Winter’s Coming

By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher

Yes, for any GOT fans out there, I couldn’t resist the easy reference in the title. But, seriously, temps are falling in the Northern Hemisphere, and Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday, November 5, in the U.S.

To mark this seasonal shift, this week and next we’re offering a few articles to help you prepare for winter riding.

Today, we’ve got a couple of great articles from Coach David Ertl and Elizabeth Wicks with suggestions about how best to dress for certain conditions. David’s actually covers what to wear in any weather and temperature, and it includes a handy PDF chart to download and save or print. Elizabeth, who lives in a decidedly cold weather state, focuses on what she wears, why and how, when riding in the winter – preferring to ride outdoors whenever possible instead of staying inside on the trainer.

And we offer up a Question of the Week to gauge the cold weather tolerance of all our readers. It’s a topic of interest for many of us, apparently, as I’ve had several versions of the Question suggested to me in recent weeks. You’ll note that I tried to come up with a way to pose the question that takes into account “regional differences” in terms of what we’re acclimated to, etc.

In short, I know from having grown up in a 4-season city (Kansas City), I could handle any weather (and I had the full range of clothing to do so). But for the past 30 years, I’ve lived in a 3-season city (Atlanta, “where fall lasts all winter long,” with rare exceptions) – and I haven’t even owned a winter coat for decades. Guess what: I don’t own a real array of winter riding gear, either. (At least what roadies who live in real winter climates surely own.) And my tolerance for the cold is much less than when I was a hearty Midwesterner facing that nastiness year in and year out.

So the Question takes an “N+1” approach. You’ll see what I mean.

Next week, we’ll continue the Winter’s Coming selections with two product reviews of Seal Skins gear (for years aimed squarely at wet- and cold-weather riding, though the company is now offering a few more pieces for warmer weather), along with a couple of articles on how to Winterize your bike (from Tech Editor Jim Langley and readers) so that it’s best-equipped and able to handle the elements that can muck it up, and break it down, in the cold season.

New eBook Launched Today

Don’t miss the launch article directly following this one for Coach Rich Schultz and Amy Shultz‘s follow-up eBook to last year’s very well-received Stretching and Core Strength for the Cyclist.

The new companion eBook, Strengthening and Stabilization Training for the Cyclist, features 32 fully described exercises, clearly demonstrated in photos that accompany each exercise. (Co-author Amy Schultz is Rick’s daughter; she’s completing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy, is an accomplished cyclist and has done extensive research on athletes and injury prevention. Amy demonstrates the proper form for all the exercises in the eBook, just as she did in the Stretching and Core eBook.)

If you benefited from the Stretching and Core eBook, you’ll surely find the companion Strengthening and Stabilization eBook beneficial as well.