[Closed] Winter shut down

Whilst I liked Trainer Road for individual sessions, I found it really difficult to stick with a plan for more than a few weeks. Unless you're super motivated to hit the numbers regardless of pain/fatigue/tiredness/illness, or pro level in your abilities to plan training that treads the fine line between enough that it works and not so much you're not recovering, I still preferred going out and getting muddy in a group. Even on a bad day it's more fun to sit at the back taking it easier but keep motivated by the fun aspects of being outside, than just suffer until you hate it indoors.

Think it was Gee off here who said about training plans "ride every day, unless it's raining then go to the gym".

thisisnotaspoon - Member

Whilst I liked Trainer Road for individual sessions, I found it really difficult to stick with a plan for more than a few weeks. Unless you're super motivated to hit the numbers regardless of pain/fatigue/tiredness/illness, or pro level in your abilities to plan training that treads the fine line between enough that it works and not so much you're not recovering, I still preferred going out and getting muddy in a group. Even on a bad day it's more fun to sit at the back taking it easier but keep motivated by the fun aspects of being outside, than just suffer until you hate it indoors

THe way I see the TR plans are, as guidelines. If I can't ride because its dark or the weather is dangerously bad (thick fog, gales etc.) then I do a TR session. If I can ride outside, I mimic the TR session more or less. The way I see all the TR plans is the weekend is basically a shorter faster harder ride on the Sat and a longer ride on the Sun., which is easily acheivable outside on whatever form of bike you choose.

Trainer road and Zwift are an addition to winter riding. Used sensibly you will see a big increase in strength

mduncombe - Member

Zwift... I came out of last winter fitter than at the end of the summer. Mix it up though, join a Zwift group ride, ride along side a pro or ex pro, try a Zwift race, enter one of the Zwift challenges that crop up from time to time (Win a Cervelo in October), test your FTP, estimate your VO2 max with a step test, complete a Zwift training plan or just ride. All with not a splash of mud anywhere to be seen.Come the spring you will be riding harder, further and faster

I did my first Zwift race this week.... it was just proper hard...

My yearly MHR is 178bpm, my average in the Zwift race for an hour was 172bpm ! That's scary !

It was proper hard and good entertainment chasing a bike, rather than a structured workout on the Turbo watching the clock tick for 30s intervals etc.

My bloody Strava feed is full of this Zwift nonsense. 👿 Get out of the comfy house and get outside 😛

My bloody Strava feed is full of this Zwift nonsense

Agreed, there needs to be an option to hide pretend rides 😀

dont' forget the dorky ankle straps:

[img] [/img]

one side is hi-viz yellow, the other is silver retro-reflective.

they're very eye-catching, and they hightlight the up/down pedalling motion that just screams 'BIKE!'...

So I'm wondering what everybody else does to stay fit over winter?

I just keep on riding as I normally do. I commute 20 miles each way on the bike and depending on road conditions just continue as normal through winter.

Did just under 1100 miles last November/December as they're usually reasonable weather wise, things usually take a dip in Jan but still usually manage over 300 miles.

Theres nothing pretend about the pre race anxiety, competion between riders or puddle of sweat you'll leave on the floor.
Hell of a let better for fitness than commuting ever will be whatever the time year.

ProViz Jacket
I overtake a guy on my commute with one. IMO it is far better than lights . Gives you width and depth and more ' presence ' on the road.
A single red rear LED , whilst bright, does indicate you are a very narrow vehicle and can be buzzed safely by cars and vans. Those jackets make you appear wider than you due to the way the almost effervesce with light.

Theres nothing pretend about the pre race anxiety, competion between riders or puddle of sweat you'll leave on the floor.
Hell of a let better for fitness than commuting ever will be whatever the time year.

Do you always always add your own bits( "all the time") to other people statements so they can be more easily criticised?

You would get on well with my ex wife.

A) racing is not good training.
B) commuting can be good training, GolfChick extends a 7 odd mile journey to a 21 mile journey, plenty long enough for structured training of some description.

Ooft lol

And FWIW I and many hundreds of other low grade pros run our entire season based on a winter of commuting to better paying jobs (to counter being paid virtually nothing during the season).

Really enjoyed night road rides over the past couple of winters.
Decent lights, I run a bright front and rear and 2nd longer run time front and rear. The right clothing for the conditions. Mudguards and the widest tyres you can fit if on a road bike. Finding the right route makes a big difference, I spent a bit of time using Google Streetview this year and test ridden a few different roads to link together. I normally default to back roads without road markings, generally quiet and if you look around some have really decent tarmac.

On the other hand i do the opposite. Less road over the winter as they are likely to be frosty/icy. Mostly non-technical mtb rides and turbo sessions.

I read your comments re sitting duck/vulnerable to be a female specific thing which I hadn't considered before but can see could be an issue.

I am a real scaredy cat when it comes to ice. I don't ride below 4c and wet or 3c and dry. I broke this rule last Feb and had a massive off at speed on sheet ice. Very lucky not to have life changing injuries.

Turbo, fans and Netflix for me plus a long muddy off road ride each weekend.

Cheers for the ideas and suggestions. It's not mud I dislike, I'm one of few people stupid enough to ride the wyre forest year round (yes I modify my route to not shred the place to death), its more being reflective enough to be seen and the equipment and time to do so and the using of the very nice road bike with the grit on the road. I think I may go for the option of using the hardtail for shorter blasts just to get a few miles in when I can and still get back for the dog.

I want to ride in the winter because I love riding bikes and staying in shape and being ready for next year. For that reason Turbo is really not up my street, I just cant see the fun in it. Also the way that would work is I'd get home walk the dog for hr n half - 2 hrs. To then need to cook tea then about 8 or 9 think to get on the turbo or sit on the sofa before the day starts all over again! Besides the house is quite small so there's no where I could leave it setup and I'm certainly not moving heaps of stuff each time.

Think I'll start some road running again on the other nights and maybe a few off road runs with the head torch.

adsh - nothing to do with being a female, just feel I'd be a more target in the winter when there's the excuse of it being dark for why they hit me whilst looking at their mobile phones. Not being harsh but I'd imagine if a person wanted to take advantage of a female, they'd have a far easier job by going onto BroadStreet at 2am on a Sat night rather than hope to spot me on a road bike on a country lane and be able to tell from a distance that I'm female especially when everybody else on a bike is incapable of doing so. 😆 😆

In that case

Hope District rear light