[262741]

I see that a lot of people that frequent this board spend a fair amount of time on their bikes in the winter. Any comments about the quality of training you get riding in the cold and inclement weather?

I live at '6000 and the average temperature is about 20 degrees at this time of year. Sometimes far colder.

I XC ski aggresively, downhill ski even more aggresively, hike a little in the backcountry, ride my trainer, and do a pretty thorough core workout. The long and short of it is I am unable to spend any significant time on my bike outside right now.

Any feedback from people that live with similar winter riding obstacles would be appreciated. Do you feel at a disadvantage compared to other riders that spend more time on their bikes in the winter, or do you think the cross training gives a more well rounded base to start the spring?

I am usually on the bike pretty regularly by the end of February, but that is very weather dependent. Thanks for any comments or advice!

 

[KERKOVEJ]

I live in the Midwest (Iowa) so we have a change of seasons. Winters are a biatch, and hard to do workout-specific rides. So, I do a lot of my specific riding workouts on the rollers or a spin bike at the YMCA. Only time I go outside is if it's above 10 degrees F and I have base miles to get in.

 

[bikesinmud]

I'm in Alberta, we get mostly very cold windy and dry winters. I have enough winter gear to ride in temps near 0 F. Colder than that and the bike doesn't work well, esp king hubs the rear won't coast when you stop pedalling. I find that investing in some really good winter gear can make riding more enjoyable and we're able to get out on some 4hour rides on a regular basis. Ya, I also toss in some snowshoeing, XC skiing, and of course the indoor training. It's all personal, what is your goal? My goal is to suck less when I race so I need to put in more time than most. I've tried staying indoors in the winter but end up with big suck in the spring. Training now means I can get top 10 in any race so the sucking is less. I've just come to accept that this is what I do (endurance racing) so I better get used to it. Most of the outdoor rides when it's cold are tempo type workouts, keeping warm and not working up too much of a sweat. If its warmer we'll giver' with some intervals, etc. But to get a 6 hour training day in under my belt may include 2hours of biking, rush home to change, throw the snowshoes or XC skiis on, and then get in to ride the trainer to complete the day. Have fun!

 

[Pedro K]

This year i started riding my mountain bike on the road for base with some big fat semi slicks. Not as much wind and its just better for you to be training on the bike your going to race on. The only thing I really have a problem with is my feet, but thats partly due to a prior frost bite incident.

 

[262741]

The older I get the harder time I have accepting that there will come a day when I start getting slower. I plan to race a solo 24 in May, and was second last year chasing first for the last 2/3rd of the race. I would like to be in a position to win this year. Of course that all depends on who shows up, but you gotta have goals, right?

I am also entered in the Seven stage race, and obviously with that kind of investment/opportunity I want to do well. My riding partner is strong, and we match up well so a respectable finish isn't unrealistic.

I have good winter riding gear, it is the icy roads that pose more of a problem. I guess it is the trainer and 30-40k skate skiing excursion whenever possible. It all seems to workout in the Spring, but I drive myself insane all Winter convinced I am doing less than everyone I compete against.

Thanks for the insight into your winter training. I'll continue fumbling along with trial and error. Thank god I can't afford a Power Tap, then I would really be confused!

 

[hairball_dh]

This'll confuse ya for sure

Here's something to consider. In a typical endurance racing season, a rider will spend a lot of time recovering from some big butt kicking event - interpretation here is that it's best to come out guns blazing with good early season power, especially for enduro riders. If you race a lot, it's tough to improve power throughout the season in an enduro calendar.

There is a LOT you can do in the winter/off-season to improve power, and even endurance, in shorter workouts. It can all be done on the trainer if that's all you've got.

2 decent references on how to put it together are Dave Morris' book (I think it's called performance cycling) and Maximum Performance for Cyclists by Michael Ross. I just received the latter and it's most intriguing - I haven't seen fresh material on the subject in quite some time. It's a good read.

Good luck with it all sick puppy and I'll see you at Seven - LyndaW and I are signed up.

 

[sekt88]

as boring as it sounds, I sit on the roller for 1.5 hours 4x a week to train enurance.
I have the transalp this year so I have a single goal. (plus the 3 marathons before the transalp). It is the only way I get in my base with work, family and weightlifting.

 

[262741]

Here's something to consider. In a typical endurance racing season, a rider will spend a lot of time recovering from some big butt kicking event - interpretation here is that it's best to come out guns blazing with good early season power, especially for enduro riders. If you race a lot, it's tough to improve power throughout the season in an enduro calendar.

Last year after my first big race in May, I felt like all I did was try to recover between events, so I know exactly what you are talking about.

2 decent references on how to put it together are Dave Morris' book (I think it's called performance cycling) and Maximum Performance for Cyclists by Michael Ross. I just received the latter and it's most intriguing - I haven't seen fresh material on the subject in quite some time. It's a good read.

Thanks for the tip, I will get a copy of both.

Good luck with it all sick puppy and I'll see you at Seven - LyndaW and I are signed up.

Awesome! I had a feeling you two would be there. I look forward to seeing you guys in Victoria.

 

[Saint John]

I think you're fine. Frankly, I find winter cross training to be a great mental break and recharge. Come spring I'm dying to get on the bike more often and I think there's a lot of value in that. I'm in Durango, where I can get away with some winter miles, but not the real long days I ultimately need. In winter I spend some hours on the trainer (more effective than most think), XC ski, splitboard, resort board and mountaineer. I don't end up hitting spring fat and slow.

Sounds like you have cabin fever too me.

The older I get the harder time I have accepting that there will come a day when I start getting slower. I plan to race a solo 24 in May, and was second last year chasing first for the last 2/3rd of the race. I would like to be in a position to win this year. Of course that all depends on who shows up, but you gotta have goals, right?

I am also entered in the Seven stage race, and obviously with that kind of investment/opportunity I want to do well. My riding partner is strong, and we match up well so a respectable finish isn't unrealistic.

I have good winter riding gear, it is the icy roads that pose more of a problem. I guess it is the trainer and 30-40k skate skiing excursion whenever possible. It all seems to workout in the Spring, but I drive myself insane all Winter convinced I am doing less than everyone I compete against.

Thanks for the insight into your winter training. I'll continue fumbling along with trial and error. Thank god I can't afford a Power Tap, then I would really be confused!

 

[glenzx]

..and its just better for you to be training on the bike your going to race on...

It's better to train the way you need to train - regardless of bike.

The above comment is about as asinine a training related comment I have heard. Show up at a hammer training road ride on your mtbike with slicks - and see how little you'll get out of THAT workout! Well, you'll get the ride in - alone, but shoot - it's great to have a variety of training tools at ones disposal - like road rides that kick your a$$ and make you see elvis.

Anyhow - winter x-training helps a lot, but Dave is right - good to stay sharp for earlier season races so you're not brutalized (and can recover well) - like I was at Old Pueblo last year - despite a LOT of training anyhow! Took 4 weeks to be sort of "right" after that. Rollers help the indoor riding a lot, as 1 - 1.5 hours constantly pedalling and balancing is a dang good workout. Not the 4-6 hour 1000's of feet of climbing on the road workout, but still good.

 

[Super E]

I plan to race a solo 24 in May, and was second last year chasing first for the last 2/3rd of the race. I would like to be in a position to win this year. Of course that all depends on who shows up....

Was that the 24-hr in Spokane last year? I seem to remember a fairly close race in the solo mens...

 

[262741]

Was that the 24-hr in Spokane last year? I seem to remember a fairly close race in the solo mens...

Yes. I lead for the first 4 laps or so, had a bad lap or two, and turned myself inside out chasing until the end. That was the first 24 solo I have raced where I felt like I had a good race. Great competion and a close race, in my mind all you could ask for. Matthew Hart rode a really nice race, but I would like to think I will be ready to give him a run for his money this year!

 

[ThrashNY]

Friel's The Mountain Bikers Training Bible is a great reference for goal-specific training. He talks alot about rest and recovery as a means of improving performance as hard as it is for all of us to slow down or even refraing from biking mid-season.

 

[Flooredsubaru]

This is going to be my first year racing, my main goal is to finish the Fire Cracker 50 in Breckenridge, CO.

It is also the first winter I can remember where it has snowed more then 6" of snow every Friday for 4 weeks straight now, and the 5th is predicted this week. I used the start of the year to really jump-start my training. It has composed of every workout being on the trainer. Today was the first day that I have really felt good on the trainer.

I am hoping to come out very strong this spring am I hurting my chances just using the trainer?

I have been keeping the workouts from 45mins to 1hour, and hope to ramp up to an hour and a half towards the end of the month. What is the max time I should spend on the trainer?

Is anyone putting 2 hour plus rides in on the trainer this time of year?

 

[EnduroDoug]

Good discussion, everyone. I actually came to the forum today with the specific purpose of querrying you all on what a typical January training week looks like. From the sounds of it, doesn't sound too different than my own. I'm signed up for TransRockies, Seattle to Portland (1 day, 204 miles roadie event), and planning on 2-manning Spokane 24hrs, as well as some other lengthy excursions but the weather here in western WA has really wreaked havoc on training. If it isn't freezing cold, rainy, and windy, then there's too many blowdowns on the trails to get out and ride.

I've been hitting the trainer about 4-5 times a week for rides of 90 to 120 minutes, sometimes steady-speed spinning and othertimes using the Spinervals workouts. I've also been getting in some lengthy 30 to 45 mile forest road rides that come in between 1500 and 3000 feet of climbing.

Those of you with a lot of experience, how would you say what I'm doing rates for January base training. I'm not looking to podium in anything, just looking to finish above average.