Rollin’ Along November December 2002 

 

Winter Riding Tips 101 – The Obvious and Not So Obvious 

 

First, I just want to say sorry about the long hiatus with this article. I got sick and did not finish my season the way I thought I would. Oh well. 

 

The Obvious:

Under all circumstances, keep warm. Remember this is New Mexico and it can be both warm and frigid in the same day let alone the same ride. Prepare for it. We are not all “Chicken Joes”. Chicken Joe (I didn’t know his real name…I don’t think anybody else did for that matter) was a guy that used to do the weekend group rides. He got his nickname Chicken Joe because he would ride 30 feet off the back of the group out of the draft. But the funny thing is he used to ride only with short shorts. No socks, no shirt, nothing. Not even in the winter. If it was really cold he would wear ski gloves. Not only was he chicken, he was also kinda crazy. Most of us do not have that tolerance for cold temps. So dress appropriately. 

 

What does that mean? Wear layers if you can. Protect your head, your legs, and your extremities. Why your legs you might ask? Believe it or not they see a large portion of the wind. You will lose a lot of heat through your legs if they are exposed. If the temp is in the 30’s and you are riding with only shorts, you could get hypothermia within a few minutes with the wind chill. You have to be able to feel warm in your legs before you ride. Tights with fleece lining (DeSoto makes a really great set of these) are great; two pairs of tights if not lined, or leg warmers, etc. You are less likely to lose heat through your torso (unless you are riding with only a single jersey or something). I’ll wear a skinsuit with leg and arm warmers and a rain jacket/wind jacket if it is not too cold. If it is going to be wet, it is probably a good day to ride your trainer or go to spin class, but if you must put in those 30-40 miles in the snow for building your base for that big race in June (tongue in cheek) then protect yourself from the wet. Get waterproof clothing. Wear the DeSoto Thermal Wind shell. Get something bright because it is real tough for drivers to see you when it is raining or snowing. I’ve ridden and raced in snow before. It sucks. Basically don’t be stupid. Keep yourself warm, your more likely to be injured when it is cold outside. 

 

Keep your fingers and toes warm. You don’t want frostbite. Wear gloves (mittens if it is extremely cold) and get booties. If you don’t want to shell out $60 for neoprene booties then a neat trick is to get a pair of old socks and put them over your shoes, cut out a hole for your cleats to engage the pedals. Then get some duct tape and wrap the socks with it. This will keep the wind and wet out and keep your feet plenty warm. You may look “un-triathlete”, but at least you’ll be warm. 

 

Finally, keep your head, face and ears warm. You lose a ton of heat through your head. Wear a cycling cap under your helmet, or a skull-cap or something. Cover your ears with a DeSoto fleece headband. Wear a mask.  

 

The not so obvious.

What type of riding are you doing in the winter? Are you doing intervals, speed work, mashing your gears? Most of you probably answered no to those questions. If you answered yes then I hope you are focusing on a race in Florida or something. But you say that you are not doing any of those things, but look at how you are really riding. Are you in your big ring? If yes you are mashing whether you want to believe it or not. When you go down a hill do you shift into your big ring just so you don’t spin out and bounce around on your saddle? Guess what that is? Speed work? Do you race to the next light? Intervals. 

 

This last weekend Michael and I were riding and I could not keep up with him. I was riding 39-16 and he was 53-13 into the wind. Keep your gearing easy in the winter. 39-16 or 39-17 gearing. You’ll spin out on down hills. So what! That will build endurance in your legs. It is different than true speed work. Keep yourself aerobic. If you need that anaerobic work out do it running or in the pool. 

 

This time of year is a good time to practice riding technique. Practice riding in a straight line. Relax a little, bend your arms and hold your line. Get into your aerobars and relax.  

 

Work on your cadence. Try to keep your RPM’s at around 90 to 110. Do this without bouncing. Really concentrate on delivering a good stroke to the pedals. Make circles. Lift with the up stroke and push over with the down/power stroke. Follow through at the bottom of the circle (5 o’clock to 7’oclock positions). Spend at least ¾ of a decent ride doing this. Do this whether you are working on a trainer or spin class or on the road. It will build over the winter and will make a difference in the spring. You can work on your strength too. Try pedaling with only one foot at a time. One minute with the right then one minute with the left, repeat this 5 or 6 times per ride. 

 

Strength training is probably one of the best things for your cycling. Work out in the weight room concentrating on leg strength twice a week. Do the old school workouts. Do leg presses, lunges, calf raises, squats, and hamstring curls at the very minimum. I won’t go into specific workouts or techniques because that is not my expertise. Find somebody who knows the proper ways of doing these exercises. Also besides the leg workouts, work your trunk and back. Your back takes a lot of beating when you ride. Make it stronger. Besides a strong back will help the other 2 disciplines. If you do not feel like doing a weight work out for your legs you can do a stair work out. I don’t mean a stair machine. I mean the real thing. Climb stairs for a half-hour. The PIT is a good place to do this provided the UNM basketball teams are not practicing (you can go in through the PIT souvenir store. If not then Johnson Gym on the UNM Campus has a good bleacher section where you can do this too. It is on the North side I think. Go up as quickly as you can (don’t trip), sometimes skip a step, and walk down. You will get hurt pretty quickly running down (nasty stuff like stress fractures and crushed cartilage in the knee). 

 

One more tidbit of info. Keep your bike running in good condition. Keep it clean and lubed just like you would if you had a race coming up. Use thicker tires and stuff to prevent flats. There is nothing worse than trying to fix a flat when it is cold and your fingers are numb. Use Mr. Tuffy’s or something, and get the kevlar belted tires. A Cat 1 racer by the name of “Waz” we used ride with occasionally had his bike on “the system” for winter rides. He would ride 28c tires with an old kevlar belted tubulars (as inner tubes) and slime and Mr. Tuffy’s in his winter training wheels. He never got a flat in that set-up over a period of 4 winters that I know of. Keep the maintenance going on the bike. 

 

Basically, just use your head in the winter when it comes to training. Like I said before, unless you have a big race in a warm climate that you are trying to peak for, you do not really need to be hammering on the bike, just maintaining your bike fitness and building strength to support all out riding in the spring and summer. Keep warm. Use the DeSoto cold weather gear (plugging my sponsor). 

 

Till next time keep the rubber side down, happy training! 

 

Go Tri Team SW!