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I’m currently sitting up in Connecticut sipping my coffee and watching the rain pull the autumn leaves off the maple trees. I just finished reading Jennifer’s article about riding in the rain, which has me thinking about winter riding. Once we finish up our beautiful fall foliage rides up here, we’ll be heading back down to Georgia for the winter.

Many view the winter season as an “off season” for cycling, or as the dreadful move onto your trainer. Trainers are great, especially for interval training. If you’re in the North like we were, we transferred over to skiing & snowshoeing, with shorter outside road rides and weight training. These were my go to’s until one of our kids decided to make Georgia their home and started popping out Grandbabies. Voila, our few weeks of visiting the first year turned into 6-month visits ever since!

Imagine our surprise our first winter in Georgia and we couldn’t find many rides to join, or folks interested in winter riding. I put out emails to area groups and to our new community looking for riding buddies, only to be met with crickets or “we’d love to ride with you, see you in April!” I was devastated! Granted, our second winter was the Covid thing, so all bets were off for 2020 & 2021 as things started opening again, so I don’t count those years.

Come 2022 I finally found my posse. How? I simply had to put myself out there. I started going to the few rides I could find (my first was Sorella’s Gentle Gravel Ride), joining every online cycling group I could, checking local bike shops for their group ride schedules, joining Sorella and the final kicker was hosting a monthly ride for Sorella. I finally met a small group of likeminded riders who have since introduced me to their friends, and slowly but surely, I am in a network of great gals who like to ride year-round. I’m not saying you must host a ride, as great as that would be, but you could join one!

So, what is winter cycling? Winter is a time to regroup and rebuild. Regrouping is setting your goals for the next year. What do you want? It can be anything from building your confidence to join your first C/B/A level group ride, to ride your first Gran Fondo, Charity Ride, or Race, or like my first goal, to be able to ride/keep up with my husband’s social group rides. Rebuilding is building physical strength (at home or in a gym), building core cycling fitness (intervals, power & later endurance) and building confidence (try new things & step out of your comfort zone). In the winter you’re usually logging less hours & distance per week because of darkness and weather, which gives you the extra time to add in your strength training and intervals. There are dozens of online programs you can use, buy, or borrow to give you a basic structure for winter training and how to incorporate strength training into your routine.

So why ride outside in the winter? Because not everyone is disciplined when it comes to riding on a trainer; that’s me. I’m better at short interval sessions on a trainer but go outside for longer rides & fun, and frankly, to save my butt. Literally, my seat just can’t take very long on a trainer. Yes, they have cool group rides online now, but I prefer the old fashion human connection, which is much more motivating for me. Because we’re already inside too much in the winter, and it’s good to get outside in the fresh air and vitamin D, and to open your lungs up. Because the group rides will be smaller, giving you a chance to become more comfortable developing group riding skills. Because you can keep your baseline fitness and not have to start over in the spring. Because the racers are generally riding slower, regrouping and in a different mindset in the winter. You can keep up them and learn from them, or perhaps they’ll push you just enough to build your confidence or to see improvement without the summer “A/B/C group” frustration. And did I mention (yes, I did, but to push home a point) you don’t have to start all over again in the spring? That’s a biggy!!! 

After a few rides you’ll figure out what your body needs verse what everyone else is wearing. I run hot, thank you menopause, and usually wear half of what most are wearing. I’ll wear layers with a vest, arm warmers, toe warmers and capris if the ride will start around 40 degrees and get warmer. If the temps will be between 30 & 40, I might add a thermal shirt, long tights, and booties. In the 20’s, I add a thermal jacket, insulated gloves, and a cap so I can use my gaiter to protect my face. I’ll also have some hand warmers in my pocket. Under 20 is usually a trainer day for me. On a safety note, if you’re riding when the temp has been or is close to freezing, and there is water on the pavement or course, especially in the shade, it could still be ice! Avoid at all costs if you can, but if you can’t, ride slowly with no quick movements or braking until you’re over it.

The bottom line. If you’re a rider who misses riding in the winter, or don’t own a trainer, or would like to NOT start all over in the spring, keep on riding! And add a weight training program if you can because weight training is good for women, period (reduces the risk of osteoporosis). Our club still hosts group rides in the winter or reach out to your friends. If you don’t feel comfortable on the roads and don’t gravel ride, the bike paths are usually much quieter in the winter, which makes them safer! And if someone does post an impromptu ride, why not take them up on it? Make a new friend or explore a new area. I hope to see you out there!