Winter Training rides

[Rob3rt]

Not here, it isn't!

That's why the pro's pull on gilet's in the Tour, Giro, Vuelta etc

 

[lulubel]

That's why the pro's pull on gilet's in the Tour, Giro, Vuelta etc

Sorry, I don't understand that comment at all.

I was saying, when the temperature is 35C, what you're calling windchill is what I'd call a very pleasant cooling breeze.

 

[poynedexter]

"brown fat"???? never heard of that before. "is activated" i dont understand it at all

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

"brown fat"???? never heard of that before. "is activated" i dont understand it at all

It is pretty specialist, used to generate heat in humans and hybernating animals. Not entirely sure why anyone would want to burn it, but mimi's :P does suggest that she is aware of this.

 

[MattHB]

Hi.
Just a question.
Does riding in winter / cold temperatures give any extra phisical / fitness benefits than if you ride in more mild climate conditions?

For ref cold Id say sub 7 degrees. Mild over 10ish

sub 0 for me is harder work, but only due to extra concentration on road conditions, grip etc. If you have the right gear it shouldnt make a difference. Its harder to balance the gear though, so layers is the answer.

Yesterday it was -2 and we did 60 miles, at least 30 of which I did in just a base layer and LS gore thermo jersey, although that is testament to the jersey and the Odlo base layer. But it was hard hard work, even though it was slower than normal, we had to be extremely careful with the ice, and for some reason I found myself on the front alllllll the time!

 

[MrJamie]

It depends a lot of what kind of riding you're doing, too. If you're riding on safe roads - as in there's nothing majorly slippery on the surface - you can push on and keep your body producing warmth, so you maintain a fairly steady temperature. If you're riding a mixture of safe and slippery roads, you get times when you're pushing on and times when you're having to take it slow, so you're liable to be too hot in one situation or too cold in the other.

My worst experience was mountain biking on Friday. I climbed over 800m, and I was pretty warm on the climb in just a thin baselayer and windstopper jacket (undone), mitts and nothing warm on my neck and head. By the time I'd done the descent into a northerly wind, I was so cold I literally couldn't feel my fingers and my stomach muscles were cramping. I really needed to carry a warm jersey, buff, hat and winter gloves to put on for the descent.

So, from my experience, the only option if you're doing varied rides in cold conditions is to be prepared to stop often and add or shed layers.

Sounds horrible, theres not much worse than cycling while feeling like you're freezing to death.

I think thats it really though, the effort level is so varied and it feels like the wind can really take heat away quickly if you start to get cold and damp with sweat, especially as I tend not to ride that hard except where i have to to get up hills, as its more for enjoyment than cardio training. A lot of my routes are more trail and cyclepaths than roads, so cant always push that hard anyway. I usually wear some very lightweight combats because they seem to work well and up top various combinations of base/mid layers/jackets. I could probably do with a decent cycling jacket as mine dont really stop the wind.

 

[Owen Burgess]

Good quality bib-tights, base layer and a good quality thermal long sleeve jersey if its not raining. Take stuff some newspaper in at the start of the ride and put it in your back pocket once you've warmed up. Pop it back in you stop for a cafe break.

Dress up warm and ride slow. My advice for winter training. Work on your speed when it warms up again or on the turbo if you're really keen this time of year!

 

[MrGrumpy]

Hi.
Just a question.
Does riding in winter / cold temperatures give any extra phisical / fitness benefits than if you ride in more mild climate conditions?

For ref cold Id say sub 7 degrees. Mild over 10ish

I refer you to http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#9

 

[david k]

i remember reading that exercise in colder weather is harder as your body find it harder to use oxygen or something like that

this ring any bells with anyone?

 

[Licramite]

I find wind proof is the most important thing in the cold weather. I'm looking for a scull cap to go under my helmet as my head gets pritty cold. - when the air is icey some sort of face protection is needed.
but I find once you have built up steam I only notice the wind chill.
of course its the problem of , when cycling you soon get warm enough, but if you stop you freeze.

If the air's freezing it certainly is hard on the respirative system , then its best to breath trough a face marsk.
takes a bit of getting use to.

 

[black'n'yellow]

using a face 'marsk' is not a good idea if you are riding with any degree of intensity - you simply won't be able to pull enough air through it. In any case, the lungs are remarkably good at heat transfer. No matter how fast you inhale/exhale, the exhaled air always comes out warm....

 

[Rob3rt]

Breathing in very cold air can irritate your respiratory system though, I think this is what Licramite is trying to say, but then again, who knows, I understand about 5% of the stuff he types.

 

[montage]

Interestingly there is evidence that riding in the heat provides benefits - not seen anything about riding in the cold though, but the paper did mention how it was possible to acclimatize to both hot and cold weather at the same time (not literally the same time i.e. sitting in the sauna with your balls in a bucket of ice, but over the same period)

 

[Licramite]

when its really cold - (a bad day in the arctic) - it's like breathing razor blades. if it ain't covered, it's frostbitten in minutes. - you see little burn lines between the goggles and the face mask (marsk is how we say it in wiltshire - ooh arr) - and you get used to breathing through a mask - it's had to say if it impaired performance we jogged and ski-trekked , it was the conditions that slowed us down more than anything else.
The cold definitely makes physical exertion harder. and more complicated as you strip off before , dry and cover up quickly after or your sweat freezes on your clothes.

when it's really cold your not going to cycle as efficiently , and when you stop, dry yourself then cover up.

I find warmth energises me, I don't mind sweating buckets till it runs into my eyes and mouth, - but I hate the cold. - the only escape is hard physical effort and even then your fingers and toes are painfully frozen.

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Cycling certainly seems to be a lot more hard work when the temperature dips below zero, but that could just be because I'm not as fit as I would like to think I am.