I ride/race outdoors until December. As long as the roads are clear and the temps are bearable, I'm outdoors.

If I HAVE to ride the trainer. No more than an hour. No real structure there, just cruising.

I'm currently struggling with this...

Winter 2012/13 I bought a rather fancy Computer linked Ergo-Turbo Trainer... Tacx Bushido with all the computer Training systems. Wonderful piece of kit, but my state of fitness at that point was, according to the physio I was working with "Pretty Crap. No point in trying to do high-intensity stuff until you a) lose weight and b) get some proper base fitness, so concentrate on long steady work." The Tacx was (for a Turbo Trainer) actually pretty good on that score - because it had some ergo-linked dvd quality videos that were actually pretty immersive - you could almost enjoy sitting there for a couple of hours, twiddling a low gear and grinding up the side of the Col du Tourmalet or Alpe d'Huez. As my fitness increased, there was plenty of scope for increasing the load to ensure that I spent 2-3 hours of riding at a good solid "Tempo" loading, so it was great - I came out of winter with increased fitness, both power wise AND in endurance (and, with a slightly different attitude to climbing than I'd ever had - I finally KNEW that if I could stick the bike in a low enough gear to be able to just keep spinning at 70rpm, I could keep it up for hours on end - before I'd always just tried too hard and blown up)

Winter 2013/14 was a slightly different prospect. Different curcumstances had meant I'd been able to do more riding over the intervening 8 months and was considerably fitter and stronger. I'd also bought a "winter bike" - a disk braked cyclocross bike, which doubled as a Winter Hack when fitted with road tyres and mudguards. Coupled with a surprisingly mild winter, I basically did very little on the Turbo, unless frankly, I absolutely HAD to. This, in retrospect was a bit of a screw-up, because I was finally fit enough to actually do proper "structured" training, but instead I continued just "going for a ride" I came out of winter with my endurance fitness way improved BUT when I went for my early season FTP test, I'd lost maybe 15% of the power I'd been knocking out the previous autumn.

So - as the nights are drawing in, and I'm sat here, still trying to shake off a cold that's been dragging on for nearly a fortnight now, my thoughts are again turning to what the hell to do to actually get fit. I don't want to get "race fit" or anything silly, I've no ambitions competitively - other than it'd be nice to be able to get under 26:38 for the local club's 10 mile TT course (that's the club "age standard" for my advanced years) instead of my 2013 PB of 27:22, but what I really want to do is increase my overall riding speed - it'd be nice to finish century rides before I get bored of my own company...

At the moment i'm seriously considering having a proper look at the TrainerRoad software and associated training programs, and tying them in with as much "long steady" work as I can manage outdoors... Either way, I just hope I can keep my mind on the fact that all the suffering in the winter is all to make the next summer easier and faster.

This will be my first winter as a cyclist so I am pretty concerned!
I am finishing a construction project for work so the work days are getting longer and the sun is setting earlier. I'm looking for a Kurt Kinetic road machine on Craig's list. I also am putting winter gear on my list for Santa. This week I only managed 2 rides and I definately want to ride at least 3 to 4 times a week over the winter. Hopefully this northeast winter will not be as brutal as last years.
Good luck fixing the house I have been there many times!

I ride on any nice day I can. Colorado makes it easy with tons of sunshine. I also have the trainer set up in the dungeon but I hate it so much. Hopefully, I'll get my lazy *kitten* in some spin classes this season. I want to be ready for the first ride of the spring, which is a brutal 50 mile, rolling gravel grinder. I failed last year. That must not happen again.

This winter I will be deciding if I really want a fat bike. I think I would love to do some snow riding. I plan on renting one from the LBS and seeing if it's worth the investment.

I simply ride when I can & when I can't, I jump on the Tacx VR trainer...

Road bike will be 'going into hibernation'/Trainer mode shortly, that will be replaced by my CX which is fitted with 'guards (fenders) etc.

I don't mind the rain, but I draw the line at high winds, snow, ice etc.

I commute to work on my bike. Rain, sunshine, hot or cold! So in the winter I ride outside unless there is ice or snow on the roads. Then, I take the day off or go for a run. It doesn't stay on the roads too long here in Maryland, so I don't miss too many days.

I commute to work on my bike. Rain, sunshine, hot or cold! So in the winter I ride outside unless there is ice or snow on the roads. Then, I take the day off or go for a run. It doesn't stay on the roads too long here in Maryland, so I don't miss too many days.

^^^This. Except I do ride in the snow/ice unless it's piled it to my hubs and I don't run.

bsexton3 wrote: »

As the weather in the Northwest turns to fall, I am wondering what people do to train in the off season.

I set up the trainer and try to get three indoor rides a week while watching something on tv. Then, I try to find one day to get outside as long as there is not snow on the roads.

What do you do? And if you have a plan that is specific, will you share so I can get some ideas?

I am about to launch into my structured Base Building 12 week plan (starts next week). Includes weights, yoga, lots of time on the bike (inside and out), and stretching.

Cold Iowa winters, but I suck it up and ride outside when I can which wasn't much last year due to the Polar Vortex cold temperatures and amount of snowfall. Usually only on weekends or on holidays due to it being pitch black by the time I get home from work. Luckily, the County plows one of the paved bike trails a few days after it snows, so I least have a nearly 17 mile out and back to break up all the indoor riding I do if and when the trails are clear on weekends.

Most of my winter training is on this (has power meter, uploads my rides to TrainingPeaks, HR monitor, and all the bells and whistles)...



Our basement gym has a big screen TV, and nice sound system as well, to help "entertain" myself on the rides. I can easily tolerate 90 - 120 minute rides in the basement (thanks to floor fans behind and in front of me to keep me cool), but will jump outside if the weather allows it for the longer base building endurance rides on weekends.

Bottom line for me in terms of racing: my season is won or lost in the winter training months. So I have plenty of motivation to get my workouts done in the December - April time frame.