These are the hard months, January and February. The light slowly creeps back into the days, but it’s persistently cold and snow and ice are not the best substrates for riding a bicycle. Only the intrepid, resolute, and slightly unhinged among us go on trying to ride bikes.
What really are the options?
First, and most obviously, we could just take time off. We could rest. I know. I know. Crazy. But maybe time off restores the body, rebuilds the passion for cycling, and gives us time to do other fun stuff, like curling, sweater knitting, or taxes.
Another option is to get a fat bike and learn not to take no for an answer. I have a number of friends who swear to me that fat biking is the absolute jam. That hasn’t been my experience, but my mind remains open. The real obstacle on this one is really bike storage space. A fat bike is like two road bikes. I’d probably need to get rid of at least one bike to make it work, or resign myself to moving a fat bike from out in front of the washing machine a couple times a week. So that’s a definite maybe.
We could mount up the studded tires and keep riding the mountain bike we were riding all year before the snow and ice started to build up. Some years I’m on my game, and I get the studs going early. This hasn’t been one of those years. Given the fickleness of our winters now-a-days, is it still worth swapping those tires over? I kinda doubt it.
If you’re a person of means, you can also just go to a place where it’s warm and ride bikes there. I sort of lucked into a trip to New Zealand this month, and that definitely allowed me to pretend I’m a jet-setting, bucket-list kicking rich person. In reality, I managed two bike days out of ten in the Southern Hemisphere, because unlike actual rich people I had to compromise my time for friends and family. Still, even at two days, I can tell you a warm weather escape is just as magic as you think it is.
I suppose I’m obligated to mention riding the trainer in the basement, and though I know the whole stationary bike experience has evolved and improved dramatically over the last decade, it’s just not a thing I can get excited about. That’s me. If you’re into, I mean, ok.
This week’s TCI Friday wonders what you’re up to this winter (or last winter if you’re a Southern Hemispherean (totally a word)). Are you chilling, fat biking, studding up, traveling or sweating it out in the basement? Some combination thereof? Something else I haven’t thought of, cause I’m not that clever?
Here in western CO there are enough warm days (usually) in winter to still be able to sneak in, at the very least, a road ride. But I am a fair weather road rider so I don’t do that. This year has been dry enough that a trail ride is still possible depending on, again, the weather, and which trail you choose. Those shady spots hold the moisture and mud out here can be debilitating. Full disclosure: I ride motos on singletrack more than mtbs these days but love and do both. January and February, even here, see challenging conditions for both. My wife and I just got back from a 2 week trip down to AZ to ride singletrack near Phoenix. When we lived in Flagstaff we would make the 2 hour drive down to that desert 2-3 times a month for 3-4 days at a time. Now it is a 10 hour drive so the plan has changed.
To answer the question: Cross Country Skiing. If you are lucky enough to live near a place with consistent snow it is a blast. If you are even luckier and live near a place with a nordic center that grooms well, then you can go skate skiing and have even more fun and get the best workout known to this man. We live near Grand Mesa, which has well groomed and world class ski trails above 10,000 feet and I have fallen in love with XC skiing again. I don’t even want to stand in a lift line anymore. And fat biking? Forget about it. Not interested in more bikes that take up more space. I am fortunate that fat bikes aren’t allowed at the nordic center here because they ruin the ski trails and create conflict between skiers and riders.
Other winter activities include spending time in the garage maintaining bikes and motorcycles, playing with RC rock crawlers, and waxing skate skis.
I was a hold out on the Fat Bike train for a few years for similar reasons but I caved and am so glad I did. When its right, its soooo right! Conditions matter but thin snow (like we seem to have these days) or groomed snow (night rides at the ski mountain, kingdom trails, etc) may actually be my favorite kind of riding after all these bikes and 35 years of turning em over…. I avg. a couple days a week through the winter.
Beyond that I love hiking in the winter. When the snow is deep its the best because I never fail to be amused watching my dogs almost disappear with every leap and bound.
This is a very strange winter here in Minnesota. We had a very warm December, then a 2 week cold snap in mid-January (normal cold for where I am) and now we’re entering an extended warm period. Through all of this we have no snow on the ground and yesterday I went for a multi-surface ride outdoors. It was a really odd feeling to be doing THIS ride on THAT bike at THIS time of year. In the 43 years I’ve lived here I’ve never seen anything like this. (It would usually be early April before I could do THIS ride on THAT bike.) So, this year, it’s a combo of rollers in the basement, outdoor riding when the weather allows, and going to the gym. I also run and swim all year. I used to be a nordic skier but the unpredictable snow and more complicated calendar (I have two kids – one tween and one teenager) mean that nordic skiing has disappeared from my life. I really don’t know what next week will bring. At this point I’m being opportunistic about what I do outdoors vs indoors.
3p’s for getting through winter here in Appalachia, Pilates and the pain cave plus pickleball (new addition this winter)
Unpredictable weather here in New England lately…. I usually bundle up and ride until it drops below freezing consistently or the snow cycle starts. Then I will XC ski (not this year) and ride rollers while the European CX season is in session. After CX Worlds I’ll ride the rollers less frequently and hope the roads start to clear for some mixed road riding. In all honesty the thing that I get most motivated about in winter is keeping the wood stove warm!
No one else has added this, so I will: Snowshoeing. It doesn’t take much snow. No lift ticket. No trail grooming needed. Minimal equipment and skill. You can do it with your kid, your spouse, your dog, or all of them. You can take a picnic. You can do intervals up hills or thru deep snow. It can be as hard or as easy as you like. It lets you stand up straight and fix your cyclist stoop. It forces you to slow down, look around, and engage with your environment. It provides time for thinking and reflection. It’s like the antithesis of cycling in all the best ways.
Snow here in the DC area is rare, so I can road ride year around. That said we had our first snow in over 2 years last week – twice – so I’ve been off the bike. Extra time in the gym makes up for it.
I do regular workouts on an elliptical at the gym followed by some weight training. If the weather is mild I go out on my e-bike because if I go out in January or February it’s strictly for fun.
The winters down in Georgia are not terribly cold, but rather wet. As such when it’s sloppy and the trails are closed, I take my gravel bike out on the greenways, double tracks and roads. This is along with hitting the gym and/or going for a run 1-2x a week. This winter I’m currently selling a bunch of stuff to make way for a new full suspension frame. I plan to venture north to NC for a couple of upcoming shows (Gwar/Cancer Bats, The Kills) and will get some riding in likely on those excursions. Additionally, I’ll be in my old stomping grounds of RVA in April for some school re-onion nonsense and plan to enjoy the awesome city single track of the JRPS.
There are great trails in the Sangre de Cristo mountains above Santa Fe. My dog loves it if I haul myself as quickly as possible up the more vertical trails with her taunting me as being a two wheel drive wimp. Hiking the trails at a fast pace works just fine.