Inspiration to train (feel it)

Yesterday I wrote about staying off icy roads to avoid accidents and ill health. I suggested 8 alternative ways to keep the heart pumping and maintain condition.

In the video below (by Landis Fields, PUSH PULL) see if you can relate to any of the details portrayed in it (facial expressions, sweat, kit, bikes, terrain) then watch it again and really feel it. The next time you're looking for inspiration watch it again and go train.

PUSH PULL from Landis Fields on Vimeo.

Don't ride on the road when it's freezing

Well our (UK) winter is truly here. With crazy cold temperatures and buckets of rain, training has not been easy. Recently we've had snow making road riding near impossible. Two nights before Christmas I decided to ride home from work. What seemed like fun at the start ended up being a nightmare. With snow on the roads and no grit I ended up riding really slowly and consequently freezing. What should have been 1:45hrs to get home took close on 3hrs.

What lead me to write this post was seeing 2 guys pushing their road bikes today and someone else's bike too, after returning from a mountain bike ride this morning. It was obvious. Their riding partner had fallen and they were taking the fallen rider's bike home. So, why do people insist on riding on the road when the conditions simply won't allow it? I don't know?

When the conditions are bad why not look to alternative methods to train (exercise)? Normally, when the conditions are bad I either jump on the indoor trainer, go for a run or enjoy great trails on the mountain bike. I don't spend long times on the trainer and limit my runs to no more than 45mins, but riding in frosty conditions is so much fun and way safer too.

When the conditions are bad (dangerous) there are other ways to keep up your training:

1. Indoor static trainer

2. Mountain biking

3. Rollers

4. Jog/Run

5. Gym training

6. Squash

7. Swimming

8. Spinning.

What other training exercises would you recommend?