Affecting your training??

rozzer32

HI all,

How is the cold weather affecting everyone's training?

I try and get out for about 5 hours over the weekend, normally 3 hours on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. But today the weather has left frost and ice on the roads so I don't want to risk going out. Should I just do an hour or so on the turbo instead?

What do you do when you can't get outside for a ride when you should?

nickwill

rozzer32 wrote:

HI all,

How is the cold weather affecting everyone's training?

I try and get out for about 5 hours over the weekend, normally 3 hours on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. But today the weather has left frost and ice on the roads so I don't want to risk going out. Should I just do an hour or so on the turbo instead?

What do you do when you can't get outside for a ride when you should?

I did some stretching and strengthening exercises to try and improve the state of a dodgy back and left hamstring.
I sold my turbo trainer because I've never been able to face going in to a dank cold garage for self inflicted torture. To be honest with you, the only time I feel that was a mistake was when the roads are too icy to venture out safely!

Buckled_Rims

I've been turboing for the last week.

The snow is 6 inches deep here. I went for 4 mile run yesterday afternoon, but only managed 2 miles due to blinding blizzard conditions that very suddenly appeared. I then got home and did 30 minutes turbo intervals. I was knackered, but smiling.

Chiggy

I go to the gym and whizz off 1500 kCals in a couple of hours doing intervals.

Then I go home and sweat over a hot stove.

jonmack

I'm just hitting the turbo for an hour every other night now it's winter, I'm awful in the cold and just can't be bothered to go out when the weather is telling me it's -4º out!

glasgowbhoy

Turbo today. Sufferfest for company and now sitting looking out the window with half a metre of snow on the garden!

Welshroadrider

Glasgowbhoy wrote:

Turbo today. Sufferfest for company and now sitting looking out the window with half a metre of snow on the garden!

haha just finished on the sufferfest downward spiral.

mrjinx

Training? freezing wind freezing roads freezing fingers freezing nose freezing ears freezing bloody toes. Lots of hot tea mince pies stollen more tea butterd toast kit-kat snickers bar more tea! yup i love training in the winter. More tea anyone!

Bronzie

That's why God invented the mountainbike

3.5 hours steady over the Chilterns yesterday (only had a dusting of snow but would have been dodgy on narrow tryes.

2 hours blatting round Chicksands Woods this afternoon. Lovely day for it provided you were wearing the right clothes. Probably could've ridden the road bike but I've entered an MTB enduro at Thetford next Sunday and need to sharpen the skillz.

rozzer32

mrjinx wrote:

Training? freezing wind freezing roads freezing fingers freezing nose freezing ears freezing bloody toes. Lots of hot tea mince pies stollen more tea butterd toast kit-kat snickers bar more tea! yup i love training in the winter. More tea anyone!

Hahaha yes would love to do this but I know when it came to next year I would be as fit as Susan Boyle.

Bronzie - Mountain bikes do nothing for me, would rather be on turbo and that's saying something lol.


Just did an hour on the turbo. Hopefully the weather will be a bit better next weekend. Sunshine at least. We can all dream

badly_dubbed

like the look of sufferfest angels!!

i did 25mins weight training and 25min intervals on the rollers was out running yesterday so thats ok for me lol

8)

unixnerd

What do you do when you can't get outside for a ride when you should?

Cross country skiing, great fun. Come to think of it clearing 18" of snow from my driveway is a fairly good work out too!

Loretta Damage

I'm in Shropshire, we've only had an inch or so of snow where I live (nr Shrewsbury) but it froze last night. Woke up to glorious blue sky and sunshine so thought I'd wait until 1030ish and head out for a 35 mile loop, from mine into town then out to Baschurch, back to Montford Bridge, under the A5 onto Welshpool Rd then to Halfway House where I picked up the Westbury road, turned right to Worthen then up to Minsterley and back home. It was brilliant, roads were ok, although I did wear 2 pairs of gloves, my drink froze in my bottle and the screen on my computer was frozen over by the time I'd done 30 mins. I think at one point my snot froze as a well!

Got back and gave my bike a good clean only to find that both the de-greaser and lube had frozen (kept in shed), 10 mins in front of fire and a good shake sorted that out but they'll be kept in the house from now on. Had to make the effort though as my winter training is restricted to spinning and turbo training in the week so my ride on the weekend is a sanity saver!!

Chiggy

Loretta Damage wrote:

I'm in Shropshire, we've only had an inch or so of snow where I live (nr Shrewsbury) but it froze last night. Woke up to glorious blue sky and sunshine so thought I'd wait until 1030ish and head out for a 35 mile loop, from mine into town then out to Baschurch, back to Montford Bridge, under the A5 onto Welshpool Rd then to Halfway House where I picked up the Westbury road, turned right to Worthen then up to Minsterley and back home. It was brilliant, roads were ok, although I did wear 2 pairs of gloves, my drink froze in my bottle and the screen on my computer was frozen over by the time I'd done 30 mins. I think at one point my snot froze as a well!

Got back and gave my bike a good clean only to find that both the de-greaser and lube had frozen (kept in shed), 10 mins in front of fire and a good shake sorted that out but they'll be kept in the house from now on. Had to make the effort though as my winter training is restricted to spinning and turbo training in the week so my ride on the weekend is a sanity saver!!

You know when its cold when you spit; it bounces and rolls into the gutter.

mrjinx

After 11 months of riding ,training, sportives, uphill downhill its nice to become a normal person again. When its freezing stay indoors do a bit of comfort eating its only for three or four weeks then we will all be back out losing the excess pound all ready for early spring and the summer months’ I’m self employed so if i come off in the snow/ice and damage the important bits I’m knackered.
Or am I just lazy!

Chiggy

mrjinx wrote:

After 11 months of riding ,training, sportives, uphill downhill its nice to become a normal person again. When its freezing stay indoors do a bit of comfort eating its only for three or four weeks then we will all be back out losing the excess pound all ready for early spring and the summer months’ I’m self employed so if i come off in the snow/ice and damage the important bits I’m knackered.
Or am I just lazy!

Word on the street is, you lose fitness THREE times the rate you can gain it.

mrjinx

I'm now on the turbo trainer! its hard work being crap!

freehub

I did 14 miles and felt rough, so went on the turbo and did 10 mile quick ride on it, then 8 miles home, I felt ok on the way home as the temperature was only around 0- -2 rather than -5 how it was this morning which caused me to struggle to maintain any sort of speed and felt slow, I seemed to have been slowing down over the weeks, but must have been temperature because on the turbo I'm consistently maintaining over 300w which actually shows I'm improving rather than going the other way which riding outside suggests.

bigpikle

Bronzie wrote:

That's why God invented the mountainbike

3.5 hours steady over the Chilterns yesterday (only had a dusting of snow but would have been dodgy on narrow tryes.

2 hours blatting round Chicksands Woods this afternoon. Lovely day for it provided you were wearing the right clothes. Probably could've ridden the road bike but I've entered an MTB enduro at Thetford next Sunday and need to sharpen the skillz.

where is Chicksands? Google didnt help and I'd like to do more MTB stuff in the area.

thanks

Determination

I went out yesturday and got caught out on a semi cleared road. I fell off at about 5 mph. :oops:

Bronzie

Bigpikle wrote:

where is Chicksands? Google didnt help and I'd like to do more MTB stuff in the area.

AKA Rowney Warren Woods - some downhill and 4X courses there plus a load of Northshore boarding for the more adventurous, but I stick to the XC trails around the woods - follow the red arrows painted on the trees. Sandy soil so it's rideable even in the wettest weather.

http://www.chicksandsbikepark.co.uk/


The other good place locally is Aston Hill MTB centre near Aston Clinton. Not sure how it fares in wet weather though.

http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/

Bronzie

Not to forget Woburn Woods as well - loads of great trails around there, most of which are rideable all year.

unixnerd

If anyone's after one I'm selling my underused turbo trainer:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopi ... 8#16627908

Jungli

Rollers one day, canal towpath on the mountain bike the next day...

repeat..

Weekend long mountain bike

twotyred

+1 for mountain bikes.I don't seem to get as cold on the MTB. Maybe its because I'm not travelling so fast and the wind chill is less or because I'm moving around on the bike my upper body gets a workout as well and stays warmer. Clear day, no wind and nice frozen mud meant a nice 3 hr ride over the N Wessex Downs had to be done yesterday. Didn't have to clean the bike when I got back either.

rock_hopper

Not affecting my training at all, if anything I'm doing more and certainly having more fun. Been getting out on the cyclo cross bike and commuting to work on it. The compacted snow covered roads at the weekend were great to ride on, we did nearly 3 hours. Like twotyred said your upper body gets a workout and you also improve on bike handling skills. Rather than an inconvenience I'm seeing it as an extra challenge. Measured 14 inches of snow on top of the shed and would pick this weather over wet and windy and day! Get out and have fun :-)

Thick Tester

Ditto Rockhopper...
As long as the roads have been gritted ant there is no standing ice or you go of on an mtb or crosser and you wrap up warm there is no reason to s*** out.

This morning was a 2 pairs of gloves and 2 jackets jobby but it was quite pleasant out there!

I made the mistake of staying in last year and hitting the ale, so this year i'm steady away and keeping it chugging along. As soon as it gets too icy i'm in and turbo bound with a box set of Heroes or something like that!

freehub

Looks like I'm not going to be doing many miles on the road at all till next year, the cold weather is doing me in, on the way back from uni I was fine until I got just a light gust of wind and I could not breath with it, awful.