The forecast for the weekend is promising snow. Lots of snow. Are you ready?

Snow and cold don’t have to be miserable. With the right equipment and attitude, winter months can be an excellent opportunity to change up and charge up your training stimulus.

I think there are two broad categories of Wisconsinites: those who embrace the cold and continue to find joy training in it, and those who don’t. No judgement, just don’t waste time fooling yourself. Get busy making the best of whichever camp you are in.

For those who enjoy the great white, snow provides a rich cross-training opportunity. Cross country skiers have the largest aerobic engines (highest VO2max- see records below). In part, it requires full-body muscular engagement. It is low-impact, but not quite as low as cycling, and your butt gets a break from the saddle! Classic XC (diagonal skiing) has a similar neuromuscular pattern to cycling, engaging glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps in the sagittal plane. Like cycling, XC skiing requires smooth force activation to maintain economical motion and builds a huge aerobic base with minimal risk of overuse injury.

4 of the 6 world record holders for VO2max belong to cross-country skiers.

MALE

96.7 ml/kg/min | Oskar Svendsen
In August of 2012, Svedsen tested the highest VO2 Max measurement in recorded history before the 2012 Junior World Time Trial Championships.

96.0 ml/kg/min | Bjørn Dæhlie
Dæhlie is well-known for his career in cross-country skiing. He won the Nordic Cup six times and won a total of 29 medals in the Olympics and World Championships between 1991 and 1999, making him the most successful male cross-country skier in history.

96.0 ml/kg/min | Espen Harald Bjerke
Norwegian cross-country skier, tested at 96 ml/kg/min in 2005.

FEMALE

78.6 ml/kg/min | Joan Benoit
The first women’s Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Las Angeles.

76.6 ml/kg/min | Bente Skari
Hailing from Norway, Skari is one of the most successful cross-country skiers ever, receiving 12 Olympic and World Championship medals.

76.0 ml/kg/min | Flavia Oliveira
A Brazilian racing cyclist who finished in 7th place in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Skate XC skiing changes things up a bit, with more demand on balance and stability due to the rapid weight shift. Powerful movements in the frontal plane recruit muscles that are largely ignored during cycling. While both types of XC skiing can incorporate intervals for threshold and VO2max, most turn to skate skiing for this stimulus due to the high demand for power production.

For the pure cyclist, there is still riding to be enjoyed in the snow. As much as I love XC skiing, I haven’t put on sticks since purchasing a fat bike. Of all the cycling modalities I enjoy (road, gravel, MTB), fat biking is far and away my favorite. It is hard to describe the feeling of riding through the woods, trees offering protection from the howling winds, their branches heavy under a blanket of snow, rays of the sun (maybe) catching the falling flakes, throwing prisms of light that dance at your feet. The only sound is your breath, echoing inside your insulated helmet, ski googles and face mask. For me, it is nirvana on a bike.

Weather patterns are changing, leaving snow less of a certainly in the winter. While this is a disaster for skiing, frozen lakes void of snow provide miles upon miles of unadulterated fat fun. Stud up your tires and away you go!

There are plenty of fat bike events to test your mettle and your metal.

Fat Tire Birkie, Hugh Jass Series, Snow Crown Series, Tuscobia Winter Ultra to name a few.

There are lots of reasons why XC skiing and fat biking may not appeal to you: cost of gear, limited daylight to train, or aversion to the cold. In that case, winter is a great time to build your base on the trainer. For some cyclists, the trainer is a godsend. It is incredibly efficient and a guilt free ticket to binge watch Stranger Things.

If you are interested in riding with some familiar faces, consider this GREEN FRIDAY deal for Drafters only to join Source Endurance training through Velocity. This is a Zoom meets Zwift platform developed by former professional, Robbie Ventura to help coaches build community with their riders.

I’ll be leading two rides each week for Source Endurance, Wednesday and Friday 7-8AM for 12 weeks, Dec 3, 2025- Feb 20, 2026. Enjoy a 2 week free trial, and then decide if this is right for you. Drafters receive a 25% discount!

You’ll need a trainer and a laptop/tablet/phone with the Velocity app. Power is not required- you can use HR or RPE to stay in the zone. You will see other riders in the class, and their power and HR gauges (see image below) but their actual numbers will NOT be visible. If you are hitting the right zone and cadence, your gauges will light up green, over the target will illuminate red and under will light up blue.

Can’t make W/F 7AM but still interested? No problem. The classes will be recorded so you can replay it at any time, as many times as you’d like. The recorded class will also be replayed the following T/Th at 7AM so if you join, others may also be there “live”. Robbie has also generously agreed to provide a dozen or so of his favorite workouts.

COST: $100/mo. Green Friday discount code for Drafters only: 25%. This will knock the cost down to $75/mo, or ~$10 per class, and includes to Velocity app fee ($20/mo).

Click here to sign up for your two week free trial. If you aren’t enjoying the platform (or me) after the free trial, no hard feelings. I appreciate you giving it a try.

A few cautionary pointers for indoor training:

The trainer is stationary. Obvious, and yet cyclists often rock their body over the bike to get the leverage. These are not the same force vectors through your joints as rocking the bike underneath your body. I’d caution against it.
Air flow. Unless you are racing in AZ in February and working to heat acclimate while in your cycling studio, be sure to have a fan and maybe crack a window. Sweat on the floor = waste of evaporative heat potential.
Hydrate and fuel as you would outside. Gut training can start now for your ultra event next season.
Bike fit. Many cyclists have an old bike and shoes relegated to the trainer. Be sure the old bike has your current bike fit. If the saddle is different, consider swapping for your current saddle. And check your cleats. Worn cleats = knee pain.

I hope to see you drafting responsibly, in the snow or on the trainer.

BrickO

Winter In and Out

The Weight Room is Calling