Spring biking is literally the BEST. After a long, dark, cold winter the sun starts to come out a bit more, it’s getting a little warmer, and you start to feel that itch to get back on the bike!
Still, sometimes the task can feel a little bit daunting. You might be wondering if you and your body are ready to get back on the bike and start pedaling up those hills again.
If you are anything like me, every time spring rolls around you are filled with both a little bit of anticipation and a little bit of dread.
I have been biking for a number of years now, and every spring there is this little part of me that’s thinking “are we really going to do this again?!”
On the one hand, I am excited to bring my riding off the Peloton and back outside, but on the other hand I am not always so sure where my fitness is going to be.
That first hill after a winter of either riding on the trainer or cross training/not riding at all can be enough to keep some of us off the bike for an entire season.
Once you get over that first hurdle, though, you are going to be well on your way to yet another awesome outdoor biking season this spring.
Are you ready? Let’s do this! In this article I share five simple steps you can take right now to get back on your bike this spring.
Step #1: Build in some accountability.
Normally when I give tips I tend to leave my thoughts related to accountability towards the end where my readers might miss it.
What I have realized over time, though, is that accountability is SO important if you are going to get yourself back on the bike and outside after a long winter of riding indoors (or not riding at all).
Therefore, I am making this my very first tip. I firmly believe that the BEST way to get back on the bike this spring and be consistent is to build some accountability around your plan.
There are SO many ways to do this. One of my favorites is to simply tell people. Start talking about getting back on the bike to your co-workers at lunch. Let someone in your household know that as the weather gets warmer you are going to start planning some outdoor rides.
The idea here is that putting out into the universe that you are planning to ride as the weather gets warmer makes you so much more likely to do it! Knowing that someone will ask how your ride went, or will notice if you didn’t ride can be the difference between following through with the ride or not.
However, if you are like me and need something a little bit more concrete and consistent, you can find an accountability partner or an accountability group.
This spring, in fact, I am going to be leading a group of women through an amazing training plan developed by my friend Kristen Bonkowski!
Kristen is a certified USA cycling coach and the founder of Femme Cyclist, an incredible website for women who bike.
Finding a group of like minded women to train with, even virtually, is a great way to stay accountable and make sure that you get on the bike regularly this spring.
If you are interested in joining us, email me at stacy@sascy.com and I will send you all the details!
Finally, another great way to build in some accountability is to make plans to ride with a friend.
It’s a lot harder to bail on a ride when you know that someone else is counting on you for company! Also if neither of you are really feeling it you can convince one another of how good it will feel to ride together and have one more spring ride under your belt.
Step #2: Meet yourself where you are and start small.
After you have let SOMEONE know that you are planning to ride, the next step is to take an honest look at where you are at right now with your biking fitness and meet yourself where you are.
Ask yourself questions like, “How often have I been riding this winter?” “How much have I been challenging myself physically?”
This is going to have a huge impact on what kind of ride you start with.
My advice to you is to always start on the smaller side in terms of duration and distance, and slowly build yourself up to longer and harder rides rides.
If you really haven’t been riding that much this winter or working out, and your rides and workouts have been relatively easy/short for you, then the last thing you are going to want to do is to plan a 50 mile ride with a bunch of climbing your first time on the bike this spring.
Start with a ride that you know will be very doable with you, even if it’s just a casual ride around the neighborhood. Just get used to being out on the road or on the trails again.
That sort of riding is much different from indoor riding, even if you are doing the sort of indoor riding that really makes you stronger over the winter.
Once you have your first couple of outdoor rides under your belt you can start to gradually increase the distance and intensity as it makes sense to do so.
If you try to do this right out the gate and have a really crappy ride that will make you a lot less likely to want to get back on the bike again. That is what you want to avoid!
Step #3: Have a goal, no matter how big or small.
One of the best ways to get yourself back on the bike in the spring is to have a solid goal, no matter how big or how small, that you are working towards.
For me, that goal is always to do a 50 mile ride in the middle of June. My bike team, Bikes Fight Cancer, hosts a charity ride at Treehouse Brewing Company in Deerfield, MA every June.
Each year I raise money to fight cancer, and I have participated every single year since the event started!
It is really important to me to be able to do that 50 miles, and to be able to help raise money for cancer. This is a great goal, and I always want to be ready for that ride.
Last year I trained for the Bikes Fight Cancer ride after just having had surgery in April. It was definitely tough, and it was the hardest 50 miles I have ever ridden, but I had this as my goal. Additionally, I wasn’t even sure when I started the ride if I could do the 50 miles, and almost opted for the 25 mile route.
When I got to the cutoff and had to make the choice, though, my friend Michelle was there and she was doing the 50, so I had a little help from my friend.
It make the choice so much easier, and I will be forever grateful to Michelle for riding those 50 miles with me and distracting me from how much my butt hurt and how tired my legs were! Thanks, Michelle :).
Once again, this year I will be training for this ride, and for me it is truly a goal that 100% keeps me on track.
Your goal doesn’t need to be anything like mine. It can be that you are going to ride “x” number of times a week. Or, maybe it will be that you are going to increase your average mile per hour ride speed by half a mile an hour over three months.
The goal is 100% your choice and your goal. Just make it something meaningful that you actually care about. That will keep it front and center in your mind as you start making plans for your actual spring rides.
Step #4: Plan your rides weekly.
Now, if you know me at all you just KNEW that I would be sliding this step in here.
In my Lose Weight Biking Program, where I teach women how to lose weight riding bikes, they learn all about how important it is to plan their rides weekly, and how to actually do this.
When you sit down with your calendar each week and plan your rides on that calendar you are SO much more likely to complete them.
Additionally, this is really helpful in terms of making it crystal clear to everyone around you that you are unavailable for other things during your ride times.
If you are anything like me, you are busy. You are juggling job and family commitments and still trying to fit in a little bit of time for yourself.
Your bike rides are a part of that essential time for yourself. Schedule them into your calendar. Schedule a BACKUP time for each of your rides into your calendar too. This way you will have the time set aside to ride.
If you are just kind of hoping that you will be able to find a slice of time here and there throughout the week to get back on your bike this spring you are so much less likely to a) find the time and b) if you do find the time actually ride instead of doing something else.
The couch and Netflix will usually sound a lot better to you at the end of a hard day than a bike ride outside, especially if the weather is not the best!
Tip #5: Dress accordingly and be willing to bring your ride indoors.
Speaking of weather, a lot of times in the spring we can be a little optimistic about it. It’s supposed to be getting warmer…right?!
Well, that would be nice, but it’s spring here in New England and it freaking snowed yesterday. I kid you not.
Be sure that you dress warmly. Remember that just because the ambient temp outside feels OK to you when you are standing still that it might not feel so great when you are going down a hill at 20 mph!
Also, I like to have an indoor backup plan for my outdoor spring rides. Just because the weather isn’t great is no excuse to not ride if you have an indoor option.
An indoor ride is way better than no ride. It will keep your legs spinning, and those indoor rides can be just as, if not more, challenging than the outdoor ones!
I will be honest, one of the main reasons I got a Peloton is that I don’t love putting my road bike on the trainer/taking it off. This completely eliminated that obstacle for me and makes it that much easier for me to get an indoor ride in when I need to.
Whatever your system is for getting in those rides, be sure to stick with it. And, if you can’t bring your ride indoors? That’s OK too! Just find an indoor way to move your body. Swap in a strength workout, or do a YouTube workout. The idea is to keep your body in the habit of moving through the spring rides, and ALL movement counts!
A Final Note
A good spring bike ride is literally everything. I cannot wait until I can really start getting on the bike outdoors.
At the same time, there can be some hurdles. Be sure to prepare for them, and be aware that there are going to still be times where you just don’t want to get on the bike. That’s OK!
You can not want to do something, and then just do it anyway. We all do this all of the time with work and other obligations, and we can do it with bike rides too.
In these moments check in with yourself, remind yourself of your goals, and reach out to someone who you are counting on to hold you accountable.
Also, remember that I am leading a group of women through a training plan this spring too! Email me at stacy@sascy.com and I will send along the details.
We are going to make biking this spring manageable, doable, and FUN! Are you with me? Let’s GO!!!!
You can absolutely do this, and I am here to help. I will be cheering you along, one bike ride at a time.
Ride on!
xoxo
Stacy
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