i know the fall season has just begun, but a couple of us were having a (drunken) conversation last night about winter riding. Normally I won’t ride outside once the snow falls, but I’m thinking of changing that this winter (mostly to avoid sitting on the bike trainer). I’m just curious who here rides throughout the winter in places that have snow on the ground regularly. I’m thinking that if I ride outdoors on the weekends, it would make things more tolerable over the winter…plus I could be more creative…like riding snowmobile trails with my mountain bike.
having said that…if there’s snow (which there usually is where I live)…i’d probably opt for xc skiing anyway.
i know the fall season has just begun, but a couple of us were having a (drunken) conversation last night about winter riding. Normally I won’t ride outside once the snow falls, but I’m thinking of changing that this winter (mostly to avoid sitting on the bike trainer). I’m just curious who here rides throughout the winter in places that have snow on the ground regularly. I’m thinking that if I ride outdoors on the weekends, it would make things more tolerable over the winter…plus I could be more creative…like riding snowmobile trails with my mountain bike.
having said that…if there’s snow (which there usually is where I live)…i’d probably opt for xc skiing anyway.
I did last winter. 50K round trip through the winter. It’s a blast but I am lucky enough to have access to roads with fairly good shoulders where the snow gets pushed pretty far off the road most days. I have studded snow tires and lots of warm clothing. And 2x tube kit and more spare clothes just in case I get stranded somewhere and need to hunker down. Be prepared for almost anything. Nothing sucks more than being sweaty and then having your bike break down and you have to wait 30 minutes for the sag wagon in the freezing cold.
M~
Yep, DH has studded snow MTB tires. I’m not quite that hard core, but ride in the snow lots. The hardest thing for me is keeping my hands warm enough, sometimes have to wear ski gloves.
having said that…if there’s snow (which there usually is where I live)…i’d probably opt for xc skiing anyway.
Winter solutions:
XC ski as much as you can. Gold! Run a lot. Do 2 - 3 hard and intense 45min - 1 hr cycling workouts on the trainer each week. Spring will come around and you’ll feel like you have not missed a beat! Might even be, “fitter”!!
Studded tires are not that big an investment for your mountain bike or cross bike. Dress in layers with goretex outer shell. I use Lake winter shoes and smartwool socks–toes never get cold. Remember your speed is your wind chill factor. I use lobster gloves, balaclava winter tights and if it’s really cold, gore-tex pants. There does come a point when it’s a little ridiculous and you look like the Michelin man trying to ride a 2 wheeler. Oh, yeah, and unless the shoes are studded, careful dismounting as this may result in doing the splits when you put your foot down. I’ve only read about that. Really.
Here in Boston, I try to take whatever the weather gives. I have a crappy winter bike with fenders that I ride all winter. I use the thermal heat thingies in my shoes along with shoe covers if it is under 30. I use a pair of mid-weight fleece gloves with goretex mitten shells that I can use/not use as necessary. Takes away some dexterity, but my hands never get cold, and I’m good from 20F up with some combination of glove/mitten. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, keep your junk warm. Last year I messed up and ended up shoving pieces of newspaper I took from a recycling bin at a school on a route down the front of my bibs in order to alleviate the agonizing dicksicle I’d developed.
Also, 28 degrees is better than 40 if there is snow cover as you’ll stay drier. If you get a nice day that is going to get up above freezing, head out early before a lot of the melt has started. If you wait until the afternoon, you’ll be riding through puddles all day. Just watch out for black ice…that is the one thing aside from frigid temps that will put me inside on the trainer.
i think we got more miles during the winter than the summer on our bikes!
5* was the coldest i was out in this past winter.
$300 bike from nashbar has made it through 2 winters and heading into it’s 3rd
Lobster gloves are a MUST have (i can’t emphasize this enough)
keep your feet and hands warm/dry and the rest will fall into place.
Wool is your friend!
so is a helmet with no vents!
we don’t leave for rides in the actual snow, but we’ve been caught in a few questionable situations.
Getting proper winter cycling boots is made winter cycling tolerable for me. (I also got the Lakes, and in a large size so i can put extra socks on).
For hands, you can just keep getting thicker and thicker gloves until you find something that’s warm enough. However, sometimes your hands get too hot, so I usually bring 2 pairs of gloves, a warm pair, and a super warm pair and switch back and forth.
Another option is to get moose mitts (I havne’t tried them myself yet, but I made wind sheilds out of pop bottles which worked pretty well).
There’s good information in the winter cycling subforum on bikeforums.net
Step 1. Wake up.
Step 2. Put your bottle of gatorade/efs/whatever outside.
Step 3. Eat breakfast.
Step 4. Check bottle. If frozen or slushy, hit the trainer 'cause it’s too darn cold to be worth it.
Also, salt is a bike’s worst enemy, so unless you like rust/creaking noises and replacing chains, cassettes and chainrings, hit the trainer after snowfall.
XC ski as much as you can. Gold! Run a lot. Do 2 - 3 hard and intense 45min - 1 hr cycling workouts on the trainer each week. Spring will come around and you’ll feel like you have not missed a beat! Might even be, “fitter”!!
come on now…seriously?? are you trying to tell me xc skiing makes one fit? shocking!!!
in all honesty, my winter goal is to be on the trainer or treadmill as little as possible and come into next spring fitter. the goal is to either swim, xc ski, run, or bike outside.
training indoors blows.
ironically when I lived in boston I didn’t have a car for the first year or so and I bike commuted 40’ each way. There were a handful of times that I was riding in snow storms…which was fun.
Mostly i was just curious how many others forgo the trainer and just HTFU during the winter months. I’m ok with doing shorter intervals on the trainer during the week days…weekends I’m thinking i’d rather bundle up and go out on the bike for a few hours than spend even half that time on the trainer.
Montreal has on average about 8 ft of snow (more than 2 meters) each year and I try to keep training outside up until roads are entirely covered. But as a matter of fact I keep commuting with my everyday bike whatever the weather, and it is actually a lot of fun since there are fewer people on the road and everybody’s driving slower.
](
