Those hills of Southern Indiana can be rough, that’s why we are training our legs and arms in preparation for the Tour. We know it’s only January 2, but in the spirit of New Year’s resolutions, we thought we’d share some winter training tips from our friends Team Upland Cycling to help get your butt in gear for Tour de Upland 2015! Tour de Upland is a weekend full of of camping, beer and biking in the beautiful hills of Nashville, IN. This year, TDU will be held the weekend of August 14th – 16th at Camp Framasa in Brown County. For more information about the tour, visit tourdeupland.com.
1) Layer-up: If you’re ready to brave the winter temps be sure to invest in some quality winter clothing that you can layer. Leg warmers, winter jackets, vests, base layer undershirts, hats and gloves should all help keep you from turning into frosty the snowman while out on the road. Plus layers mean you can adjust if the temperature changes during the ride. Warm up post ride with a Bad Elmer’s Porter or Teddy Bear Kisses by a nice fireplace…or skip the ride and just go straight for the beer. That’s still training for Tour de Upland right!?!?
2) Opt for indoors: Sometimes mother nature just doesn’t play nice and allow for riding outdoors. With a stationary trainer or rollers, you can keep pedaling away even if the roads are nasty. Be aware, riding and sitting in one place can turn into a bit of a bore at times so amp things up with some great music or a movie/tv series to pass the time (we recommend the cycling classic Breaking Away or endless episodes of Parks and Rec). As Donna and Tom Haverford would say “Treat Yo Self” to a tasty plate of nachos at the Brewpub or Tap House and a pitcher post ride for some delicious recovery!
3) Mix things up: This is the time of year to mix things up as well in your training. Dust off that mountain bike, go for a hike, maybe even a trail run, lift some kegs for strength training or put on those floaties for some laps at the pool. Riding is fun (trust us we know) but keeping things interesting with some new workouts not only helps maintain cycling sanity but also will work some other non-cycling muscle groups. And don’t forget to work those arm muscles for beer drinking…you don’t want to be ‘that’ person at Tour de Upland who pulls a muscle raising their glass!
So, get out the trainer and hop back up on the seat! We expect y’all in great riding shape come August. And if you haven’t registered for 2015 Tour de Upland you can do so here.
