nerdy.alex
As a continuation of introducing myself I'd like to tell you more about winter activities, specifically winter biking. After living in sunny and warm Los Angeles for most of my life, I wasn't too excited about spending 2-3 months in cold and dark climate of the Pacific Northwest after moving here 8 years ago. In the first years of living here in Washington state I tried going back to southern California for as long as I can during the winter months so that I can avoid it as much as possible. I still go to California quite often but no longer in the winter since it is a true wonderland here usually from mid-December to early February when the snow stays on the ground.
(First snow of the 2017 we got on November 4th)
(Waiting at a shuttle stop in Pullman WA also October 2012 outside temp 20°F)
While being a student, I had to live off of the student loans so I tried saving as much as I can and be resourceful otherwise, so skiing and snowboarding were not feasible for me. I tried both and liked them but they require a lot of time and💰 to buy the equipment, to get to the resort, to buy the ski pass and so on. Just to give you an idea, my local ski resort, which is only an hour drive from where I live, charges $60-80 per day for renting the gear and another $50 for the lift ticket. I'm not even mentioning the cost of buying your own gear (which could go well into thousands of dollars) or the possibility of flying in to the ski resort of your choice.
(My girlfriend is trying to ski here for the first time- a $400 trip, which gave us no satisfaction)
And, even if I wanted to spend all that money on skiing it would be a whole day/weekend ordeal, where I would get about 1-2 hours of skiing out of a 12 hour trip.
Naturally, what I was left with, were indoor activities, jogging, or biking. Some people would say- how about going to the gym to get your workout in the winter? Unfortunately for me, I can't stand going to the gym anymore. I can't get enough motivation to go into an indoor space where I have to breathe in and touch other people's sweat, and pay money for something I can set up at home. Don't get me wrong, I was a gym rat myself for a long time until I got into biking and kettlebell sports. Again the time it takes to get to and from the gym I would rather spend reading a book or an article here on Steemit.
(Rock climbing and bouldering at a local gym during winter)
Anyway, to each their own, but for me, for the past couple of years- winter became an exciting time when I get to ride my mountain bike as much as (if not more than) in the summer.
(Weekend ride up to the local winery on a hill)
(Winter view from Arbor Crest winery)
Any cyclist will tell you that in order to get faster you have to ride uphill, and we have quite of few good hills where I live. Riding up the same hill a few times will give you a great and easy gauge on how much stronger you are getting. You'll have to use Strava app or a GPS watch in order to precisely track your times or you can just time yourself with a stopwatch.
(Riding up the paved hills and trails)
As a side note, my friend asked me the other day if biking would cause her to lose muscle mass she gained from lifting weights. Without getting too deep into the science of slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers, endurance etc., the answer is no; you will not lose any muscle mass if you continue to lift. I personally, increased my leg volume by a huge margin after I started biking.
I managed to get a ton of winter riding on my regular mountain bike ($50 used early 90's specialized bike off of Craigslist) that lasted me a couple of years with no problems. Later, I bought some higher quality, professional bikes that I will talk about it in my future posts.
(My old work horse that got me into biking and saved a ton of gas)
(Frosty morning on Saltese Uplands)
So, I hope this motivates someone to go out there and ride even when it's cold out (you will get really warm within the first minutes of riding uphill) because winter riding is a lot of fun. Just dress yourself in layers, and conquer some hills (or flats) and feel great!
Cheers!
