Winter Training
Well the "off season" is over and the planning a preparation for 2009 has begun. Now is the time to begin collecting those base miles and building up for the next season. After hearing from my Florida contingency that it was over 80°F yesterday I was a bit depressed. This is what I am looking at here right now:
Course that is all in Celsius but nevertheless it is cold and not above freezing got he next week or so. Yes, the sun is out and actually really nice but you need lots of layers to keep this cold away. Unfortunately there is no snow around so there is little fun in being out there. Of course, the biking in those temps is really challenged. My current rule of thumb is it needs to be at least +5°C and dry or +10°C and wet for me to ride. Anything colder than that can only be for a short ride. I was out on the 23rd for just over an hour and it was 6° and it was OK. But this now is too cold. So inside training is now on the plan.
I have set up a second bike just for the winter season. This has been pieced together from a number of bikes but the main part is a frame from M@. I wanted a bike which I could ride through all the rough weather of winter and especially spring. I needed a bike which would not need hours of cleaning after a rainy ride and if not cared for would really be a waste of nice bike gear. So, I have put together a bike which is a 4-speed with reflectors, fenders and no drop bars. This is really a simple bike. Shifting is reduced to a minimum and care reduced. I get a number of looks when out on the road from people trying to figure out what kind of bike it is. I tell them it is just a simple bike. The rear is a 7-speed from the 80's but the spacing does not work with today's chains so that is the reason why I can only get 4 gears to work correctly. But since the winter training is mostly on the flats there is no real reason to have 20 or more gears.
My plan is to have over 2000 kilometers before my first race in Cologne in April. That should be pretty easy, except for my unpredictable work/travel plans. So, for the next 3 weeks I am at home on holiday and then some work with plenty of chances to ride my indoor bike. The big problem with indoor training is the boredom. The other problem is with heat. I treat the boredom with podcasts. I have hours of podcasts which I can listen too while either traveling in planes or sitting on indoor bikes. This works out pretty well. The heat is another problem. Since there is no wind passing by to cool the body while riding there is a large amount of sweat produced and it need to go somewhere. I have a collection of towels around and under the bike to catch all the dripping mess which is produced. After an hour or so I cannot wear glasses anymore since the amount of sweat is too much to keep them on my face. So, my indoor bike has been around also for a few years. Recently I have rigged it up with some new or better reused bars to make it more comfortable on those longer indoor rides.
So that is what I will be doing for the next 3 months until the days get much longer and warmer. Not quite as nice as a winter season in other parts of the world but it does the job. Hope your winter is going by quickly or that you are enjoying the quieter time of the year. At least in this hemisphere.
PH