Skill yourself up
This leads on to the third core component of winter training; skills development. Use winter to improve your technical riding, develop your pedal stroke, or your outdoor skills more generally. Come the season, that work on your front wheel lifts, a smoother pedal stroke and a dialled kit choice will pay dividends when the events come around again.
So, you’ve got a framework and specific aspects to develop. What about the weather?
What did the bikepackers do for us?
Well, they gave us bikepacking bags! The ability to strap kit to our bikes in an easily accessible way that has minimal impact on our bike’s handling is a revelation. It’s so easy now to carry a (proper) waterproof, waterproof pants, a spare top, spare gloves…. Clothing technology has advanced hugely in recent years and even on the worst days we can get out and stay out. If you are carrying extra kit, forget the impact on speed; save that for when it counts.
Bikepacking bags also allow us to carry food easily. Fuelling is so important for endurance riders anytime of the year. In winter, when we naturally burn more calories, simply to keep ourselves warm, staying on top of calorie consumption becomes even more important. Refuel thoroughly AFTER you ride too. Not only will you be ready to go again the next day, it will also help to keep that immune system firing.
Winter is not the time to skimp on quality food. You may have gathered, I’m really hot on fuelling! Under fuelling or dehydration are frequently the reasons behind a poor training session.
Get social
Getting out when the weather is sub-optimal is so much easier when you’ve put your name down. Arrange to meet up with friends. It’s a lot harder to hide under the duvet when you know your mate is waiting for you on a street corner. I guarantee that once you are out, you won’t regret it.