In our recent series of articles on how to train on the bike in the winter, biking expert and regular contributor to Tri247, Mark McKay, has helped explain the best way to improve your climbing, develop your cornering skills and how to get back in the saddle after your end of season break. This time Mark looks at the different types of bike training you can do during the winter when riding on the roads can be dangerous.

There’s no doubt about it, a well structured regular road cycling training program helps to make you a faster, stronger cyclist (whatever your cycling discipline) and at the same time develops your bike handling skills and other techniques, eg cornering. It's all relevant to the speed, strength, handling and other techniques required in triathlon. We all appreciate these and other positive aspects to a solid road training program, however, road riding in the winter months in the UK can also throw up many negatives including short daylight hours, bad weather and dangerous road conditions.

What can be done to help overcome these issues? There’s plenty of non-road cycling activity out there that can easily compliment a road program thus adding interesting variety to the ‘off season’ and its great fun too. Try mountain biking or cyclo-cross for pure off-roading or stretch the term and do some indoor track riding. So, let’s take a look at what’s on offer.

Mountain biking

This is probably the easiest off-road riding to access in terms of equipment as mountain bikes are the most common type of bike available in the UK today and are stocked by pretty much every bike shop around. There are plenty of models to choose from in all price ranges. In fact, you don’t even need to buy if you go to a specialist MTB trail riding area such as Afan in South Wales, where there are plenty of bikes for hire if you want to test the water first. See www.mbwales.com. You may want to test your competence first though before tackling somewhere like Afan with its steep and technical trails.

After training in your local woods, canal paths or over bridleways, have a think about trying racing on your MTB. Cross-country racing is where you will get most benefit for your fitness and handling in relation to triathlon. As it is a summer sport, the racing season does not really get underway until March but during the busy winter months (September-February) the cyclo-cross season (see below) has many events which allow competitors to race on MTBs.

Cyclo-cross racing

It’s January and the ‘cross’ season is well underway. Cyclo-cross is simply a cross-country form of cycle racing and is mostly a winter sport with many road and MTB competitors using cross to maintain their fitness during the winter. Most courses will include run-ups and artificial obstacles such as wooden boards, so dismounting and running with the bike are also important elements of the sport to master. As the courses are short (typically less than a mile around on parks and school playing fields) and perhaps only an hour long (usually at threshold heart-rate all the way though) it makes an ideal event to bring the family to, not least because there are usually races for every age group. Most regions in the UK have a regular weekend series through the winter and inexpensive entry on the day is usual. As an example, the London League alone will have had seventeen events at different locations around the capital from October through to the final event on February 3rd.

To start out all you need is any bike with enough clearance (between brake caliper and tyre surface) for muddy conditions and tyres with some grip to keep you moving. Perhaps an old road bike will suffice with knobbly tyres replacing the slicks. If you see it as part of a regular winter training regime, specialist cross bikes start at around £400. Note here that a cross bike could also be used as a winter road bike with a spare set of wheels. Simply take a look at the British Cycling website for a complete calendar of cyclo cross events.

Indoor track training and racing

If you are lucky enough to live within reach of one of the UK’s three indoor velodromes you should really consider having a go and the cold dark winter months offer the best excuse to do so. They all have taster sessions where you’ll be under the guidance of an expert coach and the track-specific hire bikes are good quality until you get bitten by the bug and want to get your own. The track size is 250m (Calshot is a little smaller), the surface is wooden, the banking is steep and you’ll have no brakes (other than your legs – learn to use them to slow your pedalling down) but I’ll guarantee that you’ll love the experience. The benefit to your cycling will be the practice at pedalling smoothly and efficiently and the finely tuned bike-handling skills that you will pick up.

Depending on your keenness, it may take you a few months of training sessions to get accredited (track cycling requires proficiency in a bunch) which will then allow you to participate in more challenging training sessions or indeed in a track racing league (these run throughout the winter months as well as the summer). Indoor tracks can be found at Manchester, Newport in South Wales and Calshot near Southampton. Expect indoor tracks in London and Glasgow to go up by 2010 and 2012 respectively for the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Cycling variety – the choice is yours – go and have some fun!

Mark Mckay is a British Cycling Coach and was also a Cycling Coach to the British Triathlon Performance Programme. He is a former professional/elite racing cyclist and represented GB for eight years to World Championship level. Winner of the 1992 Star Trophy (Premier Calendar) and over 100 bike races he is also a former elite duathlete with several wins including the 2004 National Championship and a Bronze medal at the 2005 World Long Course Duathlon Championship.