Neal L - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Sorry for the delay getting your question answered, Neal, but since I know what the weather is like in the Twin Cities right now, I doubt you're going to be getting out on any long rides on the road for at least a couple of months yet.

Since we - make that you are in the midst of some cold weather there, let's go ahead and talk about winter training for a bit. I am giving away a tiny bit from the new book, Come & Gone, now, but after just one year of riding mountain bikes around lakes Harriet, Calhoun and Isles, as well as weekly snowmobile trail rides from Chaska to Belle Plaine and back during the bitter winter, I was completely destroyed.

I'd already frozen just about every part of my body ... at least once during my days as a cross-country ski racer, so with the added year of the torture I inflicted on my body by riding my bike in the cold, I was completely done. During my second or third winter back in Minnesota, I remember bonking so hard on a ride with Scott Flanders that we actually had to stop several times within just a mile or so of our destination so that I could drink a little bit more water and, umm, collect my thoughts. At that moment I faced the fact that I am tropical people.

As a cold-weather-challenged Minnesotan, I was forced to either ride indoors or flee the scene in search of warmer weather. Mostly, I chose the warmer weather, but with the advent of the virtual reality trainers like the CompuTrainer or Tacx, I was much more easily able to sit on my bike indoors for 4-5 hours each day. As for personal goals, the amount you ride during the winter really depends upon how quickly you want to be fit in the spring. I've found that riders from the colder climates tend to be so excited to ride, once enough snow melts off the streets, that they go too hard, and hence, burn out too quickly.

As for rides ... you'd think that someone who packed up and left for Belgium at the age of 19 would have a bit more of an adventurous spirit, but the truth is that I am sort of a creature of habit. In fact, I am more content with a sure-thing out-and-back than I am venturing off to rides unknown. It's pathetic, I know.

On the road in Minnesota, I had three main rides. One was an out and back that took me out hwy 55 from downtown Minneapolis to at least Rockford, sometimes Buffalo and back. For the non-Minnesotans out there, imagine the most boring freeway you could imagine but throw in some stop lights. Ride out for a couple of hours into a strong headwind and then turn around and ride back in the 53 or 54 x 12,13 and 14. (I told you I was boring)

The next ride was the Excelsior loop that I learned from the Flanders. It's about a 36-mile loop that took me from 35th Street in Minneapolis, through Edina, Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Excelsior and back through St. Louis Park into Minneapolis. I might possibly be the worst person in the world when it comes to street names and directions, so if you are interested in this one, call the Flanders and they'll give you the skinny.

One other loop that was in my normal repertoire was the Victoria loop. This one was a 45-mile ride that contains a couple of rolling climbs. Like almost all of my rides, this one started in Uptown and made its way through Edina and Eden Prairie, then went on through Chaska on its way to Victoria and back, similar to the Excelsior loop. Again, the folks at Flanders would be better able to steer you in the right direction - I can see every turn, but would have you turning right at the "big tree" or something.

Of course there were longer rides as well, but most of those required riding with a group. I am not even kidding when I tell you I am directionally-challenged. If I need more miles/hours on the bike but had no one to ride with, I would simply do laps of Victoria and/or Excelsior ... so exciting!

There's another ride that I particularly liked ... it was also an out-and-back ... but you're going to have to wait for new book to find out about that one.