Join your local triathlon or cycling club for winter spins

Winter is nearly on us. Triathlon clubs and cycling clubs are now running weekend winter bike training sessions (called a spin or long spin) which suit all levels. You have probably seen these groups out on the road. They are a great way to catch up with club mates while easing down from the racing season. Riding in a group, with the inevitable chat and little bit of messing, will make the miles and hours pass far quicker. Most spins include a coffee stop. These spins also cover a lot of road and will take you on roads and routes you may never have thought of cycling yourself. Weekly route changes keep it all interesting.

But turning up at your first triathlon club or a cycling club weekend bike training session can be a daunting experience. Turning up and introducing yourself to people you may not have met before can test even the most confident person, especially if the club runs multiple groups of riders of differing abilities – which group do you join? Will you be able to keep up? What happens if you get dropped from the group? What is the etiquette required to cycle in a group? Do I need to be a skilled biker?

Even if you think you can overcome your anxiety at meeting all these people on bikes for the first time, there is then the question of whether you are prepared for the work and for the conditions. Weekend training spins can last between two and four hours and usually cover 50km to 100km – often across hilly terrain. Add the increasingly cold – and unpredictable (wet, icy, windy, etc.) - weather to this and it can seem like real hardship.

What can you do to prepare for your first spin with a club?

1.     Bring the craic:

- Long winter spins benefit most from those who are coming along for a bit of craic. Sure you have to work a bit, but it is also great fun. Bring along your happy face and get stuck in. Don’t turn up miserable and expect the clouds to lift. You have gotten out of bed onto the bike, so make the most of it. Group cycling is great for the motivation and you always feel better for it.

2. Turn up with the right gear:

- You need a racing bike (commuting bikes, mountain bikes, BMXs and Penny Farthings, all have their place – just not on a club spin).

- The bike should have quick release skewers through the wheels – these open easily allowing the wheels to be removed (if the wheels are bolted on, you will not be able to change a puncture in a hurry). The bike should ideally have tyres suitable for winter riding. This blog has previously recommended Continental Four Seasons tyre, but anything with grip is ok. Just avoid flat racing tyres which puncture easily and do not provide any grip.

The bike should have two bottle cages attached to the frame.

- You should carry a bike pump (there are many small bike pumps available from any bike shop) and at least two spare inner tubes which are compatible with your wheels. If you are not sure of what inner tubes to buy, ask at your local bike shop.

- You will need a set of tyre levers to lever one side of the tyre off the wheel allowing the inner tune to be replaced.

- You should carry a set of Allen keys / bike tools which can tighten any part of your bike loosed during a spin.

- Most people store their tubes, levers and tools in a saddle bag attached to the underside of their saddle (again, these can be purchased from your local bike shop).

- Finally, while not every rider installs mud guards each winter and you will see lots of riders without them, you should, if possible, make an effort to install them. It will make you popular with the more experienced riders.

3. Dress for the right temperature:

Winter spins require winter cycling gear; as Billy Connolly says: “There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing”. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but it is needed. Starting from the feet up, you will need:

- Feet: Thick thermal socks or two pairs of warm socks (but make sure your feet and toes can still move around in your shoes or the lack of movement will cause them to freeze) and cycling overshoes – these come in a variety of material – in the real cold, you will need them in thick neoprene.  Your feet will still be cold but the cold will be manageable.

- Ankles to waist – You need cycling tights. You can buy many different types. For the truly cold days, you will need padded thermal bib tights or thermal tights with padded bib shorts over them (you only need one pad, known as a ‘chamois’).

- Hands – you need winter gloves. These should ideally be wind and water proof. Your fingers and hands should be kept warm as you need them to pull the brakes and change the gears. You might therefore pack a spare pair in a watertight bag in case the ones you are wearing get soaked – and icy - during a spin. Try different makes of gloves all you want, but I have always found those sold by Aldi to be the best. You don’t need to send a fortune to have warm hands.

- Waist to neck – you should wear a thermal base layer (and on the very cold days you may also need a second base layer) and a winter cycling jacket or winter cycling jersey with a gilet (a sleeveless jacket) over it. Keep an eye on the temperature; don’t wear too much as you may over-heat during parts of the spin causing sweating, this sweat can then cool on downhills causing you to become cold. You should also be carrying a light rain jacket (in case of rain) and this can be put on as another layer if you get cold.

- Neck and head – a cycling scarf can be work around the neck. This can be drawn up to just below cycling goggles in extremely cold conditions. A cycling hat or headscarf can be worn under the helmet. For truly Baltic conditions, you can buy cycling balaclavas.

Look out for sales and try to pick up quality winter gear. It is a great investment and lasts a long time.

4. Bring food and drink:

- You should turn up with two full 750ml bottles (bidons) in your bottle cages. Some people use pure water, while others mix their drinks – some add a carbohydrate mix, an electrolyte tablet, Coke or any combination they prefer.

- You will need to bring along food you can eat while cycling. Commonly seem on spins are bananas, cereal bars, biscuits, chocolate bars, jellies and a wide range of other snacks. The critical requirement is carbohydrate. Ensure whatever you bring is high in carbs and you will be fine.

- There are a wide range of sport specific drinks, gels and foods on the market. These are expensive. It should not be necessary to use these products for every spin, though you may want to carry a gel or two (perhaps containing caffeine) in case you need a fast intake of energy.

- Winter spins provide a great opportunity to try out different feeding strategies and to work out what will work best for you in races, so mix it up!

5. Join the right group:

- If this is your first ever club spin, you might be advised to join the slowest group spin simply to learn about riding in a group. This way you will develop the basic skills before you need them in faster spins.

- If you are confident on a bike and are happy to go straight into a group of your own standard, you need to consider what average speed you think you can do on a bike over a couple of hours. This will tell you what standard group you should join.

- Most clubs post details of their weekend spins on their websites or circulate group emails. Ensure you have read these as they will include details of the average speeds of weekend spins. Easy / introductory spins will usually average around 22kph, medium / recovery spins will average around 24/25kph, medium / hard spins will average around 27/28kph and hard spins will average around 30kph.

- If the club has not posted details of its groups or average group speeds, just ask someone when you get to the meeting point. If he/she can’t help you, he/she will point you to someone who can. Many club spins will have group leaders on them and this person will have all the details.

- Remember, these are average speeds over any terrain. This may include mountains, so you need to be confident you can manage the average even where part of the spin will include climbing at low speeds.

6. Ride safe:

Club leaders of group spins want to bring you back alive, so you should ensure:

- Cars can see you: For winter spins, you will need to attach front and rear bike lights. Bike lights are available to buy at various prices, but you should read reviews and try to find bomb proof ones. Regardless of how much some cyclists hate hi-viz gear, it works. Wear what you feel safe in. If this means hi-viz everything (helmet, jacket, gloves, overshoes, etc.), so be it. When rising on the road always assume cars cannot see you. If you pretend you are invisible, then you will never make any terrible assumptions about what a car, truck or motorbike is going to do next.

- Try not to slip: Make sure your brakes are working well. Remember, if it is wet, it will take longer to stop. Assume everything is slippery and then take even more precaution when riding over things like road markings and manholes / drain covers, but also wet fallen leaves (they can be lethal). Critically, if there is ice on the road, don’t take any chances – you are probably advised to use your indoor turbo trainer. Some tyres are specifically designed for winter riding; you would be advised to invest in a pair to maximise your chances of staying on the bike this winter.

- Look forward and not at your stem (you are not Chris Froome): When you are at the front of a group, try to anticipate everything which happens on the road before it happens. For example, cars doors can suddenly open, cars can suddenly swerve into you, cars can pass too close, cars can take left turns immediately in front of you – it all happens daily. Assume every motorist will behave in these ways and you will avoid crashing and pulling the group down with you. When cycling within the group, don’t get too close to the rider in front of you and react to all directions given by those on the front and back of the group such as the group is approaching a pedestrian and it needs to cycle around him.

7. Prepare to be dropped:

- Whatever group you join, it may be too fast for you, you might have a bad day or you might have a problem with your bike and you cannot continue. The group will slow down or stop for you to see what is wrong, but if you can’t continue with the group you will need to take a shorter route home or call for someone to collect you.

- If this happens, you need to know the route the club is taking such that you can identify the quickest route home or describe where you are to the person who is coming to pick you up.

- In case it is not entirely obvious, you should carry a mobile phone. This can be carried in a sealable bag to keep it dry.

- You should also carry ten or twenty euro, and perhaps a credit card, in case you need to stop at a bike shop for a an emergency repair or you need to wait in a café to be collected.

- In the event you are injured during a spin, the group will wait with you until either you are collected by a family member or are taken by ambulance to hospital. You will not be left lying on the side of a road …

8. Develop your speed-chatting:

- Group bike riding is a bit like speed dating. Always riding alongside another rider, you will have constant short conversations with everyone in the group until the group rotates the person riding on the front and everyone moves up a place. The group will rotate in an anti-clockwise direction throughout the spin – everyone shares the work. You will chat multiple times to the same person, so sometimes you need to hold multiple conversations in your head!

- In cycling there are all kinds of people. Some will welcome a new rider; others will think ‘newbie’ and be critical of everything you do (do you not have clip in pedals and bike shoes? why don’t you have matching bottles? Why haven’t you shaved your legs? That’s not how you wear your sunglasses, etc.). Just ignore the latter wankers. Every sport has its snobs and cycling has more than its fair share. Just do you share of the work in the group and turn up on a regular basis and before long you will be recognised as belonging to the group.

9. No racing:

- Winter spins are aimed at high volume at steady speeds. This helps build stamina and strength and trains you to ride for longer. Racing away from a group during the spin will not make you popular. You might have been eyeing a Strava segment for weeks and find the opportunity to ‘have a go’ impossible to resist. After you have completed your little bit of racing, expect the group to consider you a wanker. The aim is to get everyone in the group through the spin without any drama; not to set you up for a sprint. Group spins may have a designated sprint, ‘up and overs’ or hill climb during the spin, save your energy for these.

- You may feel strong during a spin and want to up the pace to show this. You might race up a hill or start going hard when it is your turn on the front, but beware; there may be very strong riders on the spin who are enjoying a number of relaxed winter spins after a long season of racing. They may decide to drop you.

10. Puncture protocol:

- If you get a puncture, even though you have dutifully installed winter tyres on your bike (to minimise group stoppages in the freezing cold), the group will stop and wait while you fix the puncture. If you make an effort but have problems, people will help. Just don’t expect someone to hop off their bike and do all the work for you.

- Ideally, you should have practiced putting in and taking out an inner-tube at home and tried out your hand pump or have successfully changed a previous puncture on the same bike. Anything you can do before a spin to minimise possible waiting around in the cold times, should be done.

- If you have recently had a number of punctures on what was once a puncture proof tyre, this is usually a sign you need a new tyre. Try to avoid coming along to a spin with a worn tyre.

By the end of winter you will be stronger for it.