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Winter riding plans? Let's hear them!

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Winter riding plans? Let's hear them!

Old 10-27-06, 09:13 PM
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Winter riding plans? Let's hear them!

Personally, I'm getting the old mountainbike ready for outdoor winter riding where possible. The roadie will go on a trainer stand for those days I can't get out! The game plan on the trainer is to do interval sprints through the commercials and recovery pace through the program when I ride the trainer.




Cold weather riding can be fun though, especially when the roads get a little slick. Watch the sweating thopugh, hypothermia isn't too far away if you dress too heavy or too light or you push too hard. Caloric burn is higher as well when the weather is cold. Higher air density and working and burning calories to stay warm at the same time!
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Old 10-28-06, 07:15 AM
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We don't get snow very often in Northern VA but it does stay on the paved trail I use [2/3 of my commute]. I'll try using the Giant Yukon I picked up on craigslist this season. I bought a Panaracer 26x1.95 Smoke for the rear and a Panaracer Dart for the front. Of course, for clear days, I'll use one of beater steel road bikes.
I've converted the pedals to SPD in order to use warmer shoes or the sealskinz/wool socks/sandal approach.
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Old 10-28-06, 08:48 AM
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My plan is to simply continue with what I've been doing - between 80 and 120 miles/week. I bought a trainer but I find it too boring so I never use it. It's probably going to be sold. Fenders are cheaper (unless you have four bikes)

We get ice occasionally, but rarely do we get snow that lasts for more than a couple days. It's the rain that lasts for months that gets to me. A snoboard parka with the liner removed is what I use for the wet.

Currently, I'm re-building a '93 Trek 930 mtb to take over the foul weather duties from my deceased 830. It's in the shop right now having the c-rings and cranks swapped over. I like the OvalTech. Just about everything else is also going over to the 930 as well.
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Old 10-28-06, 09:18 AM
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I'm not a big fan of riding in the winter.

Likely the only riding I will be doing until spring will be the elliptical.


It allows me to get the Tivo back down to a manageable level.
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Old 10-28-06, 10:48 AM
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Sounds like you all have good plans! I hate trainer time myself and ride "live" as much as I can myself! Remember to manage the moisture, those of us that live in a cold enough climate to have to worry!
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Old 10-28-06, 12:34 PM
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I'm pretty impervious to cold. Though I did notice when the wind is at 30 mph and I'm riding towards 20 that my chest can get a little cold. I may look towards getting a long sleeved shirt...can't afford an actual jersey right now though. I have a fleece vest too.

I think I may cave in and put on fenders on my mtb. I feel bad about it but oh well.
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Old 10-28-06, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Air
I'm pretty impervious to cold. Though I did notice when the wind is at 30 mph and I'm riding towards 20 that my chest can get a little cold. I may look towards getting a long sleeved shirt...can't afford an actual jersey right now though. I have a fleece vest too.

I think I may cave in and put on fenders on my mtb. I feel bad about it but oh well.
Underarmor.....no cotton for your base layer! Cotton gets clammy when you sweat it up!
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Old 10-28-06, 01:34 PM
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I will have to don a sweatshirt. It gets down into the 50's here in the morning
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Old 10-28-06, 07:16 PM
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I plan on.... doing nothing differant.
A car free lifestyle does that to ya.
Maybe I'll buy a new shirt, or some boxer briefs.
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Old 10-28-06, 09:07 PM
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This winter will be my first time commuting in the cold, heck, I've only been riding for a few weeks. I don't plan on changing too much from now, though I have started wearing water-wicking t-shirts to keep the sweat off. I'm still riding in warmups, regular socks, and my Nike's. It's only down to the mid-30'sF in the morning, and I seem to ride hard enough to keep myself warm. My regular fingerless gloves are still doing fine, though at some point I may opt for a full-fingered set. If it gets too cold I've been wearing a thin fleece instead of my warmups on top, but if it's cold & wet I'm wearing both.

As far as bikes go, I've got fenders on my MTB, but not on my roadie. I do have racks on both, however, and just ordered a trunk bag from Nashbar this evening, it should be here in a few days. From experience thus far, the rear rack is nearly as good as having a fender, I just wish I had a front fender to keep spray out of my face, but I doubt my roadie has the clearance for it. On really bad days (rain or wind) I'm planning on taking the MTB. If it's still nice, but cold, I'd rather shave the time off the commute on the roadie!
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Old 10-28-06, 09:33 PM
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I plan on riding my roadie on my cycleops this winter. I will use this season to get ready for spring and long outdoor rides. The TV will keep it from being too boring.
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Old 10-29-06, 05:38 AM
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plan on not changing at all. Continuing to ride on my bike, its already fendered up. I bought some beefier lights for the front, and a Hi-Vis jacket as im wearing a heavy winter coat now that happens to be completely black with no reflectives.

But thats it.
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Old 10-30-06, 09:42 PM
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My plans? Work all day like usual.

The post man doesn't stop just cause it's snowing, right?
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Old 10-30-06, 10:29 PM
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Studded tires on the hardtail and CX bikes. Commute five days a week and get in a longish ride or so on the weekends. It's not bad weather, just different equipment requirements.
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Old 10-31-06, 07:47 AM
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I like to ride at night at a nearby industrial park... huge lights make visability no problem.. no dogs.. no traffic.. (except an ocassional slow moving Semi.. and I got about a 2 mile loops with a pretty good 200 yard hill.. it get ugly cold.... but I can hit it about twice a week ...it gets me trough the week so I can do a longer spin on weekend
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Old 10-31-06, 07:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Tom Stormcrowe
Personally, I'm getting the old mountainbike ready for outdoor winter riding where possible. The roadie will go on a trainer stand for those days I can't get out! The game plan on the trainer is to do interval sprints through the commercials and recovery pace through the program when I ride the trainer.
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Old 10-31-06, 10:09 AM
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Winter? What winter? Nothing ever changes around Southern California...
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Old 10-31-06, 11:39 AM
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I bought a new helmet with straps long enough to accommodate wearing my balaclava. That and the polarfleece vest and pair of tights under the rain/wind gear are really the only changes that I've made. Still rockin' my 15 mile r/t commute, and doing a few miles of errands every day.
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Old 10-31-06, 03:18 PM
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Well, I was standing out outside at our home (otherwise known as the construction site) and it was a tad chilly this morning. I almost went inside to get some polar fleece. But, the ride was good - didn't feel cool at all once I got moving well. I did have my normal shorts and tee-shirt on.

Usually our temp doesn't change much, about 10 degrees (farenheit) per year is all.

Oh, the temperature gauge said 70 degrees this morning - hope it doesn't go any lower...
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Old 11-01-06, 08:53 AM
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I just bought a trainer for the road bike and I need to get at the mnt bike to get it ready for winter rides. Last year was the first that I rode in the winter and fresh snow is a blast as long as it's not toooooooo cold. Looking forward to the snow.
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Old 11-01-06, 10:02 AM
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I was geared up to ride through the winter, now I'm off the damn bike for possibly another five weeks (it's been a week-and-a-half due to this situation, and I had a week off prior due to a broken part needing to be replaced). Reaggravated a torn piece of cartilage in my ribcage, hurts to breathe, hurts to do pretty much everything.

Bummed out and frustrated, but hopeful that I'll be back in the saddle by December

Just sort of feeling like this season (returning to the bike after a few years lazy, weight-gaining time) went from good, to better, to bad, to awful. I guess there's always looking forward to next year.
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Old 11-01-06, 12:22 PM
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I think I'm going to just tough it out. Last year I used to go hiking in the wilderness (quite literally) all winter, the coldest was a night it was -5. That was by far my most challenging hike ever, at those temps every inch of exposed skin just HURT. It was beyond cold, it was just pure pain. It RULED.

Anyway, my most challenging ride ever was Monday night. The temperature was 42 degrees, but there was a hellacious 40mph+ wind out of the north/northwest. Ironically, I was riding 7 miles north/northwest from home. Every time that wind would hit me I would struggle to keep upright, keep moving forward, and not scream "HOLY !@#! THAT'S COLD!" A ride that normally takes me around 30-35 minutes took me nearly an hour. On the way back, I took a slightly (+1 mile) longer route, and arrived home in 33 minutes.

Anyway, yesterday morning and this morning were both cold. Yesterday morning it was 25 and windy, when I left the "shielding" of my parking lot, the wind hit me head on and I actually yelled out what I suppressed on Monday . That wind cut right through my khakis like a knife, wow.

This morning, however, was great. It was about 27 with no wind. I didn't get cold at all, and would have enjoyed a ride in it.

Anyway, my gear is still my trusty '07 Specialized Hardrock (575 miles on it, need to put on 425 more this year!) with very minor mods. For clothes I found that wearing standard (read cheap) sweatpants over my padded lycra works wonderfully. The top layer on Monday was a UA loose-gear T-shirt with a Columbia fleece over it. Had I worn the long-sleeve UA it would have been perfect. Gloves are just Easton baseball gloves, I really like 'em!

My point of annoyance is shoes. I'm using New Balance running shoes with SmartWool socks underneath. On that ride my face, lower arms, and feet were the only cold points. And WOW did my feet ever get cold. They almost got to the point of painful, I was really surprised.

So tips on that? I can't exactly wear my winter hiking boots (Columbia Bugabootoo - they RULE) on the bike...
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Old 11-01-06, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by telchar
Winter? What winter? Nothing ever changes around Southern California...
Hahaha.

I'm hip.

No change in my winter riding either. I'll still commute every day, and take the Scouts on weekend bike rides.
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Old 11-01-06, 01:20 PM
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We don't get much bad weather around here and when we do it doesn't stick around long. I plan on riding as normal unless it gets really, really cold then I will use the trainer inside. I also want to get a set of rollers to mix up the workouts. I do plan on getting the mountain bike out if it snows as I always wanted to try riding in the snow. That really looks like fun.
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Old 11-01-06, 04:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Ray Dockrey
We don't get much bad weather around here and when we do it doesn't stick around long. I plan on riding as normal unless it gets really, really cold then I will use the trainer inside. I also want to get a set of rollers to mix up the workouts. I do plan on getting the mountain bike out if it snows as I always wanted to try riding in the snow. That really looks like fun.
Ray, it's a blast! I love it!
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