Its 30-some degrees, spitting rain and you scheduled yourself for mileage on the bike today.  Today’s ride, along with the rest of the weeks’ training however, was carefully planned and written as you sat warm, dry and comfortable at your desk on Sunday evening.  Now, you find yourself faced with the same decision that everyone who does not live in San Diego has asked themselves more than a few times – Ride the mileage outside amidst these elements, or inside on the trainer.  There is no cut & dried answer.  On this particular day, there is very little that is dry at all – that being part of the beauty.  Naturally, it all comes down to what you are looking to gain from your training, but as a general rule of thumb – Get Outside.

I will not hesitate to sing the praises of hours spent sweating on a spinning bike or trainer with the likes of Troy Jacobsen taking you through seemingly endless drills, ladders, tempo and sprint sets.  If you have never subjected yourself to such things, try it – it’s not only addictive, but also requires less bike maintenance and less sink-washing of nasty clothing.  There will be plenty of days when icy roads or nights spent working late will relegate you to the indoors.  Today like most of our fall and spring, it is just unpredictable weather and the chance to learn some lessons from Mother Nature.

So much is gained by making the choice to slog it out.  Obviously, you will have completed the mileage – the very thing that you had written into your schedule that will bring you one step closer to reaching your goal.  But the same time, you’ll be completing that mileage in the very same (or worse) conditions you’ll inevitably face on a race course somewhere, someday (some night).    We invest so much of our time and energy in trying to prepare ourselves specifically for X event.  We tailor training to the disciplines, duration, intensity and terrain that we project we’ll face on race day.  Why then, pass up this great opportunity to subject yourself to adverse weather conditions?

You gain the knowledge of exactly what clothing provides you with the best protection from the elements while still enabling you to perform.  Layering up and staying as dry as possible is key.  Wicking layers, worn close to the body and a breathable gore-tex style shell on the outside allows sweat to get out while keeping the rain from getting in.  How can you not love technology?  Zippers on both the outer and inner layers will further help you to regulate your body’s temperature during long climbs and descents.  Adding a piece of folded duct tape to the handle on the zippers will make it easier to find and use with cold, gloved hands.  The challenge of keeping warm often lies with your extremities.  A good set of gloves with water-repellant properties can be found in more places than just bike stores.  As for your feet, layer them up as well.  The combination of wool socks and a basic $30 set of shoe covers provide an economical and generally effective system that can take a two hour ride in cold temperatures from potentially dangerous to just painful or uncomfortable.

The true benefit however, lies with the Conan and John Stamstad philosophy: That which does not kill you will make you stronger.  It just makes sense – the simple premise that the more often you operate in that environment, the better you and your body will be able to perform when faced with it.  Dealing with a little bit of suck is healthy.  As you spend the miles in religious solitude, the sweat and rain will cleanse you in places that soap will never reach.  We’ve all been there and we know that the both the feeling and growth that takes place is priceless.  So why pass up the opportunity to experience that all over again?  The time to ride is now.  It is Pennsylvania – don’t like the weather, wait 30 minutes.

-Toby