Categories: Belgian AffirmationsThe HardmenTradition

Winter Training

There is drafting, and then there’s this.

Merckx famously professed that after a night of sinning, the body must be cleansed. He obviously meant this figuratively, not literally, because those mud guards on his bike aren’t going to take a big bite out of whatever that lorry has to offer him by way of a Flandrian facial.

Winter is a tough time for those of us pawing about in search of our climbing weight. With the shortening of days, the nesting instinct awakens. Darkness falls in late afternoon and when we wake, we are greeted by the same darkness that wrapped us all through the evening. Nature urges us to combat the darkness with food and drink; summer’s dinner salads are replaced by slow-cooked meat and potatoes served with a side of pasta and bacon and washed down with a few bottles of red.

Weight defies the conservation of mass; it is more easily gained than lost. Fitness occupies the opposite realm; it is more easily lost than gained. Riders like Kelly, Merckx, and De Vlaeminck were famous for their discipline throughout winter; training long and hard to lay the groundwork for their Spring and Summer campaigns. With a sea of months between us and next season’s goals, there is little urgency to train properly. But keeping our weight down and putting in the long base kilometers will reward us throughout the season. Besides, it hardens the character to train in the cold, wet winds that characterize the winter months. The training we do in summer feels a luxury by comparison.

I cherish the winter months when my training is peaceful and free of pressure. I look forward to the sun warming my muscles, but for now I am content to stock up on fresh Flandrian Best, prepare the bike for the winter roads, and submit to the solitude of the cold training hours that lie before me.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

Next Riding Without Data »

Previous « Guest Article: "The Journey Is The Thing"- Homer

View Comments

Optimiste says:

Oct 28 2013 at 4:24 pm

@Inspector Gadget Indoor, hands down. The rigors of outside winter training are soon supplanted by the knowledge you are connecting with your ideal badass. Even if that badass is freezing. However, on the trainer you are constantly battling the voice saying you can just stop pedaling anytime. Go ahead. It's easy. No one will know.
kixsand says:

Oct 28 2013 at 4:28 pm

I have a Kurt Kinetic - just the standard trainer - no rocking, no rolling. It does the trick when the snow starts to pile up in Toronto. If the weather isn't too bad I will set up outside so that I can get the benefits of the air and the sun while listening to some tunes and pushing the pedals for an hour or more. It makes a big difference come spring when the riding buddies are all slow and fat and stoopid...
xyxax says:

Oct 28 2013 at 4:32 pm

@Nate

He who says a resistance trainer benefits his pedal stroke has never ridden rollers.

And FWIW, a couple of times on the road I've had to resort to a balancing move that was learned from avoiding falling off those damn things.
revchuck says:

Oct 28 2013 at 4:35 pm

@Inspector Gadget

People cite Rule #9 all the time. I must ask, what is more mentally difficult, riding outside with friends (peer pressure to go out in the slop) or facing 90 minutes indoors alone on a trainer or rollers pushing out constant power and intervals?

The answer, of course, is yes. Movies help with trainer time; my favorites are Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns. I don't do well with bike races, since I tend to model what I'm watching on the screen rather than what's called for in the workout.

Did my first semi-Rule #9 ride of the winter season (such as it is in Louisiana) yesterday, two hours of a three and a half hour ride in the rain...with a flat that appeared right after I rode out of the rain. It didn't suck.
Raymond Guerrero says:

Oct 28 2013 at 5:44 pm

I'm gearing up for cold wet days of commutes as well as my Sunday 50+. Train hard no matter what you do
frank says:

Oct 28 2013 at 6:08 pm

@Inspector Gadget

I must ask, what is more mentally difficult, riding outside with friends (peer pressure to go out in the slop) or facing 90 minutes indoors alone on a trainer or rollers pushing out constant power and intervals?

C) 200 km solo efforts in freezing rain starting at dawn, ending at dusk.

Incidentally, riding in freezing rain is the coldest you will ever be.
Ron says:

Oct 28 2013 at 6:12 pm

My gosh, a Flandrian Facial? What an incredible turn of words.
RedRanger says:

Oct 28 2013 at 6:24 pm

I'll Trade anyone for my awesome winters for colder winter on the condition we trade summers also. PS I sent my resume to a place in Bend and one in Seattle. probably wont come of anything but fingers crossed.
frank says:

Oct 28 2013 at 6:39 pm

@Ron

My gosh, a Flandrian Facial? What an incredible turn of words.

It's a BRRean term. ( Flanders Facial )

http://bigringriding.com/post/1542287382/fashion
unversio says:

Oct 28 2013 at 6:56 pm

@DerHoggz

What trainers are good to look into? Or, what do you look for in a trainer?

Kreitler -- you can order specific diameters for your training.