Shifting the winter blues – how do you manage it?

Always tired. Lethargic. Fed up with work. Eating too much cr*p. It’s always ****’ dark. Riding my bike either happens in the dark or in the rain. Usual winter blues sh*te.

How do you deal with it?

I love winter.

I grit my teeth and get on with it. I take more days off in the winter, and make to odd trip or two to trail centres to get a days worth of good buzz.

don’t wish half your life away. I cherish the winter, the sharp snap you can get in the air, the challenge of ice and snow, the feeling of battling the elements, opening my flask of hot chocolate – it’s all good :o)

My wife had the same issue – she forked out for a lightbox and found it made a big difference. Expensive but well worth it for the difference it’s made.
http://www.britebox.co.uk

I spend a lot of time having to listen to my mother on the phone moaning about the cold, the damp, the fog, the dark, the ice, the rain, the wind, my dad etc etc and how depressed it makes her feel and how she can’t wait for the light, the dry, the sun, the warmth etc etc.

I get so peed off with her that it makes me feel glad to be alive and doing as much as I can regardless of the season and conditions.

mr omitn – either drugs or SAD or higher speed p0rn…surely – as the man above says don’t wish it away…..

I book my holiday destination…

What sfb said, it’s all in the head!

Dark and rainy isn’t a bad time to go riding – empty trails, and being able to drift round corners…

A few things I am doing

1) Cherish the good days, trails as hard as summer, clear air etc.
2) Book some summer riding events (big rides with mates/holidays/races whatever)
3) See this time as a chance to get fit so you can hit the trails like a riding God in the summer (ok so a bit of poetic licence here)

I just stay drunk until the beginning of April

simon_f_barnes – that photo is very very wrong. Grown men in tights even on this well endowed chap (Not safe for some peoples work but its not nude- hence I posted the link and NOT the image itself):

http://crispysound.com/crap/gay_pirate_.jpg

Even men like that shouldnt wear lycra SFB!

Apparently, a well know cure for S.A.D. is to get a f*cking grip

omitn – get a grip man, you are giving northerners a bad name!

Lycra is functionally brilliant, some people prefer to go on a fashion parade – thats their choice 😉

I’m struggling with the same issue (never free from work unless its dark, and then I’ve got no-one to ride with so all I do is stay in the flat and watch TV or work some more).

So, some interesting variants.

It’s interesting that more than one assumes I’m wishing it away. Not so.

I feel like plenty of others, I’m sure. It’s just a weather, mundane life thing.

Plenty of riding going on – it’s the only bit (other than my time with Mrs North) which keeps me sane: I was at the track on Monday, missed a night road ride on Tuesday (work until 1am – like the bad old days), will be at the club chaingang on Saturday (getting a kicking, no doubt), and MTBing for the first time this year on Sunday.

Summer riding is being planned and there are trips to look forward to: Tour of Flanders sportive in April, a week riding and chilling by Lake Como in early May, starting road racing in the spring/summer, Dartmoor Classic sportive with a good friend in June, riding the Étape in July….

But, right now, it’s dark when I go to work, dark at work (my office doesn’t have an external view), dark when I go home…. Just need to work out the best way through it – no different from anyone else.

Cheers all

OMITN (simultaneously conducting retail therapy online)

my solution for the last couple of years is to go somewhere hot and sunny for a week in the winter, It is nice to be able to get out on the bike in the warmth to get dry trails etc.

Have a hot bath, missus has a hot bath. Then both have carnal fun for a couple of hours. Call me basic but surely that clears the blues away?

If it helps- plan a mtb holiday in Spain now to leave in 3 weeks. You will be tied up with your checklists etc etc and wont even notice the cold here.

I remeber when I was off the bike for 6 months due to injury and make every ride count fair weather or not

Carnal fun for a couple of hours Hora? Pah! A likely story. I’ve heard you’re on a hair-trigger.

It’d get you over an advertising break during Corry perhaps. But only if you thought about Margaret Thatcher and Russian Tractor collectives

Binners. It is true. They used to call me ‘The Klashnikov’. Only because I used to like standing up and pray’n’spray

Is this past the levels of decency yet?

pray’n’spray? Does that involve alter boys?

Carnal fun for a couple of hours Hora? Pah! A likely story. I’ve heard you’re on a hair-trigger.

PPFFFTT!

New keyboard please, Binners.

Hora; in’t yer mates great at helping to boost you up, eh?

Well I’d hardly want him saying ‘2hours? That is mere-minutes to you my Stallion-friend’! 🙂

Ourmant’upnorth(like)- cheered up yet?

Ps. Binners, when I’m loaded and burst into a room……its a helluva mess 8)

I ride more in the winter. Harder and faster cos its cold and I don’t want to dawdle. Its a good emotional thing cos it feels hard, so I feel like I’m training really hard (plus the addedd benefit that everyone else has the sense to stay in, so I feel doubly hard!). Also, come summer time, good weather feels even better and I feel fitter cos I’ve been riding all winter. Just treat winter astraining for the summer!

I started running more. A nice crisp morning always makes me grin.

Ourmant’upnorth(like)- cheered up yet?

Oh yes. Now that I’ve seen binners insulting your manhood *again* on here.

Are you sure it wasn’t you binners saw in a corset way back then?

Exercise (and sh*gg*ng) always makes me feel better. It’s the overall slog and grind of winter that gets me down.

Agree. I have really struggled to get up this week. I did manage to cycle over to Sports City (gym) and back yesterday evening though 😀

Binners is only jealous of my French Baguette 8)

Even men like that shouldnt wear lycra SFB!

I completely agree, but of course no one takes any notice of that 🙁

Difficult to do if your working until 1am but I would suggest a run at lunchtime when you can. Failing that at least stepping outside for a "fag break" even if you don’t smoke just to get the day-light in.

I used to work in a fully inside environment and went a bit loopy not seeing the sun for a whole week during winters. Some exercise outside is really needed to keep your body clock sane.

I would suggest a run at lunchtime when you can

Was thinking about that. It doesn’t do my knees any good (years of astroturf has wrecked them), but ought to be a good way of upping the exercise and daylight. I’ll think about that for next week.

Binners is only jealous of my French Baguette

You two are obsessed with food. Oh, I see…. 😉

Go skiing.

winter blues in Manchester? try living in Norway FFS.

"darrell
winter blues in Manchester? try living in Norway FFS."

Yes but you do have the advantage of Norweigan girls 😉

Yes but you do have the advantage of Norweigan girls

Really? Will Norwegian girls help shift it?

does this help – not really work safe[/url]

Just getting out for a walk at some point during the day would help. It’s sunlight you need, not exercise and just popping out for a walk means more sunlight as you won’t be messing about getting changed.

Well the doc has just prescribed Fluoxetine for me 🙁

It’s been a bad couple of months & i crashed (mentally) big time just after New Year. Feel more stable now but hope i don’t have to be on the pills for too long!
More bike time i reckon!

winter blues in Manchester? try living in Norway FFS.

Try living in Manchester 365 days a year. FFS I’m trying to talk our lass into moving to Outlane, she wont have it 🙁

If you find it difficult to mentally motive yourself to run every lunchtime just pop into HMV, swipe a CD then run out of the door. The Security Guards should give up after a few hundred yards but progressively they will get fitter and fitter as well thus helping to push you further.

Either that or call someone a **** in the Arndale centre every lunchtime. 🙄