Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by mercalia »

I did when I was much younger using YHA, I still remember a particular trip , it was very dark & bombing along country lanes in Suffolk and was veery cold. Came across a pub, went inside there was a collosal roaring open hearth fire.... :D
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

landsurfer wrote:The winter trip to the north of Scotland took 5 days, 1 day was lost to bad weather. We spent it in the tent. With a bottle of scotch. We had planned to visit Cape Wrath but time and the weather was against us.


Very brave and adventurous. Almost a qualifier for the SAS. Dunno how you did it.
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

I'm truly amazed and impressed by peoples dedication to cycle touring. There's something to be said for that feeling of isolation in adverse conditions but alone in a tent in the depth of winter is a bridge too far for me. :D
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by horizon »

The "touring" bit isn't the problem, lots of people cycle in winter conditions. The problem is the long dark evening. Of course you can spend it in the pub, but then you might as well spend the rest of the night there too...

Maybe technology is the answer - a tablet to while away the time.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

horizon wrote:The "touring" bit isn't the problem, lots of people cycle in winter conditions. The problem is the long dark evening. Of course you can spend it in the pub, but then you might as well spend the rest of the night there too...

Maybe technology is the answer - a tablet to while away the time.


I cycle to the shops and back and maybe to friends but touring is something else. Have to say I'm tempted now.
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by Flinders »

I don't tour, but prefer cycling in the winter. It's cooler (I run hot) the hedgerows are leafless so I see more, and there's much less traffic.
Though I am a wuss about ice.
User avatar
shane
Posts: 486
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 3:13am
Location: On my bike
Contact:

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by shane »

Many good tips already, but here goes :D

(in my opinion!!)

5 degree's to -5 : usually wet and miserable......and quite a pain to keep your gear dry and warm. Long live hostels and B+B's to dry out as most campsites are closed.
-5 degrees to -20 (do it..): With the right gear and know how its lovely. Wild camping camping in snow that is no deeper than 50cm is a joy, spike tyres rock, don't forget your bread will be frozen (as will just about every thing else)
ImageIMG_0182 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

ImageP1010341 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

-20 to -35 : also do-able with the right gear and experience but now you have lost your margin for error, a flat tyre is almost impossible to fix, your hands are painful after being exposed to the air for 1 minute. Any plastic bits on your panniers or gear are so brittle they WILL break. You're now running in expedition mode rather than chilling with that extra cup of tea in the morning. You have the constant struggle between being too hot or too cold, your hands and feet being numb, cold or painful. And of course constantly steamed up goggles mean you can't even enjoy the view. Campfires though pretty are more effort than they're worth. Worst of all, you have to sleep in a plastic bag to keep your down dry. Moisture(sweat) management is your main concern.

Imagecampfire by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

ImageWinterproof Shane by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

-35 below : Welcome to a cold kind of hell, this is the bit when you often can't even light your stove to melt snow for your drinking water because the fuel doesn't evaporate because its so cold. The sweat in the foam of your goggles freezes to your face and any tea you spill out of your flask instantly freezes to anything it falls on because you;re too damn clumsy with your thick gloves 8) And your biggest worry of the day is how you're going to remove and install all those layers while having a crap without getting frostbite :roll: Any blunders now are life threatening . . . . . . . . . .

ImageTrans lab (18) by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

And thats that :D

Further reading here >>>> http://www.shanecycles.com/category/win ... e-touring/

And for the record, the long dark nights are great, eat at 6, chill for an hour, sleep for 12 hours, spend 3 hours getting ready (everything takes for ever in the morning anyway when its so cold), on the road just before first light :)

Plus points, beautiful scenery, awesome wild camping. silence

ImageP1010713 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

Haven't decided if Im going to Scotland, The Lakes or Spain for my trip this winter....Im done with that really cold stuff, its too much like hard work :) Luckily Helen loves it and will paint a totally different picture :)
eileithyia
Posts: 8399
Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by eileithyia »

ukdodger wrote:
eileithyia wrote:Many a time; from winter weekends, the Christmas New Year hostel trip. What started to restrict such activities was RAH (rent a hostel), open hostels for just a handful (or 1-2 riders) became fewer further between, without renting the whole hostel for the weekend :-(
Yes I've been wet through, coped with snow, wind and glorious crisp sunny days.


Here's a medal! how many days were those rides and out of interest what did you use for leg and feet covering? If any :shock:


Not sure a medal is needed, as said elsewhere, no different to being out on the winter clubrun only with the addition of staying away from home and repeating the following day.
Touring could be anything from 1 night away (usually Saturday), 2 nights (fri and Sat) to about 10 days when I hostelled solo across to South Wales to stop with relatives for a few days then hostelled back again.

I have had great fun negotiating my way in the dark; to obscure tiny hostels in Shropshire, I had memorised the last 2-3 junctions to the hostel from the main road and when we turned into this tiny lane... had to deal with the doubting Thomas's within the club .. stopping to re-check the map (yes I was sure I was sure the hostel should be a few 100yds on on the left) to riding up the Gospel Pass (again in the dark) to the hostel, finding the bike shed (opp side of the road to the hostel) and carting my bags up the track. Whenever I go over the Pass these days I wonder how on earth I managed it in the dark and never realised how narrow it was!!!

At one stage I reckon we had a YHA weekend at least once a month thru the winter months..... it was when most of the club were around to participate in such weekends; the summer months being full of activites; longer touring trips for everyone, juggling family holidays, rally weekends, and (for me) racing.

Going off for the weekend was nothing unusual in the winter and battling the elements did not seem unusual just part of what winter is about and probably no more than extension of daily winter commutes or club runs.

I think the worst bit is wet shoes, I hate putting cold wet shoes back on the following day..... as the hostel drying room was usually not up to the job, it was always important for me to have warm dry socks to at least buffer that moment when the damp started to seep in towards my feet.... plastic shopping bags also helped as a buffer.

I confess I miss those dark evenings of self reliance and the challenge of finding the obscure YH after dark, of being out and using all my senses to find my way and enjoy my surroundings. Though often solo non calendar audax rides through the night does employ all that self reliance.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
eileithyia
Posts: 8399
Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by eileithyia »

PS Leg covering; usually normal winter cycling longs, thicker pair of socks, normal shoes, I have toyed with over shoes but never really found them very satisfactory, but always always have spare dry socks with me.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

Flinders wrote:I don't tour, but prefer cycling in the winter. It's cooler (I run hot) the hedgerows are leafless so I see more, and there's much less traffic.
Though I am a wuss about ice.


You dont tour??
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

shane wrote:Many good tips already, but here goes :D

(in my opinion!!)

5 degree's to -5 : usually wet and miserable......and quite a pain to keep your gear dry and warm. Long live hostels and B+B's to dry out as most campsites are closed.
-5 degrees to -20 (do it..): With the right gear and know how its lovely. Wild camping camping in snow that is no deeper than 50cm is a joy, spike tyres rock, don't forget your bread will be frozen (as will just about every thing else)
ImageIMG_0182 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

ImageP1010341 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

-20 to -35 : also do-able with the right gear and experience but now you have lost your margin for error, a flat tyre is almost impossible to fix, your hands are painful after being exposed to the air for 1 minute. Any plastic bits on your panniers or gear are so brittle they WILL break. You're now running in expedition mode rather than chilling with that extra cup of tea in the morning. You have the constant struggle between being too hot or too cold, your hands and feet being numb, cold or painful. And of course constantly steamed up goggles mean you can't even enjoy the view. Campfires though pretty are more effort than they're worth. Worst of all, you have to sleep in a plastic bag to keep your down dry. Moisture(sweat) management is your main concern.

Imagecampfire by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

ImageWinterproof Shane by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

-35 below : Welcome to a cold kind of hell, this is the bit when you often can't even light your stove to melt snow for your drinking water because the fuel doesn't evaporate because its so cold. The sweat in the foam of your goggles freezes to your face and any tea you spill out of your flask instantly freezes to anything it falls on because you;re too damn clumsy with your thick gloves 8) And your biggest worry of the day is how you're going to remove and install all those layers while having a crap without getting frostbite :roll: Any blunders now are life threatening . . . . . . . . . .

ImageTrans lab (18) by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

And thats that :D

Further reading here >>>> http://www.shanecycles.com/category/win ... e-touring/

And for the record, the long dark nights are great, eat at 6, chill for an hour, sleep for 12 hours, spend 3 hours getting ready (everything takes for ever in the morning anyway when its so cold), on the road just before first light :)

Plus points, beautiful scenery, awesome wild camping. silence

ImageP1010713 by shanecycles.com, on Flickr

Haven't decided if Im going to Scotland, The Lakes or Spain for my trip this winter....Im done with that really cold stuff, its too much like hard work :) Luckily Helen loves it and will paint a totally different picture :)



Hang on I'm gobsmacked. Where was all that?
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

eileithyia wrote:
ukdodger wrote:
eileithyia wrote:Many a time; from winter weekends, the Christmas New Year hostel trip. What started to restrict such activities was RAH (rent a hostel), open hostels for just a handful (or 1-2 riders) became fewer further between, without renting the whole hostel for the weekend :-(
Yes I've been wet through, coped with snow, wind and glorious crisp sunny days.


Here's a medal! how many days were those rides and out of interest what did you use for leg and feet covering? If any :shock:


Not sure a medal is needed, as said elsewhere, no different to being out on the winter clubrun only with the addition of staying away from home and repeating the following day.
Touring could be anything from 1 night away (usually Saturday), 2 nights (fri and Sat) to about 10 days when I hostelled solo across to South Wales to stop with relatives for a few days then hostelled back again.

I have had great fun negotiating my way in the dark; to obscure tiny hostels in Shropshire, I had memorised the last 2-3 junctions to the hostel from the main road and when we turned into this tiny lane... had to deal with the doubting Thomas's within the club .. stopping to re-check the map (yes I was sure I was sure the hostel should be a few 100yds on on the left) to riding up the Gospel Pass (again in the dark) to the hostel, finding the bike shed (opp side of the road to the hostel) and carting my bags up the track. Whenever I go over the Pass these days I wonder how on earth I managed it in the dark and never realised how narrow it was!!!

At one stage I reckon we had a YHA weekend at least once a month thru the winter months..... it was when most of the club were around to participate in such weekends; the summer months being full of activites; longer touring trips for everyone, juggling family holidays, rally weekends, and (for me) racing.

Going off for the weekend was nothing unusual in the winter and battling the elements did not seem unusual just part of what winter is about and probably no more than extension of daily winter commutes or club runs.

I think the worst bit is wet shoes, I hate putting cold wet shoes back on the following day..... as the hostel drying room was usually not up to the job, it was always important for me to have warm dry socks to at least buffer that moment when the damp started to seep in towards my feet.... plastic shopping bags also helped as a buffer.

I confess I miss those dark evenings of self reliance and the challenge of finding the obscure YH after dark, of being out and using all my senses to find my way and enjoy my surroundings. Though often solo non calendar audax rides through the night does employ all that self reliance.


Frankly I wouldnt (up until now) even consider cycling in those conditions and certainly not every month. I hate wet feet (and wet legs) but have learned to live with them. But you could at least have chosen small hotels where drying stuff is much easier. Hostels arent user friendly I find. You'll forgive me if I suggest there's a hint of masochism in this thread.
User avatar
shane
Posts: 486
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 3:13am
Location: On my bike
Contact:

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by shane »

ukdodger wrote:
Where was all that?


Trip 1, 3 weeks in Lapland
Trip 2, The trans labrador highway in Canada
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

eileithyia wrote:PS Leg covering; usually normal winter cycling longs, thicker pair of socks, normal shoes, I have toyed with over shoes but never really found them very satisfactory, but always always have spare dry socks with me.


I've tried everything to keep my feet and legs dry but nothing does. So I gave up trying.
ukdodger
Posts: 2992
Joined: 18 Aug 2007, 5:32pm
Location: Sunny Surrey

Re: Has anyone ever toured in the winter?

Post by ukdodger »

shane wrote:
ukdodger wrote:
Where was all that?


Trip 1, 3 weeks in Lapland
Trip 2, The trans labrador highway in Canada


You're a better man than me Gunga Din. I'm shivering now. Great pics and nice story though. Thanks.
Post Reply