Hot vs. Cold climate for Training
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jsk85 posted 38 weeks ago.
Cincinnati...I'm not going to be competitive, but I'll throw it out there anyways...
1. First ride outside probably early to mid-March...but every snow sets you back a week or so since it's handled so poorly and just slushes up the roads...and makes everyone forget how to drive safely.
2. Last ride outside in late November...no complaints here for only about 3 solid trainering months with a couple half trainer/half outdoor months on either end
3. Roads are cracked mostly because they aren't upkept well...particularly bad on roads with integrated bike lanes (low priority?)
4. Mid-summer heat+humidity...usually only around 90-95 degrees, but with 80%+ humidity...you're immediately sweating from walking out the door...not much improvement being in the shade (see why IMLou times are relatively slow despite not overly technical/hilly bike or run course). I'd rather take 100degree dry heat any day.
5. Weather is never consistent...3-4 days of similar conditions is usually the max you can expect before wild shifts...particularly bad in fall/spring.
6. The areas b/w the Interstates (central city) is not especially biker friendly...but outer areas are pretty nice and there's a larger cycling community than other cities I've been in...I'd say this is more of a plus.
That's all I got...the grass is pretty green here overall
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TryScott posted 38 weeks ago.
Over the last 2 years I have gone from Ohio to Southern Alabama, so it's easy to compare both.
During the winter in cold areas you ride on a trainer. It really doesn't matter if it's -30 in Alaska, or 10 in Ohio, you don't ride outside.
For running in the cold, I draw the line at -20. I went once when it was -35, and maybe I didn't have the right clothes on, but it hurt. There's nothing wrong with running in the snow. There's a golf course that surrounded me in Ohio, and I was able to run on it all winter in the snow without having to worry about people golfing.
Biking in the summer is pretty straight forward. In the extreme heat, it's more difficult, but still tolerable.
I have been running in this heat, but it's impossible to get a quality workout. During my 6am runs, I can hear my shoes squash with water after 3 miles. Some people are about the same speed, but I'm slowing down a solid min/mi and I feel like I'm going to get sick. There's no question I can run better when it's 10 degrees vs when it's 90 degrees.
The outdoor pools around here are over 90 degrees now. I'm not swimming at all, but the people that do say they can only stand a 20 min workout. Hopefully an indoor pool is an option.
I'd say it's equally as hard to train in the hot and cold.
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kpollock posted 38 weeks ago.
So I guess I can't complain about the "June Gloom" in southern california!! You both just reminded me why I LOVE living in LA. I thought about moving to Colorado at one time but the thought of not being able to train outside all year round in near perfect weather is unthinkable now:)
jsk85 - I am originally from Michigan, I feel your pain...thank goodness I wasn't a cyclist then!
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
Come on, This is supposed to be a fun smackdown about which is better/worse.... Everyone's being too nice....
Cincinnati and Ohio aren't even in the running. The snow doesn't really get that deep, so quit whining about your 6 inches of snow. And wind chill doesn't count for cold temps, so the record cold without windchill in cincin is -22, The averages in January are low of 22 and high of 39. That's perfect for training. And Cleveland is about the same, so I'm not sure what you guys are whining about.....
Alabama may have some room to complain. In fact I would argue Alabama is worse than TX for training. It may not be quite as hot during the day, but at least it cools off at night in texas. Alabama never cools off due to the humidity. But at least you have light and roads that haven't been thrashed by studded tires, frost heaves, snowplows, gravels, etc. And you can still ride outside all year which is about 1/2 of your total training time. Swim in a lake if the pools are too hot, and run on a treadmill during the summer if you have too :)
North/Cold Dark Alaska means you are stuck inside for all s/b/r for at least 2-3 months, inside for s/b for at least 6 months, and inside for swim for 9months. Unless you are a masochistic lunatic like me :)
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
kpollock wrote:
So I guess I can't complain about the "June Gloom" in southern california!! You both just reminded me why I LOVE living in LA. I thought about moving to Colorado at one time but the thought of not being able to train outside all year round in near perfect weather is unthinkable now:)jsk85 - I am originally from Michigan, I feel your pain...thank goodness I wasn't a cyclist then!
Come on! You have smog, traffic, and the endless urban sprawl. Take pride in the negative aspects of where you live :)
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jsk85 posted 38 weeks ago.
I never said I stood a chance...but you asked for a gauntlet throwdown and all I had was a mitten apparently...either way, it's been thrown.
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
jsk85 wrote:
I never said I stood a chance...but you asked for a gauntlet throwdown and all I had was a mitten apparently...either way, it's been thrown.
Nice mitten :)
Well thrown too!
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jtrimom posted 38 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
OMG! Don't get me started. Let me clear my calendar for the rest of the afternoon.
CAN"T WAIT!
Taper Naked
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Anton posted 38 weeks ago.
I lose.
No bitchin' here.
I can ride outside all winter...even when the roads are icy I can MTB and if the roads are clear it's a BUG ride. (bundle up and go) Remember, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. Darkness forces me inside on the trainer but I love the trainer. (small mind, easily amused) Run outside all year... dress for it in winter and undress in summer, although the 95 degree/95% humidity days get to be a bit much. Running and riding in a Maryland spring time is just awesome! The fall? Wonderful.
No complaints.
Sorry.
"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men."
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TriSooner posted 38 weeks ago.
Living in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area of 6.3 million (fourth largest metro area in the U.S.) sucks so hard let me count the ways:
1. First, the weather is horrid. The prime training months - June, July August, we get this:
Granted, the blue months are pretty sweet and you can ride and run to your heart's content. But . . .
2. Guess who Bicylcling magazine's "Worst City for Cycling" is? You got it? Dallas!
Proof: "The Texas House of Representatives nixed a bill last summer that would have required motorists to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. While the city does have an ambitious cycling plan called Velo Web, which would create a 300-plus mile network of bike lanes, it has been stalled for a decade."
3. We are the #2 City for Road Rage. Who do think really pisses 'em off? Those damn bikers taking up the road even though Texas Transportation Code Sec. 551.101 grants "persons operating a bicycle the same rights and duties applicable to a driver operating a vehicle". It don't matter!
#4. We are the #14 Fattest City in the US. I'm shocked we aren't top 10 because every redneck and/or soccer mom who blows by me their SUV is oozing over the steering wheel.
#5. No charges are ever filed when cyclists are hit and killed and cyclists, triathletes die here all the time. But the only way you get charged with a crime is if you kill someone. Cripple them for life because you "lose control of your vehicle" and you get a ticket. This was after a HUGE half marathon at the lake/park the entire city knows is crawling with runners!
#6. And when you get hit there's a 20% chance they have no insurance so you are stuck paying higher premiums and a huge bill and a crushed bike (if you lived). According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, over 20 percent of Texas drivers carry no insurance while operating vehicles on state roads.
#7. Our air quality so bad that Dallas is one of 3 cities nationwide where the Environmental Protection Agency is hearing from citizens about tough new pollution rules for cement plants. Cement plants!? WTF?
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jtrimom posted 38 weeks ago.
houston training consists of:
1) extreme heat and humidity for 6 months of the year. we're talking highs over 100, 90-100% humidity with LOWS in the 80s.
2) drivers think they own the roads (and apparently they do, according to the story that the governor vetoed some bike safely law last week, I think)
3) not many trails for riding or running safely
4) pollution
5)floods, hurricanes, and other destructive, unpredictable weather that usually hits on planned long run/ride days (murphy's law)
6) the city shuts down when the temp dips below 30 degrees for more than 3 hours
Taper Naked
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xc800runner posted 38 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
#7. Our air quality so bad that Dallas is one of 3 cities nationwide where the Environmental Protection Agency is hearing from citizens about tough new pollution rules for cement plants. Cement plants!? WTF?
Carbon dioxide release from the cracking kilns. Both from burning fuel (not too bad) and from the reduction of CaCO3 to CaO. You're just spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.
Additionally, a secondary ingredient (about 5%) in cement production is coal, which is burned pretty openly and results in a lot of other pollution (SO2, NOx, Mercury, Hazardous Air Pollutants like hydrochloric acid). The raw materials that go into cement production are hardly the quality that are used in other industries, like electric utilities, and the control requirements have not been as strict on cement plants as oil refineries or coal-fired power plants. (If you haven't determined so yet, I'm an air quality consultant/engineer).
I'm just pleased to be able to beat out Dallas in 2 of those: fattest (Chicago is 13th, one step higher) and Metro area size (us again 1 step higher, in 3rd). Cycling isn't too bad here, though, and you can usually find some meandering roads (though still populated) within 15-20 miles of downtown. Running is a pain, but swimming is actually pretty good. And though there are extremes in weather (0 in January, 80 in March, 50's through May/June until the 90-95 the past week) it doesn't prevent one from hopping on a trainer or rollers. Is it ideal? Nope. Is it worse than Nome, nope.
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
Anton wrote:
I lose.
No bitchin' here.
I can ride outside all winter...even when the roads are icy I can MTB and if the roads are clear it's a BUG ride. (bundle up and go) Remember, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing. Darkness forces me inside on the trainer but I love the trainer. (small mind, easily amused) Run outside all year... dress for it in winter and undress in summer, although the 95 degree/95% humidity days get to be a bit much. Running and riding in a Maryland spring time is just awesome! The fall? Wonderful.
No complaints.
Sorry.
Come on. Just play with us a little bit please.......
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
jtrimom wrote:houston training consists . . .Houston and Dallas are the smelly left and right armpits of Texas outdoors activities.
San antonio must be the crotch then :)
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sasquatch posted 38 weeks ago.
Go Sooner!! Way to slap the guantlet back in my face :)
So to revamp
#1 The weather is pretty sweet for training 9 months out of the year.
#2 Can't argue with this one except to say that you have more miles of paved roads in Dallas than our entire STATE........ There's gotta be something to ride.
#3 Once again no arguement there, but at least you can ride outside the city.....
#4 You may be fat, but we're Drunk. #2 in the nation (http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/surveillance78/CONS04.pdf, page 15), and drunk driving causes a disproportionally large # of bike/car related crashes.
#5 No comment, except that's really sad..... I'm not sure how it is up here, but given that much like TX, we are a redneck state, I would expect about the same.
#6 According to this we are right behind you in uninsured motorists (texas at 16%, Alaska at 15%). http://www.ircweb.org/news/20060628.pdf
#7 Can't dispute this point, We have great air quality.
And at least you can drive to your races in under a day. We have 4 local tri's(two sprint, 1 xterra, and 1 oly) and 1 more 6 hours away(1/2IM). That's the whole tri season.
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paganopj posted 38 weeks ago.
Guess I need to quit b*tching about the Jacksonville humidity. I am not sure what climate is better to train in but I can tell you this: December/March = 9:00 min/mi comfortably; May/June = 10:30 min/mi 'cause its so d*mn humid I have to stop and walk!
At least they are starting to put bike lanes in on 'some' new road construction.
Just keep spinning....spinning, spinning....uh, do I know you?
(Blog)The Losing Journey Flickr Cycling Log
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gfd posted 38 weeks ago.
Overall Eastern PA is fine. 4 distinct seasons with very humid summers. I like the changes and fall is usually amazing weather. Plenty of places to OW swim and nice places to run.
The only problem I have is the conditions of the roads and the people who drive on them. PA has got to be the pothole and crumbling road capital of America. Our roads simple suck. It seems we also have an extraordinarily high number of old pickup truck drivers that hate cyclists. Let's play chicken with my side view mirror and the cyclists left shoulder is a common occurrence.
"If we help someone else up a steep hill, we get nearer to the top ourselves." ~Unknown~
~Garen~
http://baldhungariantriproject.blogspot.com/
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TriSooner posted 38 weeks ago.
xc800runner wrote:
Carbon dioxide release from the cracking kilns. Both from burning fuel (not too bad) and from the reduction of CaCO3 to CaO. You're just spewing CO2 into the atmosphere.
We are trying to get them shut down. They actually burn a combination of coal and tires!!!
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TriSooner posted 38 weeks ago.
gfd wrote:
Let's play chicken with my side view mirror and the cyclists left shoulder is a common occurrence.
Larry Schwartz (local to Dallas, UltraCycling Hall of Fame) died when hit in the head by a school bus mirror.
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brittda posted 37 weeks ago.
Seattle.....I can't complain---while it does rain and is icky in the winter --biking and running is possible outside year round. Now I wouldn't WANT to get out and do a century ride in February, but I could (with toe warmers of course) Not too hot in the summer either.
Lots of bike lanes everywhere as well as multipurpose trails. I am pretty lucky.
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gfd posted 37 weeks ago.
TriSooner wrote:
gfd wrote:Let's play chicken with my side view mirror and the cyclists left shoulder is a common occurrence.Larry Schwartz (local to Dallas, UltraCycling Hall of Fame) died when hit in the head by a school bus mirror.
That is a shame. I don't think I will ever get used to not knowing what is coming up behind me. At least with running I can see what is coming and jump out of the way. I just don't get some of the irrational anger towards cyclists. I had a guy literally yelling and screaming at me for no apparent reason. He gave me the finger, sped off, and turned into a church parking lot for Sunday services. What is up with that.
"If we help someone else up a steep hill, we get nearer to the top ourselves." ~Unknown~
~Garen~
http://baldhungariantriproject.blogspot.com/
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Dmoney517 posted 37 weeks ago.
Man I have it great in Northern Virginia. It can get hot and humid in July/August, but nothing that will stop me from being outside. Winters are cold, but not much snow normally. I will just throw on the Under Armour and get out in the 30 degree weather.
As far as training space, we have the W&OD Trail which runs from Arlington to Purceville. 54 miles of trail for cyclists and runners. No motor vehicles allowed. It can get very crowded on nice days, but still much better than sharing with cars.
So I've seen several discussions on which is worse to live in for training: Hot(i.e. houston) or cold(i.e. Ontario or Alaska)?
As we all like to believe we live in the worst training climate so we can feel better about our ablility to handle adversity and still come out on top, I'll throw down the guantlet that cold is worse than hot. I live in the triathlon hotbed of Anchorage, Alaska. So here are the issues with training here.
1. First ride outside is in late April in 30-40 degree temps. You feel like the michelin man riding a bike :)
2. Last ride outside is in late September in 30-40 degree temps. This means you ride a trainer for more than 6 months. (trust me-this is extremely depressing when added to the perpetual darkness)
3. Frost Heaves. This is when the water in the ground under the road freezes and expands cuasing the road to crack and heave upwards. Another wonderful side effect of this is the wonderful cracks and potholes in the road. Good for learning bike handling skills, not so good for enjoying your ride.
4. Gravel - Anchorage uses gravel at all of the intersections to create traction during the winter. During the summer this gravel all ends up on the shoulders and edges of the roads-right where we would love to ride.......
5. Average high's during the summer is in the low 60's. I get to wear a short sleeve jersey without armwarmers about 5 time a year.
On a positive note. If you can suffer through running in new snow in 0 F temps, you will get serious physical and mental strength. ;)
That's a start. Now let's have the throw down.