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What’s your winter riding/fitness strategy?

Old 11-02-22, 04:06 PM
  #51  
The Chemist
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Originally Posted by staehpj1
I am in Tallahasse these days so summer is the tougher season to ride during the relentless heat. That said since I ride in the early AM I do ride in sub freezing temps some of the time. It isn't a big deal.
I live in Shanghai and it's the same here. Coldest it gets here is a couple of degrees below zero, which is way easier to ride in than high thirties with intense sun and oppressive humidity.

No snow / ice = I keep riding. 😊
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Old 11-02-22, 06:11 PM
  #52  
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Here in Central California I can usually wait till it hits upper 40s and head out to climb the foothills of the Sierras on the weekends. During the week it is a mix of TrainerRoad and the occasional Zwift ride to keep some fitness. They gym is early AM and MWF.
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Old 11-02-22, 06:54 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by rsbob
Do you-

go out in the elements and tough it out?

Use an indoor trainer or gym?

Hang it up for the season?

Cross train with other winter sports (skiing, skating, boarding, etc)?

Some combination of the above or something I didn’t think of?
Just ride normally. I'm amazed at people who drive their cars over wet, salted roads. Do they love corrosion?
Gym class is for school kids.
Cycling is not a sport; it is transportation.
One of the great pleasures of winter -- studded tires and passing miles of drivers in stuck cars who will not get home until tomorrow.
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Old 11-02-22, 07:23 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by PaulH
Cycling is not a sport; it is transportation.
I'm pretty sure it's a sport too.
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Old 11-02-22, 08:37 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by PaulH
Gym class is for school kids.
Cycling is not a sport; it is transportation.
Shhhhh. Don’t tell the grand tour professionals (Tour de France, Giro and and the Vuelta).that cycling is not a sport. I bet a lot of them also use a gym to increase strength too. Boy will they be disappointed to hear this.
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Old 11-02-22, 08:42 PM
  #56  
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Snow arrived right on cue, day after Halloween. My winter exercise.
There was a couple inches with drifting. My apartment is on the 4th floor facing the front. So I get pissed at how stupidly they shove the snow on the street where the delivery trucks stop and make damn big ruts. It's a dead end street anyway, so I go out and shovel about 4 feet to the curb, about 200 feet long on the non-parking side. I still spend days in the spring chopping ice and shoving the puddles along. Last year it was really bad with piles along the gutter of the busy avenue, all over the city actually. So I was out the back alley exit side as well.
I always did shovel the snow off my part of the street.
>> Now tomorrow I need new all season front tires on my V90. They just passed 50,000 km. Good enough on stock tires. Seasonal switching tires on and off is a dumb idea, IMO.

Last edited by GamblerGORD53; 11-02-22 at 09:06 PM.
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Old 11-02-22, 08:53 PM
  #57  
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45* today with mixed sun, clouds and a bit of hail and light rain. Had on base layer, long sleeve thermal jersey and a light cycling jacket, knee covers and merino socks and toe covers, ear warmers and stayed very comfortable. Will probably ride in the low 40s and call it good. Picture from today.


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Old 11-02-22, 09:11 PM
  #58  
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I'm a Rule #9 guy. Bring it on!
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Old 11-02-22, 09:20 PM
  #59  
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I’m going to try something a little different this winter. I’m following an Olympic distance triathlon training program, so I’m running and swimming several times a week, in addition to riding. And I’m doing as many of the local CX races as I can make. With no expectations, just for the intensity and to hang out with my friends while we ride for sport, not transportation. (Except for that one race I can ride to from my house)
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Old 11-03-22, 06:23 AM
  #60  
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I switch to the hybrid with studded tires and bike when I can. And shovel snow when I can't.
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Old 11-03-22, 07:02 AM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by Broctoon
My wife has been sick and almost completely unable to ride lately. Prior to this, we went out together fairly often. One of our favorites is a Saturday morning ride to a local diner for brunch. We'd do this even in winter, with temps as low as 30 degrees F.

The hard part isn't getting out. It's riding several miles, sitting down to eat, and then going out to start riding again. Sometimes we step out of the diner for the ride home and she gets so cold she sends me to get the car and come back for her, or she just calls our daughter to pick her up.

We're both becoming pretty big wimps about cold weather. And yet, I still consider myself a "real and serious cyclist." I went out for rides last summer when temps were in the triple digits, just avoided big climbs. As I age, I find I can tolerate hot temps better than cold. I see the trainer as a really good option in the cold, dark winter. I see jogging as another. I've never considered myself a "real" or a "serious" runner, but I don't get nearly as cold when running, so it's a fallback activity.

I'm pretty much the same way you are as I age--more tolerance or at least no change in my ability to cope with hot weather, which I've generally always been pretty good at, and less and less tolerance for cold. I haven't ridden in a couple weeks now as it's too dark after work and my routine weekend rides would have involved many 10s of miles in temperatures in the 40s. I would've put up with that in previous years, but I'm finding that kind of riding very unpleasant what with the nose running like a faucet and the cold fingers. I've switched to my fitness strategy of absurd amounts of indoor cardio for the last two weekends.

Gotta say, I think this thread topic is pretty great. The only trolling that seems to be going on here is an attempt to hijack this into a discussion of who are the "real cyclists", and we all know who to "thank" for that. To be clear, it isn't you. . That is probably the biggest recurring BS topic in General Cycling, an obvious attempt by people to explain why they're better than everyone else.
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Old 11-03-22, 07:06 AM
  #62  
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I'm planning to dust off my Concept 2 rower. Stopped rowing in the summer due to heat and various muscle/shoulder aches, but hopefully they go away by winter.
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Old 11-03-22, 07:07 AM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by PaulH
Just ride normally. I'm amazed at people who drive their cars over wet, salted roads. Do they love corrosion?
Gym class is for school kids.
Cycling is not a sport; it is transportation.
One of the great pleasures of winter -- studded tires and passing miles of drivers in stuck cars who will not get home until tomorrow.
Originally Posted by PeteHski
I'm pretty sure it's a sport too.
Originally Posted by rsbob
Shhhhh. Don’t tell the grand tour professionals (Tour de France, Giro and and the Vuelta).that cycling is not a sport. I bet a lot of them also use a gym to increase strength too. Boy will they be disappointed to hear this.
I'm pretty sure PaulH was speaking for himself. For me, it's not a sport either. It's a fitness/recreation activity.
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Old 11-03-22, 10:20 AM
  #64  
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Originally Posted by gravelfan
Here in Central California I can usually wait till it hits upper 40s and head out to climb the foothills of the Sierras on the weekends. During the week it is a mix of TrainerRoad and the occasional Zwift ride to keep some fitness. They gym is early AM and MWF.
If you ride out of Auburn the roads never stay flat. Beautiful scenery and countless areas to explore
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Old 11-03-22, 04:17 PM
  #65  
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Originally Posted by PaulH
One of the great pleasures of winter -- studded tires and passing miles of drivers in stuck cars who will not get home until tomorrow.
I've experienced that many times...Getting off work in the late afternoon rush hour during a heavy snow storm, the traffic would be so slow I would just filter my way through and take short cuts all the way home and get home faster than if i was driving my truck.
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Old 11-03-22, 10:35 PM
  #66  
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More days than not here will have a high temperature over 40°F, and be dry.

Getting out to me is more than half the point, so I'll be riding this winter again, plus some walking.

Tip: Pearl Izumi Lobster Gloves.
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Old 11-04-22, 03:16 PM
  #67  
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Get out and ride. Just bought my first pair of studded tires. Hoping to commute this winter.
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Old 11-04-22, 03:49 PM
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I ski. Winter is for cross country skiing, summer is for cycling. Indoor trainer? Never in a million years. Heck, hill walking is more fun than that!
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Old 11-04-22, 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Camilo
I ski. Winter is for cross country skiing, summer is for cycling. Indoor trainer? Never in a million years. Heck, hill walking is more fun than that!
That used to be my attitude. The real time interaction with other riders on the Zwift platform changed my mind. There are times I would rather do a Zwift ride than ride by myself in the real world. The older I've gotten, the less tolerant I've gotten of riding in the dark, wet, or cold (which isn't really even cold by most people's standards).
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Old 11-04-22, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Eric F
That used to be my attitude. The real time interaction with other riders on the Zwift platform changed my mind. There are times I would rather do a Zwift ride than ride by myself in the real world. The older I've gotten, the less tolerant I've gotten of riding in the dark, wet, or cold (which isn't really even cold by most people's standards).
I haven't used Zwift so can't comment on how fun that is. I have tried a Peloton once or twice and it was marginally more fun than my indoor trainer watching TV. But I'd just rather do a real indoor workout (weights or "boot camp" kind of stuff) or go outside in whatever capacity I can. that is skiing or walking. I much prefer walking to indoor bike traiining. But I live in pretty significant hills so a 1 hour walk is very rigorous and is better for my mind and body than riding indoors. If I lived in a different - say, a rainy and flat environment - I would probably struggle harder to find an indoor alternative.
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Old 11-04-22, 05:05 PM
  #71  
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Originally Posted by Camilo
I haven't used Zwift so can't comment on how fun that is. I have tried a Peloton once or twice and it was marginally more fun than my indoor trainer watching TV. But I'd just rather do a real indoor workout (weights or "boot camp" kind of stuff) or go outside in whatever capacity I can. that is skiing or walking. I much prefer walking to indoor bike traiining. But I live in pretty significant hills so a 1 hour walk is very rigorous and is better for my mind and body than riding indoors. If I lived in a different - say, a rainy and flat environment - I would probably struggle harder to find an indoor alternative.
I would conclude that our choices are largely driven by our environment. For me, going skiing of any type is a significant journey and expense. Walking is suburban blah...and I don't really enjoy walking. If I'm going to head up into dirt trails the local hills, it would be on my MTB, and then we're back to my lack of tolerance for dark, wet, and cold. There's no right way for everyone. Awesome that you have a nice variety of fun choices outside.
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Old 11-05-22, 05:26 PM
  #72  
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I’m going to ski uphill all winter. Maybe do a handful of crunches too.

Probably definitely going to be in better shape in the spring than I am now.
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Old 11-05-22, 05:45 PM
  #73  
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I ride Winnipeg winters. The strategy is to survive.
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Old 11-05-22, 06:30 PM
  #74  
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I just mounted a pair of 45NRTH Gravdal Studded Tires on my commuter. If it gets worse than those can handle, I can ride the Fat Bike to work. And I may add some gym time 3 or 4 days a week as well. It is included in my medical insurance, and not too far out of my way.
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Old 11-05-22, 07:53 PM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by Camilo
I haven't used Zwift so can't comment on how fun that is. I have tried a Peloton once or twice and it was marginally more fun than my indoor trainer watching TV. But I'd just rather do a real indoor workout (weights or "boot camp" kind of stuff) or go outside in whatever capacity I can. that is skiing or walking. I much prefer walking to indoor bike traiining. But I live in pretty significant hills so a 1 hour walk is very rigorous and is better for my mind and body than riding indoors. If I lived in a different - say, a rainy and flat environment - I would probably struggle harder to find an indoor alternative.
I enjoy a nice walk in the hills but it just doesn't cut it for my cycling fitness. I used to hate indoor trainers before smart trainers and virtual cycling apps appeared. Now I enjoy riding indoors more than outdoors over the winter months. I also find the break from riding outdoors helps to reset my enthusiasm for the following season. I walk and ski too, but it's the indoor cycling that really keeps my cycling fitness up over the winter.
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