GETTING FIT IS A SOCIAL ACTIVITY! This winter, be like penguins and find some friends!

Most of my memories of riding a bike when I was a child involved long rides with friends, unsanctioned group races to the next corner, and yes, crashes involving my brother (there were multiple crashes, and we both took turns causing them!)  Once you grow up and become more responsible, the crashes are (hopefully) fewer, and the races take place on closed streets as part of sanctioned events - but the long rides with friends are still pretty similar!

Where are your friends when you are caught in the middle of a
snow blizzard!? Right next to you, that's where!

Cycling is a team sport - you are safer, faster and more efficient riding as a group of cyclists. And although solo rides are also great and offer great introspective stress relief, the appeal of being with a group of friends during an outing makes the occasion much more fun! I am working on my ode to cycling buddies and cycling clubs, but since Winter is upon us, I wanted to write about how being social will help you stay active when the weather turns ugly.

It's much harder to break a commitment to others than to just yourself. When the weather is a few degrees colder than expected and being under the blanket feels a few degrees warmer than anticipated, knowing that you are supposed to meet 3 other friends for that bike ride might just be enough to get you out of the bed (you won't regret it!)

The epic is always more "epic" with friends. Although you can always post a selfie of your frozen beard online, or point to your Strava file as proof of the out worldly conditions you encountered on your ride, nothing beats having your friends brave through the blizzard with you! Plus as a group, you can keep each other protected from the wind, and provide words of encouragement to keep each other going (those words of encouragement may come in the form of groans and cuss-words, but they are always translated to smiles later on).

Winter is also the time to take it slower on the bike and to just ride for the pure enjoyment of it (in racing training programs, they call it "Base Miles".) And nothing is more enjoyable than a bike ride with your loved one to the coffee shop!



Most of the times we hired a babysitter, bikes and coffee were involved!

Don't get me wrong, I recommend riding with your loved ones throughout the year, but for cyclists who race, train or just ride faster than their partner, this time of the year presents a great opportunity to join them on the bike, or whatever their physical activity may be. My wife and I enjoyed riding bicycles together so much during this time of the year, that almost all of our dates were planned around the weather forecast.

This is also a great time to spend time being active with your children. If you have children, you know that this time of the year can be challenging to keep them engaged in some form of physical activity in order to keep your house from being destroyed. So next time the roads freeze over, and the snow and ice make even the craziest cyclists head to their Trainer, grab your kids and go sledding. Or get them to go play on the snow while you shovel so they can use you as target practice for their next snowball fight! And if you don't have children, call your friends, buy some sleds and find a local hill! There is no age limit for sledding (at least I haven't found any signs stating otherwise).

Get bundled up and go play outside! -10C (14F) and too much ice
 for bikes was the perfect scenario for some sledding with the kids!

Regardless of the weather, being social through cycling is just another way to enjoy being active! You also get to make friendships that will last a lifetime,  become a more active partner and parent who gets to spend quality time with your loved ones. It doesn't even sound like exercising, does it?!