Welcome to that time of year…when rides are fewer and far between as the air gets colder, the light gets scarcer and you are itching for a ride so bad that you are about to pop straight out of your skin. Of course…if you are below the equator…this is that time of year that the rest of us up here cuss you with jealousy as you enjoy warm excursions and we are stuck in the cold!
So what happens? You get to the trail…suit up…start pedaling and blast out onto the singletrack with your summer legs ready to rip out some riding on the day. Wait a second…these aren’t my summer legs…what is happening? Where did my power go? Damn! It’s only mile 12 and I am blowing up all over the place! What the hell happened?
You…my fellow mountain bike obsessed junkie…have just realized that you in fact have winter, I really need a ride legs and not your trusty summer, I have a lot of miles on me already, strong legs. It happens to all of us. As we continue the quest to get out as much as humanly possible during the slow months, we try to take full advantage of every spin we get, but our endurance and stamina just isn’t where it was several months ago. It’s not our fault…we just do not have as many miles in as we would like, so the approach has to be different.
Winter Leg Tips To Prevent Blow Up
So how can we prevent this and still enjoy our winter rides? Here are some tips that I didn’t do on my last ride out in the woods. (The inspiration for this post…I blew up)
Start Off Slow And Steady – During the spring, summer and fall months, I typically can start off pretty hard after a short warm-up. In the winter, if I start with that same intensity…I end up shortening up the ride because my legs are not used to the abuse. As you start your next winter ride, give your legs a little bit longer to warm up than usual. They are working against the colder temperatures and the lack of exercise, so they are going to require a little bit more babying in the beginning.
Find Unique (boring) Ways To Spin In Between Rides – As much as we all hate trainers…or going to the gym…riding stationary bikes and trainers can keep your legs going during the off times and make those winter rides a lot easier to take in. I dislike spinning without actually getting anywhere as much as anyone else…but sometime it is necessary to get the most out of our winter rides when temps and weather will not seem to cooperate. If you really want to make it interesting…you can get a set of rollers to make it as much like riding as possible…but those will set you back about 700 bones.
Use Knee And Leg Warmers To Keep Your Muscles Warm – Warm muscles warm up faster. If you use some leg and knee warmers…you can quicken up the warm-up process and prevent your legs from getting cold during the down time at trail intersections. Anything to keep you from having to warm back up again is a good thing.
Stay Hydrated and Full of Food – Naturally, you do not hydrate as much in the winter when you should be. Your body is colder, you don’t feel your sweat ripping down your face and that creates a sensation of “I don’t feel like I need to drink”. Well…the opposite is true and during the winter months…you really need to make a conscious effort to drink a lot of water. A lot of winter cramping can be directly related to not getting enough fluids just because you do not need that refreshing feeling of cold water like you do in the heat.
As you get out and enjoy the winter rides…keep these things in mind as you spin out onto the singletrack and you should be good to go.