Winter is upon us and it’s tempting to store your bike in the shed or attic, and get it out again in the spring. But why not continue your training indoors, like many have started doing over the last few years? So what’s it going to be: a winter huddled up on the sofa and with a few extra pounds in the spring, or are you going to leave all your riding buddies for dust on the first hills of the spring? We’d like to help you out a bit, by sharing 5 reasons why you should continue training indoors over the winter.

5 Reasons You should keep Training through the Winter

Early nightfall / not enough time

The Winter comes with an ever earlier setting evening sun. Safety is a reason for many riders to stop cycling through the winter. The advantage of a trainer is that you can train any time of day, regardless of the conditions. Furthermore, you don’t need 5 layers of clothing to keep you warm, and you won’t spend a minute of your Training waiting at the lights or navigating traffic. You can use every minute of your allocated time to focus on your training, without having to leave the comfort of your own home. The software currently on offer also means you won’t have to train alone. Instead, you can take on other cyclists digitally from all around the world. Training will soon become a social exercise as well!

Specific Training Goals

When you’re riding in the outside world, you need an appropriate route first. If you want to do some hard climbing, you’ll often have to cover some serious miles in order to get some proper vertical meters on the clock- which takes time. On a trainer, you can set yourself a goal for that training and work towards this from the very first push of your pedals. Besides climbing, you can also do an interval training without having to worry about other traffic. You can easily set this training up with a smart trainer, allowing you to fully focus on getting the most from it. Afterwards, you can have a thorough look at the data on your (bike) computer. Even in summer, an indoor trainer could be ideal for these work-outs if you just want to ride in peace.

Train for a specific route

Imagine, you’ve found yourself the perfect route last summer, and you want to ride it again next year. You’ll probably want to improve over your previous time. An interactive trainer will allow you to rerun a route with the same inclines you’d encounter in real life. This way, you can train yourself for the course without any distractions. Most trainers even offer the option of converting GPX files into a training via the proprietary software. Another option is to ride up reknowned climbs with matching video footage. It’s a perfect way of discovering the right points for you to mount an attack on your riding buddies. Finally, it can feel as if you’re going on a ride down memory lane, reliving some of your past trips.

Improving your technique

Since the bike is held in place by the trainer and you won’t be encountering any traffic, it’s a perfect chance to improve your technique. If you want to improve your pedaling technique, we recommend disengaging one leg from the pedal and cycling with the other. This way, you’re forced to both push and pull on the pedal, making it more efficient. Trying this on the road is possible, but often not very safe. Besides, there won’t be any strange looks when you’re riding along with one leg in the comfort of your own house.

Get in shape for next season

Unlike you, most of your cycling buddies might have stashed their bikes for the winter. When spring comes, you’ll be able to show all of them what you’re capable of, since you’ve been training through the winter. That local climb or KOM/QOM will definitely be yours, and that climbing holiday you’ve been planning all year will be a breeze. The idea that you’ll be on the roads from day one in spring fitter and faster than everyone around you, should be motivation enough to train through the winter right?

So many choices…

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge and get yourself a trainer, you’ll soon be overwhelmed by all the possibilities. We’ve recently updated all of our buyer’s guides on trainers. First, there’s the general bike trainers buyer’s guide, which discusses some of the general features of different trainers. Then there are two separate blogs which focus on Tacx and Elite trainers respectively. Our very own Alex has recently tested the top of the range trainer by Elite for us, and he has done an extensive review on it. So really, there isn’t a single reason anymore why you wouldn’t train through the winter. Get on it!

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