Sharing My Data - Winter has not cooperated.

As each of you has noticed, Mother Nature has been pretty mean to us this winter. Honestly? I'm struggling too. Struggling to motivate myself to go outside. Struggling to do actual workouts.

It can be difficult or even unsafe to do some intervals with the weather and road conditions we are witnessing. The roads have been perpetually wet. Snow melt refreezes on the edges of the roads where we ride.

I have managed to keep my training hours up but most workouts have become less structured. Just getting out and dealing with the challenges is an accomplishment.

I've been on my cyclocross bike almost exclusively for what seems like months. Last weekend, it was warm enough that I wasn't forced to use winter bike shoes. I took out my road bike. I was more interested in enjoying a long ride than doing strict intervals. I went out on some of my favorite roads and enjoyed the tropical temps around 40F. I hit the climbs briskly and added a long, steady effort at the end.

Sometimes we have to get creative in order to find ways to train. I took that to the extreme when I bought a Fat Bike a couple weeks ago. It should be more of a toy than a training bike but it has allowed me to ride in conditions that no other bike could.

Sandy Ridge Rd covered in snow.



I took it out during the heavy snow last Monday. The roads were empty. The plows had not gotten to the secondary roads at all. The Fatty allowed me to enjoy myself. Tuesday's ride turned out to be a failure as the snow was too deep and heavy on the trails for even the fat bike. An ice storm came in that night.

Deep snow provides a bike stand.

I went out late on Wednesday night in an attempt to get a longer ride in. I figured waiting would allow the salt to do its job and allow traffic to subside. Well, the slush and ice was refreezing as I was out and conditions got a little dangerous. I was thankful to end that ride.



This weekend called for some scheduled time off the bike. I'm currently in Boulder, CO attending a seminar at TrainingPeaks headquarters. The seminar is for coaches looking to improve their workflow and better use the features in TrainingPeaks.

I'm hanging out with the company founders and picking up some new tricks. I got an opportunity to share a car-pool and dinner with Hunter Allen, co-author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter. Although I have met him before this chance to speak candidly was pretty cool. Would you believe he also coaches professional race car drivers? Helping them to train for the physical demands of their races. We shared some great conversation.

Winter has turned into a real bear but I'm getting by. Not thriving but getting by. The Rocky Moutnains are just a four-mile warm up from me this weekend but I didn't bring my bike. The current Boulder climate is nearly identical to NJ. The views of big mountains in the distance remind me that I'm not in Jersey any more.

Snowy mountains in the distance.