The clothes are covered in mud and dirt after and before every ride, the roadbike looks like a worn out mountainbike and makes noises I never heard before and the tires gain cuts faster than me trying to sew together some old bike clothes…

All this can only mean one thing: The offseason arrived!

While the last couple of years usually consisted of me stumbling my way through the darkest time of year and keeping my head down low until the return of the first sunlight, it’s finally time for a new strategy … or any strategy at all.

So, here are my Top 5 advices for surviving the offseason:

1. Nightrides !

Finally something to look up to in that specific time of year. The days are short, the nights are long, which means you don’t have to stay up until midnight for a nightride. Also, there’s no such thing as bad weather conditions, if you can’t see it, right? … right?

2. Bike Wash !?

An advice, only for the toughest time of the offseason. When there’s snow, ice and a total white out on the other side of the window, this might be the perfect moment to make good use of some spare time. This might also be the only bike related activity that’s left, so you know … there’s nothing else to do anyway.

3. Use the weight bench more often …

Time to get rid of all the dust on the weight bench. I’m not the fastest rider in town, but I’ll be the strongest one next spring for sure! Let’s go…

4. Follow more blogs and channels from the opposite half of the planet !

Right here, in europe, the cycling season is pretty much over. Autumn arrived and soon it will get really cold with snow and all that stuff … however, this is not the case everywhere on this planet. The whole south half of planet earth awaits the arrival of summer in a few months, so I’m definitely going to make sure to follow some blogs and channels from this part of the world to get a decent amount of sunshine content.

( please make sure to drop your favorite blogs and channels from the summer side of the globe in the comments. Can’t wait for new content to follow!)

5. Keep on pedaling …

No one likes to start all over again next year. If you want to keep your endurance and stay in top shape, you need to ride your bike. It’s okay if you only ride half the distance, half the time, half intensity and half outside (is that possible? anyway…). Stay active and you’ll recognize the difference in spring!

Alright,what do you think? Looks like a decent strategy for the next few months. Can’t wait to try it out!

Feel free to tell me about your strategies for the offseason in the comments below!

-Dennis