Cyclists what are your December/January contingency plans ?

Telejester

Im a club cyclist and  I simply cant face cycling out on the roads dec & jan, cycling is supposed to be fun and with your bones frozen to their core and feet so numb you cant feel them , I choose not to.

If im not out riding with the club for 2 months its hard to maintain your most efficient weight, so do you guys have any contingency plans for ball freezing winter months when its just too cold and roads too icy ?

Teetonetal

I cycle all year. I love cycling in the snow. Get some spike tyres or a fat bike. So much fun.

If it's just cold then decent thermo gear will sort you out.

sev112

Get fat over Xmas, get on the bike again and enjoy being out in the wide range of weather we have in this country. Lots of thin layers, silk under gloves, over shoes, leggings, and cake/ coffee stops
Blimey, you club cyclists are a bunch of softies - not going out in the cold and staying behind the bloke in front to save you from the wind and rain

it’s weather - it’s fabulous * , especially the rain !

* except the bastard ice that is


Read the Velominati “Hard Men” book and as they say, “mtfu”

apparently ...

m_c

Yeah, stay inside where it's warm!

Seriously though, even though mountainbiking is what I do, I treat January +/- a few weeks either side as down time. If the weather isn't wet and cold, I'll go out, but I do it for enjoyment, and have come to realisation, that being wet and cold on the top of a hill isn't why I do!
I can handle cold (crisp still winter days are brilliant!), and I can handle wet (I do live in Scotland...), but both together is just miserable, especially since I've got rubbish circulation in my fingers, so both combined lead to numb/sore fingers.

I do however increase my running, and do a bit more weight/intervals, to ensure I'm don't lose too much fitness.

Some of the mates have turbo setups with Sufferfest (or similar), but I'd rather go for a run than sit on a turbo in front of TV screen.

Telejester

One year we had a girl come off her bike on slippy road, the other girls were all over her with comforting words, hugs and sweets. One of the guys waddles over and with hands on hips he says did you have a wee fall and the rest of the guys killed themselves laughing. Bloke comes off bike and its get up ya lazy bstard you are holding us up....lol 

strtdv

I commute by bike which means I get at least some cycling in all year round. I try to work in some intervals etc which means it's of some training benefit too rather than just putting in miles for the sake of it. The commuting bike is heavy (about 24kg with my loaded panniers), and on slow rolling tyres (35c marathon plus) which adds to the workout. I'm easily 6mph slower on the commuting bike than my road bike for the same perceived effort.

I'm of the opinion that you just need the right clothing, although windy conditions I'll tend to avoid, but I'm generally up for going for a cycle regardless of the temperature (although I tend to run warm which helps in winter).

The only other alternative I guess is the turbo trainer but I'd rather do half an hour of intervals in bad weather than go on a turbo.

The other thing would be to try some mountain biking. You're going to get muddy doing anyway so I guess weather is less of an issue. It's a very different type of fitness, very high intensity for short bursts, but I think the fitness carries over to the road.

strtdv

Or you could do some gym work. Cardio and squats would be a good combination.

You lose a significant percentage of your VO2 max in even 7-10 days off the bike so pretty much any exercise if you're not out cycling is going to be beneficial.

I put a bit of weight on when I was studying for professional exams for 3 months from late summer into autumn but thankfully am now out on the bike more often so have shifted about 75% of the extra weight (I was over 78kg, now back down to under 75kg, target of about 73.6kg). Commuting puts in 55 miles a week but in the summer I'd generally be putting in 100-120 miles a week on top of that, which I really missed while studying.

crunchman

With decent clothing I never found cold weather a problem.  Obviously if the roads are icy that can be a problem, but otherwise just get out there.

thermionic

I still go out with the club and try and get at least one commute in. I won’t ride at 2-3 degrees C or below though - a friend came off on some ice and broke her arm. She’s had pins and about 4 operations and it’s still not strong enough to support her weight on the handlebars. She did much more cycling than me and she’s had to give it up because she went out on an icy day. Anyway, not worth the risk imho.

A lot of my club friends disappear and just ride Zwift. I always find turbos boring though, and if I’m going to do something indoors I’ll go to the gym to work on core strength and leg strength a couple of days a week. The weather is slowly improving so I aim to commute twice a week very soon.

NeilMcG

I do 3 nights 40mins turbo trainer during the week plus 1 night out on the road for an hour if it's over 5degC and not raining (chucking it down tonight so turbo again - bah!).

Then a couple of 2h rides at the weekend if it's not raining or icy. It it is, then back on the turbo again for an hour. I can't do 5h on the road in winter, it's just too miserable.

That's enough to keep my weight down and fitness up just enough that I can ramp into longer spring rides without too much trouble.

I hate the turbo, it's mind-numbingly awful, but it has to be done. I just watch a DVD or listen to a playlist and try not to think about it.

TTBZ

Well I was really enjoying my rollers but last night my bb/cranks started wobbling. Looks like the bb is totally fucked. Tried to take the cranks off to inspect but the bolts were seized. In the process of trying to remove them I've rounded off one pinch bolt and the spindle bolt which is recessed so I have no idea how I'm going to get that out short of a drill. Dremel coming out for the pinch bolt. Fun.

strtdv

In fact, from memory I think I'd be cycling a lot of the same roads as you @Telejester ;

I tend to avoid the biggest climbs this time of year as they're usually icy (I reckon Divis and Slieve Croob are both out at the moment), and some of the roads are pretty mucky (I'd regularly cycle to Killyleagh by the ballydrain/ballydorn road etc and it's absolutely plastered with mud and grit at the moment, mudguards are a must!)

The peninsula route seems in better condition, I see Titanic quarter CC out on a Saturday down that route quite often (they seem to do it "backwards" going down the portaferry road first), as well as Ards CC (who bring a big crowd down that route, maybe 30 or more?) and North Down CC too. It's tough on the way out when it's windy though, although the tailwind on the way back is nice.

Sadly the guy I cycle with isn't cycling due to ill health so I've been cycling alone since the summer

Telejester

i have 2 cannondales, one for the road and one on the turbo, gosh turbo cycling gets boring real quick doesnt it.

Telejester

TTBZ said: lo

Well I was really enjoying my rollers but last night my bb/cranks started wobbling. Looks like the bb is totally fucked. Tried to take the cranks off to inspect but the bolts were seized. In the process of trying to remove them I've rounded off one pinch bolt and the spindle bolt which is recessed so I have no idea how I'm going to get that out short of a drill. Dremel coming out for the pinch bolt. Fun.

Hollowtech II bottom bracket every time dude, the bb30 you dont wanna go near

TTBZ

I think it is a HT2, the bikes pretty old I'm surprised it's lasted this long to be fair. CAAD8 2010 or 11 model with stock fsa bb and cranks.

Legionreturns

I have both a turbo trainer and a set of rollers and use Trainer road during winter following a specific plan. I still make sure I get out once a week for a quick 30-50 miler though. Cyclocross routes on my Orange RX9 are my preference for really crap weather.

m_c

Shimano pinch bolts were always bad for rounding. Always make sure you've got all the crap out the socket, and you're using a good quality allen key when removing them. Bit dirt and a rubbish allen key are always a recipe for disaster.
The spindle bolt should come out reasonably easy once the pinch bolt is no longer pinching.
For good Allen keys, get some Bondhus. One of the best makes you can get, and not that expensive.

I've actually had less problems with pressfit BBs than I ever had with HT2. I got a year out the original cheap SRAM/Truvatic BB, and the last shimano replacement had been going fine for a year, until I had to remove it and destroyed it while fitting a new dropper post. I was lucky if I got 9 months out HT2/X-type BBs.
 I would avoid BB30 and it's direct into frame bearings though, as at least the other options involve a plastic cup so you're far less likely to damage the frame.

littlegreenman

Zwift?

TTBZ

They're old FSA cranks I think but yes I've rounded shimano as well! Hopefully a good soak in plusgas and ramming a torx or flathead in will get it out before I have to resort to cutting things.

Just built up a new mtb which I'll have to make do with for exercise til I get it fixed but it not ideal for the local riding! Northants so hills are non existant, have to travel for a proper ride.

stimpsonslostson

http://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-there-s-no-such-thing-as-bad-weather-only-the-wrong-clothes-billy-connolly-52-5-0554.jpg

I'm another cycle commuter, so I have virtually no choice but to ride regardless of the weather. I rode in the snow we had over the last two weeks. 
Being in Scotland means that time of year is an irrelevance in that regard- I've seen snow in April several times. I use a cyclo-cross bike most of the time but switch to a MTB on days when I think the roads will be bad. 
My bad weather kit means I don't mind most things, but gale force winds are no fun when crossing the aqueduct! 

Good gloves & jacket are essential, as are clean dry clothes & shoes kept under my desk. 
Riding on days like today (windy and wet) makes it all the better on days when the big yellow thing appears in the sky. 

crunchman

I like that wrong clothes quote.

I'm another commuter.  In London, icy roads are very rarely a problem so as long as you wear decent gear it's not a problem.  I've got one or two things I don't wear if the temperature is over 5C as I just roast.