Training in the northern hemisphere is always a challenge. The vast majority of riders in the Tour Divide come from areas that experience very similar weather to what we experience in this part of Canada. It’s the kind of weather, which despite my love of riding outdoors has me sweating in my garage at temperatures below freezing. This year saw the snow and salt machines arrive considerably later than previous years, which allowed me to continue my training right up until the end of January. However, come February the weather gods put an end to any outdoor riding until the end of winter.

I do have the benefit of sufficient space in my garage to have a decent setup that does make the hours that I need to put in slightly more bearable.  Technology has also made my training session considerably more entertaining – There is a host of different workouts on YouTube to ride to rather than grinding aimlessly away the hours.  The GCN has a couple of informative interval workouts that can be mixed up pretty successfully.

My workouts currently consist of a mix of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and Hill Intervals that generally last about 1½ hours in the morning before work, at least 3 times a week. I am mixing a bit of cross training for an hour a week in an effort to strengthen my core and also strengthen and stabilize my knees and ankles.  (I am also walking up 16-floors to my office too during the week to prepare for the hike a bike sections!)  My weekend rides currently consist of 2 3-hour blocks. These sessions are purely time on the bike pushing a stiff cadence – and also allows me to catch up on all the movies I have missed out on!  I do want to throw in some more running into my schedule, which I may try a few evenings a week – again the purpose of this will be to strengthen my non-cycling muscle groups.

Hopefully, this winter training régime will give me sufficient ‘legs’ come spring and I can start upping my miles on the bike.  Other activities keeping me occupied in my Tour Divide planning is doing a bit of route mapping, hoping to have a better understanding and knowledge of refueling stops – at least for the first few days to really be efficient and maximize the effort spent on the bike.  I am also trying to work out a budget for the race, which is a little scary – as things really do start to add up when you look at part replacements and food budget alone!