Firstly, winter is here which can be a bit tough for us bikers, and secondly, we are heading back towards summer!  If you try focusing on the latter, the wind, rain and snow doesn’t seem so frustrating.  The hardest thing at this time of year is to keep motivated and focusing on those long term goals.  So here I am to your rescue with some solutions to beat that lethargic, demotivating weather!

Two tips for June:

I recently saw the new movie Sex and the City with a large group of friends and figured that a few themes apply to riding your bike during winter……

Any excuse to go shopping for a new outfit is a good one!  To get you away from that couch and hot chocolate just for an hour or so and get out on your bike you need some serious motivation!  Go and get some new season winter bike clothing!

• Arm and leg warmers are a very easy way to add some warmth to your body without blowing the budget or feeling like the Michelin Man on a bike.  Make sure they are a snug fit but don’t cut in to your arms or legs.

• A windproof vest will cut down the wind chill factor witch is often what actually makes us feel cold.  The aim is to protect those kidneys and your chest as that’s where all our blood and oxygen gets pumped from.

• On the bike things that aren’t moving are the things that get cold!  Fingers and toes!  Warm gloves and shoe covers are great!

The other point that the movie made was that sharing experiences with your friends, whether they are awesome, fun or really painful are so much better when you have someone to share them with.  If you have someone that you can keep riding with through winter whether out on the road or in the garage on wind trainers, it will be so much better with a friend. 

Make it a girl’s catch up date once a week! If you are a mum at home, make this your new coffee group. A friend and I meet every Tuesday night and work out in her lounge for an hour.  Some weeks it’s really hard work and both of us feel really grumpy about getting on our bikes instead of being warm on our couches but we turn up that music and sweat it out together and feel so much better for it! 

• Rain, hail or shine, it will make you much more experienced at riding in all types of weather conditions.

• If it’s dark when you get home, jump on a wind trainer once or twice a week. Even if it’s only for half and hour, a little often is better than only one long ride a week.

• Try a spin session at a gym or sports centre where you can get an expert to keep you going. 

• It can be a safer form of getting in a ride without battling traffic in the dark, and rain.  Because it’s a controlled ride you can really work on the purpose of the ride by simulating hills, sprints, flats, cadence work, fat burning or just time on the bike.

Don’t let the weather beat you.  Get out on your bike this month in your nice, warm, funky riding gear and focus on those longer term goals!  Call a friend and organize a bike date, smile and suffer together!  Put on some old 80’s hits, turn up the volume and have a laugh!