Take a break
It may sound strange, but the best way to start cycling training with motivation and not be put off by winter weather conditions is to take a break between the previous season and the new one. After all, it is only when you do without the things you take for granted that you really realise their value and importance once again. Leaving your bike at a certain time and for a defined period of time makes you realise that you have to do without and awakens a new desire to ride a road bike in winter.
How long you choose to take this conscious break from cycling is up to you; some people can hardly stand it after just one week without cycling, others feel comfortable when December and January pass by without cycling and they can get back on the saddle with renewed vigour in February. Or even later. And by the way: not touching your racing bike for a while is not the same as not doing any sport at all. From leisurely walks to ambitious sessions in the gym to improve athleticism and flexibility, everything increases the anticipation of cycling and ideally strengthens qualities that are often neglected during the cycling season.
Make appointments with like-minded people
If you want to cycle regularly on the asphalt or gravel track in autumn and winter, you can successfully trick your inner bastard, who would rather continue to slumber on the couch, by arranging to train with one or more like-minded people. This gives the agreed date a completely different level of commitment, because keeping your mates waiting at the meeting point or even moving them usually requires more effort than getting dressed for the weather and getting into the saddle.
Another plus point: training together is more fun than travelling alone through the semi-dark country, and not just in adverse conditions, because: a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved, and a joy shared is a joy doubled. And it's always more entertaining to be out and about with others.
Follow health tips
In order to get through the road bike winter without catching a cold or other respiratory infections, there are a few things to bear in mind. We spoke to an expert in the field and also show you the top 3 sources of vitamin C.
Make a plan
Order-loving and disciplined characters literally ride best when they draw up a plan of what they want to train, when and to what extent in order to achieve a certain goal when road cycling in winter; even if the ride is then accompanied by snow drizzle and the tips of the feet are almost numb from the cold after the two-hour lap: For some, the greatest satisfaction comes when you can tick the green "Done" box in your training plan afterwards. However, you should allow yourself enough flexibility to change your plans when it's pouring rain and four degrees and perhaps replace the cycling session with indoor sports so as not to jeopardise your health.
Get your training clothes ready
Trivial but effective: If you want to work out in the morning before or in the evening after work, put your sportswear and accessories in a place where you won't be able to miss them in the evening or morning before training. Firstly, this will reduce the time you need to prepare for training as you will no longer have to gather your clothes. And secondly, you close a loophole through which your inner bastard could whisper to you: "By the time you've got everything ready and changed, it'll be too late anyway."
House round the wrong way round
Tip: In winter, why not cycle against the flow or against your usual direction? Experience shows that many cyclists have an assortment of favourite routes or home laps that they complete countless times during the season. And where you know every pothole on the familiar track by first name and know exactly which manhole cover you'd better get off your bum at, the route reveals completely new insights when cycling in the opposite direction in winter - especially when nature takes a break and the lack of vegetation creates completely new images.
Rapha Festive 500 Challenge
The ideal way to maximise motivation: The Rapha Festive 500 Challenge is already in its 15th edition this winter, but is still a young event. The aim is to cycle 500 kilometres over the eight days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and document this achievement on the online platform Strava. What started out small is now captivating cyclists all over the world. The certainty that hundreds of thousands of like-minded people are taking on the same challenge at the same time is an incentive and creates a special feeling of togetherness - even if you are cycling towards the big goal alone on a lonely, wet, dark country road in the middle of nowhere. Of course, the visibility of your achievements on Strava provides additional motivation.
