make my goals this week, I'll make 'em next week. No racing schedule to contend with. Looking back on my mileage this year so far, I see it has correlated more with injury and bike maintenance than with weather. During the winter, it is a little tougher to do the day-long rides without starting or finishing in the dark, but that's really no huge impediment.

TexasGuy

Thwe only thing that really effects my mileage in the winter is daylight. I get off at 4. get home by 4:20/4:30 and then depending upon how much time I have to ride till it gets dark. I just moved into SA, before i never had to worry so it never effeced it. Back then the only ting that effected it was the few days we would get ice on the roads, which in texas is very rare.

Grasschopper

Um both answers seem correct to me. I do ride some every week if possible but it is weather dependant and my miles are MUCH lower in the winter than in the summer.

Machka 

I've often wondered what it would be like not to have that sense of urgency regarding my cycling. Ever since I started cycling seriously 15 years ago, I've lived in places where winter is real winter (-40C/F, snow, ice, howling winds, etc.).

Even now, the leaves are all turning, we've had several frosts, and the forecasts have been hinting at flurries on a few days ... and I know my high mileage weeks are numbered. It makes it difficult to plan out when I'm going to do my remaining three centuries, for example. I'm hoping to do the October one on October 1st, the November one on November 5th, and the December one on December 3rd ... but if the weather turns nasty on me on any of those days, and it very well could, I will have to try to reschedule. It also makes it difficult to plan the number of miles or amount of time I want to spend on my bicycle each week. I could plan for an hour a day, and then long rides on the weekend ... but if it snows heavily one day ...

But then I wonder ... without the sense of urgency ... would my mileages actually drop because I wouldn't feel like I have to ride, and so therefore I wouldn't ride???

Enthalpic

I live in Edmonton so I feel your winter pains. My question is how do you do a century in Dec around here? I have ridden in the winter quite a bit but mostly commuting or short rides and always while using my mnt bike for the extra traction.

For you southerners to get a feel for the cold around here I have had a Al crank arm snap off because it was so brittle from the cold. Whats worse is during the crank failure the plastic buckle on my shoe broke (again brittle) off somehow so I walked home pushing a bike while limping along trying to keep snow out of the broken shoe.

caloso

Mine's seasonal, but dependent more on work. June, July, and August are my busy months at the office. I'd have to look at my log, but it would be fair to say that I get more miles in October-December than the height of summer.

And as the other Californians have said, our winter weather is really more like spring weather for a lot of you. I have a trainer but hate it so I'd rather put on the fenders and a pair of tights.

woodcycl

My riding is VERY seasonal ... but mainly due to darkness occurring around 5pm and I don't get home till 5:30pm from work M-F.

However, when temps get under 50 degrees F ... I have a hard time due to my kneeds having troubles with the COLD.

I plan on riding in the dark on the ROAD for the first time ever this November once the time changes ... but, I have NO idea how feasible that is. I will experiment with various lighting configurations, etc. to see how it goes.

But, it will feel MUCH Colder after dark doing 20 than it will when the sun is out! So, we'll see.

Machka 

I did several centuries in the winter months when I lived in Winnipeg, and this year, so far, I have done centuries every month of year here in the Red Deer area (just south of you ).

How do I do them? Well, first I use my mtn bike for the extra traction. This means that these centuries are more work, and take more out of me than they would on a nice day in July on my road bicycle, but I take that into consideration when I plan to ride. Second, I usually plan out a loop route that starts and ends at my home several times during the ride. That way, I can warm up, thaw the bicycle out, and get something to drink.

When you do centuries in very cold temps, things will freeze up on your bicycle. I frequently have my gears and brakes freeze. I've done these centuries in one or two gears, and have even had things freeze so bad the bicycle started acting like a fixed gear. I've also done these centuries with only one operational brake - the other one froze. Therefore a loop route, where you can bring the bicycle inside every 25 kms or so, is a good idea because it thaws things out and allows the bicycle to return to normal for a little while before it freezes up again.

Also, in very cold temps, there is no point bringing a waterbottle with you on the bicycle. You might as well leave it at home because it will freeze solid within a few minutes and you won't be able to use it anyway. That's another good reason to do loop routes so that you return home every 25 kms or so. I set things up at home so that I've got my beverages in the fridge ready to drink when I get in, and I drink a bottle or slightly more during my little warm-up break, before going out again.

And, in very cold temps, one of the worst things that can happen to you is to sweat, and you probably will sweat even if it is very, very cold. Sweating will make you damp, and that dampness combined with cold can lead to hypothermia. In order to ward off hypothermia, I use the warm-up breaks to change my clothes so I can set off again in dry clothes.

My coldest century started at -32C and warmed up to a balmy -25C in February of 2003. That century took me just over 15 hours to complete, including the time I spent inside changing clothes, eating and drinking etc.
Scroll down a couple entries to get the story of this century: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=21945

Machka 

I'm finding an interesting change in attitude between my Canadian perspective where I frantically tried to pack as much cycling as I could into the very short period of time we call "summer" there, even if it meant riding in some really bad weather ....................... and my new Australian perspective.

It's a hot day today, but quite windy ... so I'm looking outside and thinking ... "No worries, I can ride tomorrow."

And with that attitude, my mileage has declined significantly. I need to get out there and ride!!!!

foresthill

Actually, when I lived in Tucson (just moved to Denver this fall), I'd ride almost every day in the summer. It's easier to fit it in because the time to ride is 5:30 - 9:00 in the morning, so you can get in a ride before work any day you want. it got more challenging to fit in rides before work when it chilled down a bit in the winter, especially since you get so used to riding in 70 º- 80º weather, that a 45º morning in january feels frigid.

Since I moved to Denver, I've hardly been on my bike at all since it's so chilly. It's warmer this week, tho. Hope to get our for a late morning ride tomorrow.

jdon

I guess women never do forget..

I can't remember what I posted last week let alone 5 years ago!