7 Tips to Get You Ready for Spring Cycling

Right about this time my wife and I are very cautious about what we eat. Living here in La Bella Sicilia, makes it exceptionally hard not to stuff another focaccia or cannoli into your jaw every week. So we try to find the best way to stay fit through the off-season.

A large part of my lifestyle is staying fit. As an active travel guide with Ciclismo Classico, I need to take care of my physical fitness in the winter. I can’t start training in the spring: I already need to be in decent physical shape. I never know when I’ll go to the mountains on our Majestic Dolomites trip or biking long distances on the Pyrenees Sea to Sea departure. But either way, I need to be ready for anything. And if you – reader – are a guest on one of my trips, you’d be thrilled knowing I am in good physical condition.

So when the winter wears at you, don’t stay on the couch, waiting for the following week to do some base training. All you need are a few minutes a day, or a few hours a week and you can lay the groundwork for great physical conditioning, and be ready for an explosive Spring.

1) Stay Healthy

It sounds obvious, but it’s hard to stay healthy in the wintertime (especially if you have kids). However, there are a few hacks you can take to ensure the best health possible throughout the winter. For example, get a flu shot. Your best defense against those raging flu epidemics is protecting yourself with a shot. If you take the subway a lot or work in the public sector, getting a flu-shot is a “must.”

If you are politically against a flu-shot, there are other ways of protecting yourself. Such as raw honey. Taking raw honey (or straight propolis if you can stomach it) are great ways of boosting the immune system. Make sure you check out the side effects, and if you are allergic to bee stings, try another alternative. Like green tea. Green Tea is another good source of antioxidants, as is garlic: they both help the immune system in times of need. And remember: be proactive, not reactive. Take the antioxidants before you need them, otherwise you’ll be running to the doctor for medications to tackle that cold your spouse gave you.

2) Stay Active

Nothing keeps you as healthy as physical exercise.

These days, home trainers are booming. This isn’t your mom’s dusty stationary bike of the 70s. I wrote this post on the world of interactive indoor cycling taking the cycling community by storm. And that’s a great thing: if you have the mid-winter blues (January or February, especially) look into one of these trainers to help you set a good athletic base for the spring.

A home trainer – or a Smart Bike – is a great gift and a fantastic way to maintain your condition for springtime rides. Sure, they are costly, but you can’t deny the amount of fitness you’ll get per dollar. I’ve had many of my guests swear by them. They argue the Smart Bike is even better than going to the gym: all you need is time to get on your bike and you’ll get an amazing workout in 45 minutes, right at home, regardless of the weather outside.

Do that three times a week, and you’ll be in beast mode by April.

3) Set a Warm Weather Cycling Goal

Sometimes all we need is a good aim to keep our bodies moving towards spring. Change your mindset and focus on where your training will take you in April. What better way than travelling to a far-off destination, with like-minded people, drinking spectacular wines and riding through epic scenery?

Ciclismo Classico has several departures in the Spring you should set your sights on. And they are all in warm climates. Consider the lavish and wild Costa Brava in Spain: 8 days of thrilling biking and food right where the pros train. Or take a look at Sicily: this idyllic island of mythology opens its doors to you in our unique La Bella Sicilia cycling trip. Or come discover the morish influence in southern Spain in our Andalusia departure. They are all great spring destinations to get you through the winter.

And you’ll come back home rejuvenated, refreshed, and ready to ride your local circuit like a boss.

4) Watch What (and How Much) You Eat

During the winter in Italy, you can’t walk through a supermarket without being assaulted by panettone. There are literally walls of it in every store, stuffed with every filling imaginable to mankind. Every school play, every family visit, every encounter with friends involves an encounter with this mischievous polymorphic dessert.

Panettone has an interesting history here in Italy, but most of these commercial treats are mass-produced in a laboratory somewhere in Lombardy. However, the superior cakes come from Milan (or the local baker) and cost a fortune.

We aren’t suggesting you be “that person” who refuses to eat sweets during the off-season. I try to eat as little banana bread as possible, favoring the antipasto vegetables and less sugary foods. Don’t be a scrooge: have one slice and then move onto something else – think about your trip to La Bella Puglia, and put that second slice down.

Leftovers are a problem at our house. Over the course of a week (or two) we attempt to mix in good fruits and vegetables with a bit of lasagna here, some ravioli there. It’s tough to eat like that all winter long, so we try to limit ourselves as much as we can.

However, if I can get in a good 80 km ride in January, I have every reason to finish my father-in-law’s pasta al forno. And then I take a nap.

5) Limit The Social Interactions to One (Maybe 2) Glasses

Here – again – is a big issue come the off-season in our house.

We all know that consuming vast amounts of alcohol can cause you to gain weight. However, it does so in four different ways.

Weight gain and the winter blues set you up for mild depression or season affective disorder. Sometimes folks will return to their wine glass to offset the depression. We need to take alcohol’s effects on brain circuitry – especially dopamine – very seriously. The next thing you know, it’s March and you are trapped between home and the office, never having left the house with a beer belly.

So limit the amount of alcohol you have this winter to maybe one or two glasses of wine (or two beers) at each social event. Remember that red wine – in moderate quantities – is good for your health thanks to antioxidants and resveratrol.

6) Get Some Fresh Air

Just because you invested in a Smart Bike, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leave the house.

Getting some fresh air outside should always be a priority. In the wintertime, there are several activities you can engage in to get ready for spring and beat the winter blues and getting outside is one of them.

Fresh air on a bike ride, a run or a simple walk around town increases your energy and helps your circadian rhythms. It helps you sleep better at night, which is also good for your physical and mental health.

But getting out on the bike specifically – at least during the sunnier days – is important. Imagine spending four months stuck on a stationary bicycle, fixated on a computer program like Zwift, in a place like your laundry room. When you get out on the road, you won’t remember how to approach your first switchback. You’ll discover you haven’t actively applied the brakes on your bike in four months. Don’t let your engine out-power your handling.

Run through the rudiments: breaking, accelerating, cornering, climbing and descending. Get on your bike at least once a month even for two hours and you’ll be ready to tackle any springtime terrain.

7) Love the Stretch

One more excellent way to get yourself ready for spring cycling is to keep stretching.

It is easy to stay indoors all winter and do nothing. Muscle atrophy occurs when we are most inactive for long periods of time. To prevent atrophy, it is a wise idea to stretch those muscles, and put them under some resistance. The great thing about yoga is its duplicity: it stretches and strengthens your muscle fibers simultaneously. So if you can’t get on the bike for a few hours, do your body a favor and do a few downward dogs for 20 minutes.

April is right around the corner. Let us know in the comments what you’ll be doing this winter to get ready for the spring cycling season. Also, contact us about our spring collection and give yourself an objective today.