Ways To Beat The Winter Blues and Ride All Year - Endurance Cycling Motivation

[@robocoyote60]

Thank you for this! I've suffered from depression all my life (63 year old male) and have tried every drug including ketamine and MAOI's as well as ECT. The MAOI's were the only thing that worked long term but I can't eat bacon or cheese but I've adapted. It started to become less effective a couple of years ago and I was pretty much out of options. Over the years I gain a lot of weight until one day I stepped on the scales and was 302 lbs! Around same time I retired from work and limited my calories to 2000/day. As a reward for losing 80 lbs I bought myself a new bike. That was about 6 months ago, now I'm riding 120-150 miles per week and my mood has improved 100%. I've totally turned my life around. I discovered your channel a month or so ago and you're really good motivation for me, thanks for that. Now I'm down under 200 lbs, less than I weighed when I was 20 years old. Keep up the good work!

[@theroadprovides]

This is a great story, I’m pleased for you mate :) sounds like a real transformation, I hope you can stay happy and healthy, just keep riding your bike 👍

[@Feline-philosopher]

Awesome !

[@natureseyemusic]

Buy a decent exposure light, and hit the roads on a cold crisp winter night, and ride to a pub with a fire for a pint. Every Wednesday night I meet with half a dozen boys from the CTC and we pick a pub 10 miles away and do a long loop round to the pub, usually 15 to 20 miles then ride home after a couple of pints. I have been doing it for the last 10 years and it's been a game changer.

[@theroadprovides]

good plan mate I do like a pint of Guinness :)

[@caffeineisking8132]

I think I'd fall off after 2 pints 🤣 sounds really good though

[@ronanmcginn2655]

Thanks for opening up about something’s lot of people get

[@theroadprovides]

I’m glad people are commenting and helping each other out :)

[@wilfwilliams]

Identify with the symptoms, now that I’m retired, I choose to get away and stay away. When I couldn’t, I used to go to the gym, socialise, use the turbo, and rowers. Every day at least once a day. I found that the dopamine hits kept me just about afloat.

[@theroadprovides]

good plan mate :)

[@ronaldallen8604]

I used to suffer from the so-called SAD and, like you, found that it varied from year to year. we used to holiday in the Algarve around this time of year which was great until my return to a drab, wet England and a job I detested; it was instantly depressing. I now live abroad where the winters are generally drier and sunnier than Blighty and now i am retired the daylight hours are all mine. I still remember going to work in the cold, dark, wet, drabness and returning home in the same conditions and can empathize with anyone suffering through them. As you say: the condition has to be managed and forcing yourself out in the winter is the best option.

[@deanashleyspencer2994]

I know that feeling well, l spent my first 22 years in Portsmouth and now I'm happy living in Italy ( even with all it's problems ) l haven't returned to old blighty for over 15 years and l don't think l will any time soon.

[@theroadprovides]

cheers bud, I'd love to do what you've done, or just half the year maybe haha

[@PaulFreeman1]

This was going to be my comment, all very well going to the sun for a week or two, but coming back just made the UK feel even worse. Maybe if you can be abroad for months ... I feel forcing yourself out is the best option too. You'll feel the seasons change and be in tune with the weather.

[@ospringate]

Cool! How can we move to the Mediterranean sun post Brexit?

[@ronaldallen8604]

@@ospringate I'm in Bulgaria and I bought by house here when Britain was in the EU and Bulgaria was not. I think you can still move here but it is no place to try and make a living. I came here to live full-time when aged 64 and finished with work.

[@mvashton]

Consider Vitamin D supplements during winter as absorption is quite low (lower angle of sun in sky, less hours of daylight, less hours outside, being wrapped up in winter gear). Getting outside will still have great mood benefits. Thanks for the video!

[@ospringate]

Exactly! 10, 000 units + daily

[@theroadprovides]

Thanks buddy I intend to do that a bit better this winter :)

[@sweetsmusher1467]

I just switched to my "winter" bike. Set up for the various weather patterns etc., I also upped my goal of distance for 2024 to keep me going till year end. In addition, I am part of a " winter league" cycling team with my cycling club. All about trying to ensure there is something on or someone ready to go out with during these darker days as so easy to talk oneself out, of going out cycling. Again, thanks for another great video and important topic.

[@theroadprovides]

sounds like a great plan :) I am getting my bike winter ready today actually

[@viktorforian-szabo7160]

As a kid, I loved winters in Austria & Hungary, with snow and the possibility of doing winter sports. Instead, we have mud, darkness, and smog in five months of November. Every year is a freaking battle.

[@theroadprovides]

It can be tough, hopefully we can all motivate each other somehow to push on :)

[@Feline-philosopher]

I live on the north norwegian coast at 69 degrees north. Highly relevant topic (SAD), and taking up cycling as a means of outdoor training has been a life saver, no doubt about it.

[@theroadprovides]

Glad to hear that mate, I’ve seen some beautiful scenes in Norway but yeah, you have more darkness right now

[@CuriousMind_LVG]

I too am affected by winter impacting my ability to ride. Here's how I mitigate: Ride on paths with no cars when the weather allows, ride my fat bike with studded tires if not too cold but ground is icy/snowy, focus on weight training and mobility at my local gym. One thing that helps with motivation is having a community at my local gym that wants to see me and wants to suffer (in the good way working out) with me. Lastly, I know it's not for everyone, but meditation (I do TM) really helps. Cheers!

[@theroadprovides]

Interesting, thanks for that bud :)

[@lydiagould3090]

Thankyou for this! I am a fellow sufferer of S.A.D. On the day the clocks went back I drove home from a horse clinic and it was 4.30 and it felt like 9.30. Pitch dark and solid traffic on the A 34. The first day is the worst, then I find I learn to live with it . I'm not sure about vitamin D, but take some anyway, maybe a placebo effect as you say. I race cyclo cross through the Autumn and it's a great day out, for the racing and the social side too. Warning; you need to enjoy getting covered in mud🤣 Another one is to have something to look forward to, like some Winter sun. I've booked a week in the Canaries (and 4 days biking). I also plan a few mtb audax routes , (that i can do in about 4 hours) not the super long ones. I tend not to do many long rides in Winter, but train on Trainer road on the turbo doing more shorter sessions which are suited to a 40 minute cx race. I also run which is fine in the cold and wet, as opposed to cycling which is dreadful. I look forward to your new format videos!

[@theroadprovides]

Hey, thanks for feeding back and also chipping in Lydia 😁

[@andyblades8946]

For me, even though I train a lot indoors, it’s important to spend some time outside, preferably somewhere with trees, greenery etc. Like you, I often start work before sunrise and finish work after sunset in the winter months, and I don’t even have windows at work. Getting out in nature on my days off, whether riding or not, is so important.

[@theroadprovides]

It is yeah, having mudguards etc really helps with that too

[@dukekaboom4105]

Thanks Andy, a subject definitely worth discussing. Living in the far North of Scotland where the daylight is in even shorter supply in the winter months I’m very lucky I don’t seem to have a negative reaction to it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like the cold dark dreary days but I try and look at photos I’ve taken this year and this helps me look forward to the spring months. I’m also lucky to be retired and have two dogs which means I need to go out and walk in all weathers, this can be really great as I get a chance to meet( say hello ) to others and occasionally pop into a cafe for a hot drink and a blether. I have to force myself to be more sociable during the winter months. I’m lucky to have a wife who works full time but is retiring later this year which I’m really looking forward to. Thanks for the video and congrats on your 1st KZbin year.🎉

[@theroadprovides]

Cheers buddy and thanks for chipping in as always 😁

[@urouroniwa]

The biggest thing I've done is move to 34 degrees lattitude 🙂 Massive difference. I grew up in Canada and lived in the UK, but I don't think I could go back now. I think prioritising the winter vacation is also really huge. When my wife and I were in the UK we only took winter holidays and it helped *so* much. The one thing I've also noticed is that surprisingly it's not just the *amount* of sunshine. It's the changes from day to day. Before Christmas is *awful* because the days are getting shorter each day. After Christmas is so much better. It gets dramatically better by March because the day increase is moving a lot faster. I actually have a count down centered around the winter soltice: "It's x days before the days get longer than they are today". One other quick thing. Over training can lead to depression, so be mindful of your intensity during the winter. I often wonder why people always to endurance blocks in the winter, even if they don't do lots of events in the summer. You would think that low volume, high intensity would be easier in the winter because you are working harder, staying warmer and getting out of the cold/wet sooner. However, I think the "go slow" attitude in the winter is probably a good thing. Stay out as long as you can. Don't push it. Be especially mindful of your mood and check to see if it's linked to your training.

[@thedoginside]

Good video Andy, more people (men) need to talk about this kind of thing. I don't get S.A.D. but I do get sad, riding is my best medicine. Name change, ooh exciting 👍🏼

[@theroadprovides]

Did I read youre in Japan? I'd love to move one day, hopefully some trips this winter will help.

[@theroadprovides]

Hey mate, keep riding that bike :) yeah I am going to try to ramp this up a bit next year

[@urouroniwa]

@@theroadprovides Definitely hit me up if you are interested in eventually moving to Japan. I can give you some advice (mikekchar at the obvious google mailing place). If you have a university degree, it's relatively easy to get a visa here to work. Especially if you have an engineering background (IT work, or actual engineering), there is plenty of work. But you can always teach English if you have a degree. Obviously I love living here (been here since 2007), but it's not for everyone. Like the UK, Japan has a culture that has a strong moral center. However, the morals are different than the UK. That can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view :-). I fit in here really, really well. Other people don't. I'd be happy to go into detail. But if you do make some trips in this direction, I'd be happy to help you get the best out of them. Feel free to get in touch.

[@christoff217]

great content Andy, and respect for opening up about Mental health , a topic that can be a taboo subject, really brave but also liberating. i suffer with a lack of motivation over the winter months however trying to increase my commuting miles and winterising my bike. keep keep positive and keep cycling , looking forward to your next adventure !!

[@theroadprovides]

Thanks for the feedback buddy appreciate it 😁

[@ospringate]

Excellent! I have the same - I follow quality vit D daily, red/ infrared light starting 6am, plenty of sleep / yoga / meditation / exercise

[@theroadprovides]

Thanks for chipping in mate :)

[@Markhypnosis1]

I think it's possible that SAD may be partly due to our ancestral link to mammals that hibernate during the winter. Maybe we haven't lost that drive to hibernate and all the physical changes that go with it, but because we don't follow what our bodies are telling us to do,....sleep through winter.....we experience all kinds of other psychological symptoms as well as the physical ones of, tiredness, not wanting to get up, daytime drowsiness etc. These all point towards the body wanting to shut down.

[@theroadprovides]

I think that makes a lot of sense actually mate, I would love to hibernate but also to not need to 😂

[@lydiagould3090]

Yes, that is certainly true for many of us. And I 'm so glad I don't start work at 7.am anymore!

[@GS-pk9rd]

Going out riding in winter can be offputting, all the gear to get on, the cleaning, the tough conditions etc. Indoor training is a great help for a mood boost, then even if I don't manage to ride outdoors I can always try to get out for a little walk if nothing else. NB, there is very little vitamin D from the sunshine in the UK this time of year but every little helps

[@theroadprovides]

I know exactly what you mean I’m just back from a bit of a muddy one 😬

[@TheMrAPRise]

A really honest and personal explanation...and I can say I am someone who has similar experiences during autumn/winter. I definitely struggle with the motivation...even to the point I had a couple of tattoos on both arms of cycle related design.....to remind me of the pain and therefore my drive to get up and get out..!!! Great video..!!

[@theroadprovides]

Hey mate, sounds like you know this well, hopefully its a bit milder this year :)

[@irondistance4313]

Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary on KZbin. Take care you are crushing it, I’m lucky I don’t seam to be affected by seasonal Depression

[@theroadprovides]

glad to hear that buddy, I wouldn't wish it on anyone but we'll all get though it :)

[@PaulFreeman1]

Real important topics to discuss. Thanks for bringing them up.

[@theroadprovides]

Cheers buddy :)

[@deanrobson7326]

Loved this 👍

[@theroadprovides]

Thanks mate :)

[@WPKSC]

Oh yes ! I can relate to this. My irritability level gets to be about as long as the day light, and I know it gets worse with less activity and then the Mojo starts to go with it. I’ve found that having the club rides helps kick my arse into gear at least once a week and gives me motivation to get out and mix with other people who are always up for a good chat, laugh and coffee, also a good riding friend who will keep me motivated no matter the weather and also using Audax’s to give me and my riding friend a target for the months ahead. I tend to find these working together keeps the SAD at a level that means I’m still reasonably happy to kick myself to go out for solo rides as and when needed. Andy, great video, honest and open, a year already, may the years continue for you with more great content 😊👍. Ps: you not cold, I’m riding in part winter clobber now 🤣

[@theroadprovides]

That's a good point actually maintaining social connections :) and yes I was cold haha I am getting winter ready today actually, mudguards and everything

[@mR_dubb]

Really look forward to your videos, Andy. Appreciate the topic on this one. I'm fortunate to live in Central California where winter means cold and dark mornings but nothing severe. Maybe some windy days but not all bad. I actually struggle with seasonal depression in SUMMER. A lot of it has to do with where I am (excessive heat, dry, terrible air quality, etc). Cycling has 100% helped me with it and so I apply some of the ideas in this video to summer. I still struggle but its far easier to manage and the symptoms are less severe. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for the channel and also your winter videos. I would be in heaven where you are and seeing your adventures at least lets me live vicariously through you for a little while. Appreciate it man!

[@theroadprovides]

Thanks for the kind words buddy it's great to hear :) and an interesting perspective actually, it isn't just the grey weather. I love the heat, but maybe could wear thin

[@oneschance]

Midwest USA 🇺🇸 here. Our winters are much different.

[@theroadprovides]

Different good or different bad?

[@oneschance]

@ snow snow snow ❄️ and cold 🥶 Whenever I watch British KZbinrs talk about winter Cycling and gear, I’m like nope. That won’t cut it here.

[@theroadprovides]

Oh man, yeah there’s a limit to what makes sense, I guess it makes sense to Zwift and find other ways to enjoy the outdoors

[@GreatWhiteShark42]

"I am only ugly now" 🤣

[@ospringate]

Come off it Andy - looking pretty cool

[@Jaqaroo]

Happy channel birthday, Andy! Looking forward to seeing what changes you make. Interesting topic this week. I feel for you - a cyclist facing the long, dark, cold, wet, British winter is not a happy cyclist. I might have mentioned that I live in Tokyo, and in terms of winter weather we get the opposite - about 2-3 months of very dry, blue sky clear, crispy cold weather. Nice for me, so I really do feel you and other cyclists in the UK.

[@urouroniwa]

I'm in Shizuoka. I'm looking forward to the winter this year! When are these typhoons going to end? I've had more days off due to rain this fall than I did in the rainy season!

[@Jaqaroo]

@@urouroniwa Yeah! And more rain this weekend! But Monday (and a holiday...!) is looking good - chance for long ride.

[@urouroniwa]

@@Jaqaroo Yes! And I finally took a holiday on that day. I work as a consultant for foreign companies, so I usually work on Japanese holidays. I'm really looking forward to it. I can't remember the last long ride I did 😞

[@theroadprovides]

hey, thanks mate :) I'm hoping to ramp things up a bit next year. Sounds like you guys have really good conditions over there, I'd love to do a trip in Japan, is bivvying etc easy there in general?

[@urouroniwa]

@@theroadprovides bivvying id *dead* easy here. You may stay in any park as long as you set up camp after dark and clean up before sunrise. It's a bit tight in the summer, but pretty easy. But there are parks *everywhere*. Any neighbourhood park is fine. However, there are better options! I think it's not so popular these days, but there are "24 hour Manga cafes" where you can go in and get a kind of booth (kind of like a close in an Irish pub, if you know what I mean). Usually only cost about $10 and includes access to a shower! My friend used to stay in these all the time. Normally not quite enough space to stretch out, but basically like sleeping on someone's couch. Any larger town will have them. Food and drink is also very easy and very cheap. Restaurants here are *very* cheap. Less than $10 will get you a great meal and there is no tipping. Convenience stores also abound for eating on the go. But the best is that there are drink machines *everywhere*. Literally no need to carry water if you don't want to (and don't mind spending about $2 per liter for it). There is a drink machine on top of Mt Fuji even. I can't recommend it enough. There are a couple of big audax challenges here that I think you would enjoy if you get the chance.

[@A_AAA232]

interesting subject matter for this vlog Andy and thanks as it needs to be discussed...I think like you said lots of us that spend the whole day out on the bike in summer feel a little SAD once the clocks go back and the weather changes up in the UK....I like what you said in the last vlog about setting a goal over the winter and planning for early events next year...however, my 'cure' for SAD is to go out on the MTB in QECP in whatever the weather - sending the forest trails on the bike is pure magic for the mind! Looks like you did my local loop of Portsdown hill then drop down into Lee on Solent on this ride - nice one!

[@theroadprovides]

yeah its a decent route and relatively clean :) I would MTB but genuinely spend more time cleaning than riding haha

[@chrisjoyce5539]

Great video, good subject matter. I work shift work so I get mild downs. What works me is vitamin d in winter and get out in the dry and sun but. 9 times out of 10 I working when the weather good. My wife gives me good keep up ase, if not she gets me decorating in the winter,it's time I am happy to decorating

[@theroadprovides]

sounds very similar to my house especially the decorating, I'm abut to order skirting boards as its the only time of year anything can get done haha

[@edlazda3245]

Great discussion of a very important topic. I use a high-intensity light in winter for maybe a couple of hours a day and this seems to help. Lack of vitamin D is very common in the UK, especially if you have dark skin or live further north, but probably doesn't itself cause SAD -- both are a direct result of lack of exposure to sunlight. There's a good case for taking vitamin D supplements in winter, but we shouldn't necessarily expect it to treat winter depression.

[@theroadprovides]

ah, the light I have not tried actually! I do need to try that

[@TouringTony]

For only 1 year old channel you are doing really well. Keep up the good work

[@theroadprovides]

cheers buddy

[@christopherhood9241]

Congratulations on almost reaching a year. Super channel you have created, almost like having a conversation over a G&T. Wishing you well with future plans.

[@theroadprovides]

cheers mate! Maybe I'll find a way to incorporate cocktails into my rides haha

[@christopherhood9241]

@@theroadprovides great use for a tailfin

[@tomaszgrzelaczyk-boto7725]

Great video Andy thanks for sharing ;)

[@theroadprovides]

cheers buddy

[@Samcycles-m3u]

Great vid as always Andy. I'm up the road in Southampton (sorry) so let me know if you ever fancy meeting on a coffee ride!

[@theroadprovides]

cheers buddy maybe when I do my new forest via Southampton rides :)

[@Bazza1968]

I live in the Cairngorms now, I've got SAD 5-6 months a year. Used to be lowland Scotland by the coast and used to sea kayak as well as cycle nearly all year round, I now live beside the river Spey but not into rock dodging on rivers so that's gone by the wayside, don't ski (if there's even snow) but now find these 4-5 months when the clocks change (The "dead zone") unbearable. It's 4-5c colder than the coast (300 m above sea level)on any given day, and that means many days of risky ice I just don't want to go out on the bikes for fear of injury (I'm 56, self preservation is now as important as fun, a bad fall could set off a chain of issues that ruin the cycling for years, seen it with people around here).... I'm stuck now 80% on Zwift largely despite having taken early retirement last year. I did go out night biking alone here before when I was working, ice spiker road and mtb tyres but it's just not worth the risk. Each year I get so fed up and angry at my CHOSEN location(my fault I'm here), and the sun never seems to shine anymore, a perpetual grey blanket of doom a few hundred metres above. It can be stunningly beautiful on those rare sunny, hot days but those really are rare. When my poor old doggie passes I'm planning to get out of here mid Nov-Mid Feb(it won't be this year, most likely next), got friends in Tenerife and plan to base myself in the Canaries for the 90 continuous days Shengen allows but just travel around by bike(or just hike) and stealth camp when I can.... Gotta have a dream right?? I feel like punching the next fellow Scot who says "Aw well, never mind, maybe we'll get a good summer next year!!"(cos it NEVER happens!!) I'm taking 12,000IU's of Vit D3 with K2 too for the last 5 years!! Thankfully I quit drinking almost 3 years ago, and there was that realisation that the SAD, depression of winter had nothing to do with booze either.... (One day I left my mums at sunny St Andrews and drove home....10c in St Andrews it was 1c and snowing at home, 107km as the crow flies!!)

[@Bazza1968]

My Missus is from Pompey, she was down at her nieces wedding 3 weeks ago along in Brighton then back staying on the IOW with her brother, when she got the train back I did a weather check on what she was leaving that evening, 14c, we had a hard frost that night when I picked her up off the train at 8pm.....Not being funny, but blanket cutting that winter fuel allowance is especially cruel on the elderly up here too...

[@theroadprovides]

Hey mate, sounds a bit rough. I have considered moving more north for the national parks and landscapes, but actually the winters are the main reason we haven't done that. it kist a ton better down here but I feel for you bud. I wonder if there's a way to create a bit of a community to motivate each other during this time of year?

[@Bazza1968]

@@theroadprovides I think the whole of the UK is as bad tbh....!! It's financially bad too- 6 months of the year I'm out biking and then in the dead zone I find myself buying crap I don't really need to cheer myself up too. I can motivate myself and will be doing the Zwift Rapha Festive 500 again this year, it's just that thought in the back of the head that there has to be more than this, a better way of living than just hunkering down and waiting and hoping for better weather!! (First world problems eh!?)

[@bohovgaardthomasen8688]

What do you do when "winterfying"? Full service or just add mudguards? Or something in between :-) Maybe that could be explained in a future video. I'm still shocked/amazed by how much water was on alot of roads in your videos last autumn, winter, spring.

[@theroadprovides]

This has been a bloody wet year mate, I think it was our wettest summer ever or something? I’ll explain in the next vid on Thursday mate, basically strip/clean/grease/mudguards :)

[@rickh.9543]

Club rides with other like minded people helps, we are social beings. 😀

[@theroadprovides]

This is a good point I didn't mention actually

[@Nick-mu9nx]

I live in Montreal and the Winter SUCKS. It is colder, but not as dark, in fact, with all the snow, sunglasses are required all year round. Yes winter sucks and everyone is grumpy, even Canadians. I have to Zwift with an indoor trainer to keep my wife from killing me. Yes, metal health is very important. One or two hours on the trainer is a life safer / marriage saver.

[@caffeineisking8132]

My girlfriend of 4 years left me a few months ago and l lost every and neee to start again. I've been cycling as much as humanly possible to me it is the only thing that really takes it all away, even in the crappy weather

[@theroadprovides]

Hey I’m sorry to hear that, hopefully it’s getting easier. At least the cycling is helping the situation, just keep riding that bike :)