Winter is great, let me elaborate.  There’s the snow, or rather the English climate’s pathetic attempt at this most magical of meteorological conditions; there’s hibernation and migration, though admittedly only animals really benefit from these; and of course there’s Christmas…and New Year…and the holiday period in general, now who doesn’t love that.

However, it is for all these reasons and more that winter is anything but great for us cyclists, a rare breed of people whose favourite pastime is cruelly susceptible to every aspect of ill weather and climate that winter has to offer, not to mention the short days.  Even if you aren’t an avid devotee of the bicycle, hitting the hills (Boxhill, Surrey in my case) at every opportunity, it does not take the greatest stretch of imagination to understand that it is simply not pleasant cycling in the rain, or the dark, or the nipple devastating cold, or worse, a combination of all these.

Put simply, when training, we all know motivation is key, and even the most disciplined struggle to find such motivation when looking out the window to see a rapidly diminishing sun, obscured by the dank drizzle of a miserable February afternoon.  As motivation is the key to training, so a rewarding goal is to motivation, and what’s rewarding about cycling for 82km’s through those conditions?  Well, quite a lot you might say, but not nearly as much as doing the same when the weather is diametrically opposite, or in other words, on a nice, pleasant, sunny day.

The more discerning of you may have picked up on a few things relating to my personal training which I’ve cunningly mentioned, seemingly in passing.  With the Reading Half Marathon looming only a matter of weeks away, my weekly 82km ride across the Surrey Hills, Boxhill to be exact, grows ever more important.  Now, the Boxhill scenery is beautiful at the worst of times, a prime example of Home Counties countryside, and cycling through it always a joy, but 82km’s even through all that still requires motivation, something which I have found has been very hard to find during the winter months.  If you’re reading this thinking that conditions have no effect on motivation, then I’m afraid you are not human, sorry!

However, with winter drawing rapidly to a close, and the much missed conditions of spring being hinted at, such as lengthening, warmer days, the desire to train is becoming easier, and easier to find.  I have to admit, it’s been a battle up to now, today being a prime example.  Compared to the past few months, today was glorious:  The sun was shining and didn’t give way to the evening until 5.30pm, thus taking the chill off the day, the wind was a perfect hint of a breeze, and there wasn’t a drop of rain - All in all, a lovely day.  Today was the start of a new training year for me, and I suspect, for many others.

With new seasons come new rewards.  Cycling, running, whatever your chosen form of torture, the completion of a grueling training session is made all the better when winter has finally given way to spring.  The only factors remaining which still hinder my progress are no longer in the realm of the climate - I have a knee injury, my first for the best part of a year, sustained whilst skiing in France during the Christmas holidays.  While this is only really apparent when undergoing impact exercise, such as running rather than cycling, it is still a concern.  Winter brought with it the Christmas holiday and with that the skiing injury, yet more evidence of the detrimental effect of this season on the active.  Even the best of us still can not help but use the holidays as excuse not to stick to our programs 100%, it is human nature.

Still, winter is now passé, spring is the new black, and with it comes the boost in motivation that will make training infinitely easier.