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The lingering
memory of the last summer ride on your favourite stretch of singletrack
is often enough to get you through the winter chills. Sadly a quick mid-winter
reccy of that favourite track reveals a wet, unrideable mud-fest. Hardly
the breakfast of champions. Which is fine ... you expect to clumsily slip
over the rocks and not clean all those tricky little steep sections. And
surely you can blame the gasping and general weariness on the cold. Alas,
when the sunny season finally returns that favourite trail still doesn't
ride as sweetly as your memories. The reality is more likely that your
fitness halo has slipped a little over the winter. It's hard, or even
foolish, to keep yourself at peak fitness over the whole year - especially
when conditions are less than inspiring - but it can make for a bumpy
re-entry into the summer.
There are 101 reasons
to chill out during the shorter daylight hours. Weeks of continual sub-zero
temperatures encourage all but the most committed to remain huddled up
at home. And riding to work is tricky when the duvet tangles in the rear-derailleur.
The Tour de France circus keeps the mind, if not the body motivated ...
but those boys make it look too easy. So what are the options for keeping
the fitness needle off rock bottom during the dark months?
Commuting
... can be a hoot. If you can't face pedalling to work every
day then at least brave a couple of days each week. It's often not much
slower to ride - especially when you scythe through rush hour traffic
jams. So if you're pushed for time then you effectively score a free lunch
on the fitness front. See 'A Rookies Guide to Life
as an Urban Warrior' in the Tech Tips section of www.groundeffect.co.nz
for the good oil on cycle commuting.
Sharpen
your skills. Show no mercy to the urban environment ... there
are plenty of steps, gutters, manholes, alleyways, driveways, steps and
railway lines to keep you in tune. And there's nothing like practising
a bunny-hop over the real thing (if somewhat flattened) when you get the
chance.
Hitting
the road. There's no need to splash out on an exotic road bike
(although it's nice to indulge if the piggy bank is bulging) - just chuck
a set of slicks on ya mountain bike. Avoid the ultra skinny jobs. A chunky
number (1.25" to 1.5") with a hint of tread will allow you to ride rough
terrain and leap off curbs. An extra set of wheels takes the hassle out
of swapping tyres. Just check for brake/rim compatibility before you splash
out. Of course a set of swank discs is the ultimate work-around to that
problem.
Into
the night. Cramming all your "training" into the weekend can
eat into other recreational priorities, so firing up the halogen candles
during the week helps spread the load. Tracks you dismiss as too easy
can be great fun at night and a well arranged night ride will conveniently
finish at or near a short black and a muffin. Check out 'Seeing
the Light'
in the Tech Tips section of www.groundeffect.co.nz for more.
Cross
training ... not to be confused with cross-dressing, covers
anything from day hiking through to hooning around on the snow. Running
on tracks that you usually ride can reveal a new sweet line. It's a blast
pulling big airs and sketchy drop-offs with smooth slow-mo running shoe
ease.
Depending on your measuring
stick it takes three to four months to get back to "full speed." Keeping
your base fitness over winter has you well on the way when summer rolls
around. In New Zealand daylight saving kicks in early October - a good
jolt to start getting out and about on a school night. Remember to ease
yourself into it slowly. Faster does not necessarily equal fitter ...
the legendary Arthur Lydiard prescribes a diet of LSD - that would be
Long-Slow-Distance. Strange as it may seem, long and slow will keep building
your fitness right through to the Cyclic Saga. As they say "it's as easy
as riding a bike".
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