Going cycling in very cold weather, is an ‘interesting’ experience. There are certain observations about the differences from cycling in cold weather.

• When your body temperature is colder than usual, the body responds by restricting the size of the veins. (It does this to conserve heat near vital organs – known as peripheral vasoconstriction ) This makes blood flow slower than usual. It means that
  • Hands, feet and extremities more likely to be cold. If you keep your body warm, it will be easier to keep feet warm.
  • It’s harder to cycle. One reason you’re slower when cold is that there is less blood being pumped around your body. With less oxygen you’re bound to be slower.
• Cold temperature inhibits aquaporins in various places throughout the body, including the brain and kidneys so that less water is taken up by the cells Therefore kidneys respond to cold by passing urine quicker through the body. (according to first year med student) This is why on a cold day, you’re more likely to be looking for suitable trees. It’s also a time when the colour of your urine is not a guide to dehydration. Because you’re going to the toilet more often, you can be more dehydrated than you imagine.
• You burn more calories keeping warm. Cold weather cycling is good for those looking to burn calories, more energy is used in keeping warm. Keep eating to maintain enough fuel. The last thing you want to do is to ‘bonk’ in the cold weather.

Wind Chill Factor

Be careful when it’s windy. Also, cycling creates its own wind chill factor. Great for hot weather (cycling more bearable than running in hot weather). But, it means we get cooler quicker. For instance in calm conditions at -29°C a well clothed person is in little danger, a light wind of 10mph gives the same effect as a temperature of -44°C when exposed flesh can freeze in a minute or so. A breeze of 25mph gives an equivalent of -66°C . (cold air science)

Overall, when cold, you do go slower.

Weekly mileage in cold

will be a big drop off this week

total

just about on target at 4,500 km

The only problem is that, seated by the window of the High Street, I kept seeing cyclists and groups of cyclists setting off for their traditional Sunday morning club ride – all kitted up in a variety of winter cycling clothes – from full blow balaclavas to the odd student wearing shorts. Why do you always seem some cyclists wearing shorts when it’s -2 degrees? – To paraphrase a silly old expression  ‘It makes me cold, just looking at them.’

I saw Mid Oxons,  a few Zappi CCs, Oxonians CC and a few  unattached cyclists go whizzing past. You know you’re a little obsessed with cycling when the sight of other cyclists flying past gets you thinking – why aren’t you on your bike?

The cappuccino was empty, the blog running out of steam, I looked at my watch only 9.40am – still time to get a 100 miles in if I’m quick. So I raced home, spent 10 minutes putting on my winter cycling clothes and them I’m off on the road to Chipping Campden.

The other clincher for going out, is that it was another one of those perfect November days – no cloud, just sun. A little too cold, but the Cotswold villages are looking great at this time of the year.  If you forgive me for sounding as smug as a smug, tax avoiding Jersey millionaire, paying 1% tax a year – I’m pretty fit for November; cycling feels pretty effortless at the moment. To be honest, I wouldn’t swap this kind of fitness for even a tax rate of 1%.

The only drawback was the old saddle sore. It inspired frequently changing handlebar positions, slight movements on the saddle – all trying to find that elusive comfortable position. After a great descent into Chipping Campden I climbed over to Broadway for the main climb of the day – towards Snowshill. 11 minutes or so for a 200 metre ascent, averaging 6%. At the top, the saddle sore was still giving a bit of jip, so I did a bit of riding out of the saddle. But, even with the best intentions, I knew I couldn’t cycle 30 miles home standing on the pedals.

The strange thing about saddle sores is that the more you cycle, the less painful they become. After about five hours on the bike, the pain finally evaporated. I can never work that out. It’s like they become numbed into submission. It’s always worse when you first get on your bike btw (see: dealing with saddle sores)

With cycling you always seem to be fighting some kind of pain. As the saddle sore dissipated, I became aware of cold feet. I stopped in a petrol station to buy some water. The petrol station warmed up the feet, and I tried putting on a thermal hat under my helmet. To be great surprise, my feet remained warm all the way home. Work that one out – to warm your feet, put on a hat. (there is actually some science behind this. If your core body -temperature is cold, the body restricts blood flow to the extremities. Warm up your head, and the body gives more blood to the feet. – So there you go, cycling info -  always a source of useful information, even on a rambling ‘I went for a cycle ride’ kind of post.

But, after the feet warmed up, my back started to play up – perhaps the consequence of 6 hours wriggling around the bike trying to cope with saddle sore. With a sore back, I was again jumping around the handlebars trying to relieve the pressure. I tried cycling with hands off  handlebars, but that reminded me of the saddle sore – temporarily quiet, but still a potential to be inflamed.  I noticed that with a bad back, my speed really dropped. I think a strong back is important to cycling.

Back home, it was another 100 miles on the clock, and a well earned rest on a comfy couch. At least, I finished the day as I started.

Other Reasons to go out cycling in winter

1. You can plot nice graphs of your winter mile-age total (no that isn’t sad, I’ve been reliably informed, drawing nice bar charts are the main secret of Bradley Wiggins’ success as a cyclist.)

2. You can stop in a cafe, and enjoy a pot of tea. That really is a good reason.

3. If you cycle through winter, you’ll feel the benefit in summer.

4. You can eat more cake

5. What else are you going to do?

Toasted tea cakes and tea – another good reason to go out cycling in the winter.

Related

• Dilemma’s of winter cycling

One of the great dilemmas of winter cycling – when to stop riding your summer bike.

On a long ride, you prefer having your fastest, lightest road bike. So as long as possible, I try riding my summer racing bike. The problem is that:

• It’s painful to see your best bike terribly splattered with mud.
• When I see the white bike covered in mud, I’m not comfortable unless I clean it. A winter training bike, by contrast, can accumulate as much mud as you dare.
• When riding your top racing bike, in the back of your mind, you’re always thinking about the cost of replacing those Dura Ace components worn down by muddy roads.

Generally, I keep the summer bike, until the roads start to be gritted. That’s when the gears will get a real battering. Also, if I go out on a group ride, I will want to ride mudguards, unless the roads are super dry. For a few weeks, I tend to fudge the issue. Riding best bike on very long rides, if the roads are dry, switching to winter training bike, when it gets wet.

Winter training bike, looking suspiciously clean.

When I was young, my mum always told me if you wear a coat inside – ‘you won’t feel the benefit’ when you go out into the cold.

I never quite understood that, I guess there’s a similar analogy to winter cycling. Ride a slow heavy winter training bike with mudguards, armadillo tyres, anad 3kg of extra weight. Then come the racing season, you’ll really feel the benefit of getting on a faster bike. Perhaps that’s why Bradley Wiggins did so well in the Tour de France this year – Team Sky made him do his winter training on a cheap Ammaco hybrid bike from Cycle King.

On a more serious note, one important thing to look out for is making sure the set up between summer and winter bike is the same. – especially saddle height.

Not often I stop to take photos in winter. But, this sunset made the late afternoon ride worthwhile

Other Great Dilemmas of Winter Cycling

• How much rain and cold are necessary for turbo training to be preferable to riding in the open air?
• What is the optimal length of your winter break (1 day, five weeks or the period Nov – Feb)?
• Is it good to stop in a cafe?
• What is the optimal weight gain over Christmas? (no practical experience of this one, I’m afraid. Jan Ullrich is the man to ask)
• Is it better to set off early in morning when its dark and cold or finish in late afternoon, when it’s cold and dark?

Hot Pads

These are an excellent accessory. For me they are a necessity to get through winter. I buy a pack of 40 in October. When temperature is cold, I open a pack and put the hot pad in between 2 layers of socks. The heat generated keeps feet nice and warm! If it is really cold I put a pack in my gloves as well. However, I find in gloves to be less effective, as you can’t get the pads so close to your fingers. But, it definitely  helps.

• Hot Pads for Cold Feet – pack of 40 for £21
• Hand Warmers – pack of 10 for £12

A Heated Cycling Seat

Well, its pretty cold out there, but, I can’t help but think this heated cycling seat is going to be another of those cycling inventions that just don’t catch on.

Related

• Winter Cycling Training 

Training on a turbo is one of those aspects of cycling that can really test our determination and enthusiasm. No-one took up cycling so they could spend hours pedalling in a static position – getting very bored and hot at the same time! Yet, on a wet / icey day, even the turbo can seem more appealing that going out on salty roads. Quite a few people recently asked me about turbo training, but I have to admit that where possible I try to avoid training on a turbo. However, I have been through phases (like very bad weather) where I’ve done quite a bit of training on the turbo – and, like many things, turned out to be not as bad as you feared.

Advantages of Turbo Training

1. Avoids getting wet and cold. A real boon when there is snow and ice or driving rain.
2. Avoids weather related accidents; it is much safer, especially when it is icey outside.
3. You can control the environment and makes very specific interval training much easier to regulate. (e.g. don’t have to worry about dodging cars, whilst also trying to race at 100% of max heart rate.
4. Protects your bike from salty and dirty roads.

The disadvantages  of training on a turbo are quite obvious for those who have ever spent an hour on an indoor turbo trainer – it is pretty boring.

Tips for Getting the Most out of Turbo Training

(or should that be tips for surviving turbo training)

1. Use music or even TV to give your mind something to occupy itself with. I did find a period of winter turbo training a good exercise for discovering all those lost tracks on your iPod.
2. Use a fan (or two) to create an artificial wind. This is almost essential to prevent overheating and excess sweating.
3. Wear at least one moisture wicking vest. You may get hot, but it is better to have at least one layer to prevent that windchill factor. (There have been times on an indoor turbo, when I have needed gloves and overshoes)
4. Give yourself realistic targets of 30 mins or one hour. Don’t use turbo to get your 5 hour base training in. No harm to taking a bit of rest in bad weather.
5.  se a speedometer / power-meter to give someway to measure your output. It can be rewarding to know how many theoretical miles you have done.
6. Even short training sessions can be a big help in preventing your fitness draining away. Just remember how much you will be glad you did a few interval training sessions.
7. Mix up the training. Even in winter you can do some higher intensity training or try riding at a higher cadence to get better at spinning.
8. Make sure the bike set up is exactly the same as your road bike. Any differences in set up, especially saddle height, can lead to injury.
9. Use something to catch the sweat and prevent it corroding a bike.
10. Keep well hydrated – you will lose a lot of water.
11. Invest in a specific turbo training tyre. I use this Continental turbo trainer tyre It doesn’t overheat, but more importantly it doesn’t wear away. If you use a turbo on an ordinary tyre, you will soon see how the tyre surface wears away making punctures more likely.

Using A Turbo Trainer Before a Race

Intervals on Turbo

• Turbo Trainers at Evans Cycles
• Indoor cycle Training

• Continental turbo training tyre
• Best Turbo Trainers

• Winter Cycling Training
• Winter Cycling Mileage

More Articles on Training

• Training for Time Trial
• Interval Training Tips

For the last couple of months I was racing. It was either one hour recovery rides or very hard hill intervals – with nothing really in between. I didn’t go out on long rides because I was always thinking about the next race. There wasn’t so much time to ‘enjoy’ the bike. The end of the racing season is often a chance to take a complete break from cycling. But, at the moment, I don’t feel like taking a break, and have started training already. Training actually feels the wrong word. I would prefer to see it as just riding the bike; at this stage of the year I have no specific training target apart from the good old fashioned ‘get some miles under the belt’. I reckon if you can enjoy the cycling, that’s the best kind of training at this time of the year.

There was a time when a cyclist was almost measured by the volume of miles he completed. About 15 years ago, I remember getting a free pull-out mileage chart from Cycling Weekly I would love filling in the bar chart to show how many miles I’d done a week. It appealed to the ‘stato’ in me (I also had many volumes of Wisden). I now have a more modern version on my iPhone GPS cyclometer – very convenient but doesn’t quite have the same ‘je ne sais qua’ as a bit of paper and pencil. Modern training methods tend to downplay the role of ‘getting the miles in’ – there is more talk of ‘training thresholds’ ‘power meters’ and target zones e.t.c. All the kind of things which leave my head spinning. Anyway, at least at this time of the year, you can forget all that and just do whatever you want.

November can be a great time of the year to cycle. You get the last of the autumn colour, the roads are relatively quiet. If it is dry, it can be very beautiful. Last Sunday, I went out for four hours towards Burford on quiet roads. It was a very even pace, I just kept turning a high cadence for miles on end; I really enjoyed just riding and enjoying the scenery. I love that almost mantric quality of spinning the pedals for hours on end.

I know these roads in the Cotswolds about 90%, so I just try to keep off the main roads and follow my nose (it’s quite large so I always have something to follow). I barely saw another cyclist and motorists seemed to be surprisingly well behaved. During the ride, the 70 miles felt almost effortless – it’s really given me a taste for ‘getting the miles in’. At the end of the ride I was tired, but it’s that kind of satisfying tiredness that makes you feel you’ve done something worthwhile. The next morning it was more of a struggle to get up – always a good sign you’ve done a good four hour ride. Whilst the weather is good, I will try and keep a steady routine and do as much as I can. In winter, I take the opportunity to visit new roads and places, just enjoying the freedom to cycle around.

The only drawback of November is the shocking realisation that at 4pm it’s getting dark already. I should really get used to it. But, every year, I’m taken aback by the sudden plunge into early darkness. I would love summertime to be made permanent….

Training in Winter

As I mentioned in winter cycling training, I don’t do any intervals or specific training in the three months of Nov, Dec, Jan. That doesn’t mean I have a heart rate monitor which starts to beep if I go over 85% Max HR. I just ride purely on feeling at this time of the year. For me that usually means quite a good steady pace. I never really enjoy pottering along at 15mph. If I can do 18mph that is much better.

Quite a few people have asked about turbo training in the winter. I will do a piece later, but generally I try to avoid it! unless there is a really prolonged period of bad weather or I’m feeling particularly keen to get some miles in rather than go out in the dark / wet / cold / ice.

Hope you can enjoy the winter cycling season!

Related

• The Joy of Cycling
• Good reasons to get a bike
• Women and the freedom to cycle

1. Reflective clothing.

Even during the day, light levels can be quite low. Motorists can easily miss cyclists who are dressed in dark clothes. Reflective clothing can make as much difference as lights. There are many options for purchasing reflective clothing. Usually, it is quite light weight. Also, don’t just buy a reflective top. Reflective strips on your bike trousers can make a big improvement to side visibility. Look how the cyclist with fluorescent jacket stands out.

2. Rain Proof

The only thing worse than getting wet, is getting cold and wet. Whatever the journey make sure you are prepared with a good waterproof jacket. I reviewed a few waterproof jackets here. An excellent value waterproof jacket is this Altura Night vision at only £48.99 (wiggle) It is quite warm, and best for the winter months where you want something reflective waterproof, comfortable to wear and warm.

3. Base layers.

One of the best things to buy is a good quality base layer. This should stick tight to the skin, allowing sweat to evaporate and keep the body warm. As a general rule it is better to have several thin layers than 1 or two big heavy layers. This makes it easier to take off a layer if you are too hot. Base layers I like very much these dhb merino baselayer At £29.99 not cheap but very good value for Merino wool which is comfortable to wear. Excellent wicking and warmth.

4. Overshoes.

When cycling it is easy to experience cold feet. In these circumstances it is good to use a pair of overshoes. These will help keep the feet from getting cold, but, also keep your shoes clean from the winter dirt. I’ve gone through many winter overshoes as they don’t seem to last for very long (1-2 seasons) before breaking up.  Winter cycling overshoes

5. Hot Pads

This is only necessary for someone who suffers from poor circulation. I can’t survive winter cycling without these. These little pads actually provide a direct heat source (upto 60 degrees) and last for 4-5 hours. Hot Pads

6. Mudguards.

Mudguards will keep the worst of the water from getting on your legs and back. They are indispensable for winter riding.  If you do a lot of cycling in winter it is worth putting extensions on to your mudguards to minimise the splash from the road. (these extensions can be a simple piece of plastic from a washing up bottle. On my road bike, I use these SKS race mudguards on my road bike. The new version has a little more length. They are very light and easy to take on and off. For a winter commuting bike, you could get some more standard mudguards which take longer to put on, but offer more extensive coverage, e.g. these crud mudguards

7. Plastic Bags

A little trick I often use is to put plastic bags between my sock and shoes. I then use some garters to keep my waterproof trousers in place. When I get to work, I step out of plastic bags and your socks are dry.Otherwise water can seep into your socks from the gap between your waterproof trousers and socks.

8. Hat / cap.

A significant amount of heat is lost through the head. When the temperature goes below 5-6 degrees, I usually wear something on my had. I like this dhb skull cap (£16.99 – wiggle) because it fits snuggle under helmet and keeps ears and forehead out of the icey wind (nothing worse than starting a winter ride for ears to burn with cold)

when it’s cold, you need warmth.

9. Winter training top.

I have a couple of fleece lined winter training tops from Impsport. Note these fleece lined tops are not the waterproof ones. The biggest clothing mistake was to buy some waterproof heavy goretex type training top. Despite costing nearly £80, I never wear it because you literally sweat buckets and can get a chill from the cold. However, these zip up winter training tops. I just carry a waterproof jacket to put on when it rains.

10. Gillet.

A gillet is a light weight small jacket you can keep in back pocket. It is great for days when you get showers.  Easy to put on and off. It keeps light rain showers off. In heavy rain, I wear as a second layer. Cycling Gillets

Related

• Winter Cycling Gloves – suffering from cold hands, you wouldn’t believe how many different types of winter gloves I’ve tried over the years.
• Winter Cycling training
• Best winter tyres

To make a much repeated observation around these parts – it’s cold, and with many layers of snow. On Monday morning it reached – 17 degrees in Oxford. After spending a week off the bike, apart from one short perfunctory training session on the turbo, I felt slightly concerned about my lack of training. In a fit of off season enthusiasm, I turned off  the ventral heating and ran up and down my stairs a few times. I then tried some very energetic situps. The training session lasted all of about 15 minutes, but at least gave me a feeling of having made an effort.

Rather embarrassingly, the 20 situps seemed to give me back ache for the next four days, showing how little upper body strength I have. But, at least, with the back ache, I now had a good excuse not to make an effort with turbo or training on icey roads.

This has been one of the worst December’s on record. But, am glad to say the bike still comes out pretty well in the snow.

On Saturday morning, it snowed very heavily – about a foot. I was still able to cycle back from town on a mountain bike. It was hard going in that depth of snow, but, I could make it. Unfortunately, the city centre became a log jam of gridlocked cars. I heard even Jeremy Clarkson, of Top Gear fame, had to abandon his car.

The only downside to cycling in the snow is so many car drivers lost their Christmas spirit. Snow effectively narrows a road, and car drivers just pass you much closer or, as in two cases, shout at you forbeing on the road; perhaps they had been stuck in the logjam and got jealous of a bike making quicker progress.

Anyway, I’m hoping the snow will melt. In the meantime, my training will consist of about 5 situps per day, and running up escalators in shopping malls.

Sit up and begs are very popular in Europe, and increasingly popular over here. They give a very different feel to a more sporty bike. This looks a classic Dutch style frame, in a rather nifty blue and gold style sit up and beg.

Almost looks like you’re standing with this set up.

Winter has also brought a worrying proliferation of earmuffler style hats. (I’ll probably get one for Christmas now, as my mother occassionaly reads this blog.) – very sensible, I hear her saying…

Tricycle may come in useful with all this ice.

That’s what I call ‘wrapped up well.’

Related

• Oxford cycling photos

Cold weather gives a chance to see the variety of winter hats worn by cyclists.

My last post was over last week. It was entitled ‘Grey Weather‘. Well this post could be titled ‘white weather’. Actually Oxford has escaped the worst of the snow but it is still very cold.

So I’m not doing much cycling. I know the weather is bad, when my biggest cycle ride is a detour up a small hill, to make the 3 mile commute home seem like training.

I guess there is always a bright side to cold weather. So look forward to future articles on:

• 1001 Things to do On A Turbo Trainer before you Die.
• The Art of Excuses. How to justify a three month winter break.
• How To sell your new Carbon Fibre Bike and live in the Madeiras Island

Of course, if you happen to be a reader from Chicago, you can just smugly enjoy the record breaking November temperatures 61 F – or (16 degrees in Napoleon’s money) All I can say is, if your living in Chicago, I hope you are doing 400 miles a week training.

Related

• Cycling accessories for winter