Adirondack Sports November 2020

BICYCLING
NOVEMBER 2020 17
Winter
By Dave Kraus
It doesn’t take a professional meteorologist
to see that the traditional cycling
season is over in upstate New York.
The golds and reds of autumn have turned
brown and the mercury is plunging.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t still
pedal your way to cardio fitness, or hold
onto those gains you’ve made with the bike
you bought, or the one you pulled out of
the basement to cope with Covid lockdown
induced stress. There are still plenty of
options to ride outdoors, at home, or at the
gym with others or by yourself. Let’s take a
look at some of them.
Keep riding outdoors. Yes, it can get
cold and dark and messy. But there are still
plenty of ways to take your ride outside.
Ride the bike you already have with proper
preparation and clothing. For tips on how to
do that, see our story in the October issue
at adksports.com/2020-10-bicycling. Keep
in mind that safety and visibility are more
important in the winter months with more
hours of darkness and drivers who may not
be expecting to see cyclists on the road.
There’s no such thing as too many lights or
too much reflective clothing when riding
outdoors in winter.
Fat biking can also be a great way to enjoy
the outdoors in the cold season. A “fat” bike
is a mountain bike with tires at least 3.5”
wide. The huge, low-pressure tires let you
“float” over the snow, mud, sand and many
obstacles.
Want to try it out without buying a bike?
Grey Ghost Bicycles in Glens Falls and High
Peaks Cyclery in Lake Placid offer fat bike
rentals and can give you advice on where to
go for a great ride. Or attend one of the fat
bike events in the Capital Region. Gurney
Lane Snowshoe & Fat Bike Day at the Gurney
Lane Trails in Queensbury is scheduled the
weekend of January 23-24 (@churneygurney
on Facebook). The Saratoga Fat Bike Rally in
Saratoga Spa State Park is still in the planning
stages, but usually takes place in early February
(@saratogafatbikerally on Facebook).
Do your pedaling indoors at the gym.
This popular option is still available at the
YMCAs, fitness clubs and other facilities,
both with “spinning” type bikes in classes,
or more traditional upright bikes that let you
pedal, but don’t offer a cycling experience
that is equally realistic. Keep in mind that
many classes have gone to virtual options,
and in-person classes are socially distanced
and have reduced capacity, making it
important to reserve your spot early. Check
with your local fitness facility for details and
remember that Covid conditions can lead to
sudden changes in class availability.
Riding Options
Pedal indoors at home. It’s warm.
It’s dry. No mask. Jump right off the bike
and into the shower. What’s not to like?
Unfortunately, not everybody has the
self-discipline to get on a bike in the basement
and pedal hard for an hour when
there’s laundry to be done, Facebook a click
away, or cold beer in the fridge.
The good news is that there are more
ways than ever to bring the cycling experience
into your home with the realism to
keep you working out, improving fitness,
and even “ride” and talk with your friends
while doing it.
The easiest way is with one of the several
types of “dumb” cycling trainers that don’t
require a computer hookup or subscription
fees. Buy the trainer, put your bike on
it, and pedal away. You will probably also
want a fan to keep you cool, a block to put
under your front wheel, and a mat to keep
the sweat from reaching the floor, but those
are the basics.
The simplest and cheapest kind is a
wheel-on trainer that attaches directly to
your rear wheel. A roller presses against the
rear tire to provide resistance produced by a
small fan (noisy), magnets (less noisy), or a
fan inside a fluid filled chamber (generally
the quietest). You have to supply your own
entertainment via TV or music, and you may
need a new rear tire when spring arrives.
On a direct drive trainer, you remove
the rear wheel and mount your bike on the
trainer that has gears replacing the ones on
your bike. This type generally a more realistic
experience and doesn’t wear out your
wheel or tire. Smart trainers range from sub-
$500 to $1000-plus. Visit your local bike shop
for recommendations and support them by
buying local.
Also available, but less often used
except by advanced cyclists, are rollers.
The bike is not attached at all so it’s most
like riding outside. You literally ride the
bike on rotating tubes that are mounted
to a frame sitting on the floor. It’s like
a treadmill for your bike. Rollers help you
develop balance, coordination and cardio
fitness, especially if you use a resistance fan
– that can also cool you. For safety, it’s best
to place them in a doorway, near a wall or
railing, or have raised steps on either side of
you. Our publisher has been using upsidedown
milkcrates for years.
Many of these training devices can be
turned into “smart” trainers that provide
online or app connectivity that lets you read
and record data such as speed, rpm, heart
rate and more. There are a large variety of
options in both how to read and view the performance
data. Some have direct displays,
while others connect to smart phone apps.
Some manufacturers offer both “dumb” and
“smart” versions of the same trainer and yes,
the smart trainer will cost more in order to
get the extra electronic features. Are they
worth it? Only you can decide what’s right
for your fitness needs after looking at the
wide variety of manufacturers, features and
price points.
You can also take your own bike, plus
one of these trainers with a minimum level
of smart features and use them with an
online, interactive training and racing platform
such as Zwift, which is currently the
most popular of the 20 different apps. Zwift
offers users the ability to ride on the roads of
eight different virtual worlds via an avatar.
There’s also the option of racing or just riding,
plus sharing the course with every other
Zwift user, or in a “meetup” with a group of
your friends who are also riding at the same
time. There are also “pace partners” – virtual
bots that ride at a predetermined pace
at different times of day so you can ride
with someone, but not in a group. A Zwift
account costs $14.99 per month, in addition
to the cost of whatever smart trainer hardware
you elect to use.
The next step up the ladder of features,
complexity – and cost – are specially-built
◀ 2020 SARATOGA FAT BIKE RALLY.
BOB RAINVILLE/FOCAL BLUE PHOTOGRAPHY
▲ DARREN FRIOT AND EDWARD
ROSENBERG, BOTH OF GLENVILLE, ON A
RECENT 40-DEGREE DAY. ED SAYS “I’LL RIDE
OUTSIDE ALL WINTER AS LONG AS
THE ROADS ARE DRY.” DAVE KRAUS
◀ DOUG GOGLIA OF HALFMOON
WITH HIS TRAINING SETUP THAT
INCLUDES A COMPUTRAINER,
FAN, AND LAPTOP FOR ZWIFT.
DAVE KRAUS / KRAUSGRAFIK.COM
◀ SCREEN SHOT
OF A TYPICAL
ZWIFT RIDE.
ZWIFT
indoor home bikes, such as the Peloton or
alternatives such as NordicTrack, Echelon
or MYX Fitness, that are designed to duplicate
the experience of a live indoor cycling
class. Bikes from Bowflex or Schwinn can
link up the fitness app of your choosing
(Peloton, Zwift or others). The Peloton is
a high-end indoor bicycle with an integral
Wi-Fi-enabled, 22-inch touchscreen tablet
that streams live and on-demand classes.
You can compete with other participants,
comparing your total wattage produced
with theirs, and get a cardio workout in the
process.
The Peloton is not cheap, with a price
tag starting at $1,895 for the bike, and the
required $39 per month subscription cost
to participate in unlimited cycling and fitness
classes. Some alternatives are half the
price, but with over 550,000 Pelotons sold,
its popularity in undeniable. But again, only
you can decide if your fitness is worth the
investment.
Dave Kraus (dbkgrafik@gmail) is a
longtime area cyclist, photographer, and
writer who is always looking for new,
interesting ways to experience the outdoors
in upstate New York. Visit his website at
KrausGrafik.com.