Winter: Time to Harness Your Inner Dire Wolf *

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by Liz Bouchard, PCI #905-B/EMSCI #241-B
Univ. of Guelph (ON) Campus Community Police
IPMBA Treasurer

It’s that time of year! Those of us in the North are preparing for snow – if we haven’t gotten it already! If you live in a temperate location, this article is not for you, and please forgive my envious glares! However, if you’re like me and live in a place where snow is a winter certainty, you’re probably thinking about how you’re going to stay in riding shape for the next four or five months. Here are a few suggestions.

Embrace The Cold And Keep Riding!

Except for the nastiest weather days, there is no reason why you can’t ride throughout the winter. However, for many administrators, the costs associated with keeping a bike unit active in the snow outweigh the benefits. If you’re among the unfortunate ones whose unit gets suspended during the winter, you might consider winterizing your personal bike and finding some time to ride on your off days. Just keep these tips in mind.

1) Winter weather creates its own set of hazards. There are unique surface hazards to contend with, like ice, snow, and salt, that affect traction control and may necessitate different tires. Additionally, falling snow, increased periods of darkness, and high snow banks make it harder for motorists to detect cyclists. And never forget that in the winter, there is less of an expectation that cyclists will be on the road, and motorists generally see what they expect to see.

2) Dress for the cold weather. Dress in layers. Pay particular to attention to your hands and feet, which are generally more exposed to the cold and wind when locked on those pedals and handlebars. Take care that whatever you choose to cover your hands with doesn’t impact your ability to manipulate the brakes and shifters.

Bulky or dangling clothes risk getting caught up in the moving parts of your bike; for that reason, scarves are generally a winter riding no-no. You might consider a buff, which will protect your neck and can be pulled up to cover your face, or a balaclava. Most winter riders find that a thin winter hat, like a beanie, offers good head and ear warmth while still fitting under a cycling helmet. Finally, cleats and ice generally don’t play well together, so it’s a good time to switch to a pair of flat pedals with appropriate footwear.

3) Road salt and sand can be really hard on your bike, so you’ll want to adapt and increase the frequency of your maintenance routines. Wipe your bike down after every ride and keep an eye on your bearings (repack as necessary). Pay particular attention to your drive train and switch to wet lube. Salt and sand will also wear your brakes out much faster, so increase the frequency of brake pad inspections.

4) With limited daylight, you’ll want to invest in good quality lights and make sure they are kept free of road grime. Remember that the cold weather will negatively impact the battery life of your lights, so you might want to keep some extras on hand and remember to charge them after every ride.

5) Consider investing in a fat bike; these are essentially bikes equipped with monster tires. The overlarge and over-wide tires increase traction on soft, unstable terrain and allow for much lower tire pressures. Fat bikes have exploded in popularity over the last five years in part because they OWN snow and enable cyclists to ride year-round. One of the biggest benefits of fat biking is that you can ride OFF-ROAD in the winter!!!

Can’t Stand the Cold? Bring Your Riding Indoors!

Stationary bikes allow you to keep spinning throughout the winter without the frostbite. Bike trainers are relatively inexpensive (although highly sophisticated, expensive models that simulate actual riding are also available) and will allow you to adapt any bike to an indoor ride. Stationary biking is a great opportunity to practice pedaling technique, sprinting, climbing, and more. In addition to the abovementioned “ride simulators”, there a lot of great internet resource to help you achieve training goals. Just make sure to work some interval training into your stationary bike routine to keep things real.

Another option is to focus on strength training and flexibility during the winter layover. While leg workouts are the obvious choice for cyclists, core training is equally important. Technical riders will also see improvements if they factor in some upper body workouts as well. Yoga is gaining popularity amongst cyclists as greater flexibility yields improved performance.

Don’t Have Access to a Personal or Stationary Bike?

The winter months offer a whole host of great sporting and leisure opportunities. Skating and snowshoeing are excellent low-impact workouts, and the snow allows for the mother of all aerobic workouts: cross-country skiing. The great thing about cross training is that it will increase your overall level of fitness while adding a variety to your routine.

Regardless of what you decide to do, it is essential to make an effort to remain in shape during the cold season. Not only will this help stave off the winter blahs, it will improve your work performance and help prevent injuries come spring.

Theroux says, “Winter is the season of recovery and preparation.” Happy training, everyone!

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* Think dire wolves are a hundred percent fictional? You know nothing, Jon Snow. George R.R. Martin may have an epic imagination, but he didn’t completely make up these Game of Thrones creatures. The powerful canines that we now call “dire wolves” (Canis dirus) did, in fact, patrol North America during Earth’s last ice age. And though they would have been dwarfed by their counterparts in Westeros, the prehistoric predators were still formidable enough to scare the crud out of any Lannister. (Source: http://mentalfloss.com/article/63309/10-fierce-facts-about-dire-wolves).

Liz is a sergeant with the University of Guelph Campus Community Police where she supervises a platoon and oversees the organization’s bike patrol unit. She has been both an IPMBA instructor and CCA CAN-Bike instructor since 2006 and is currently serving on IPMBA’s board as treasurer. A good day for Liz involves a backcountry trail and a cold beer; when she’s not enjoying either she can be reached at ebouchard@police.uoguelph.ca.

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