Hello friends and welcome once again!
This week, a bit of a niche subject matter that may not be relevant to all. But it’s very relevant to me and my current thought process. I hope even if it doesn’t necessarily spread far and wide, it reaches a couple people and helps them to stay motivated and in a good frame of mind. It can be a tough time of year for many, but there are ways to soften the blow. Look after yourselves folks.
andy
Insta – https://www.instagram.com/andyc_ultracycling?igsh=dTg4eWFzODZybWQ0&utm_source=qr
This ride – https://www.strava.com/activities/12748529646
Why Veloforte – https://youtu.be/OcOS6d9OhuY
Veloforte.com – ANDYC20
31 Comments
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..!!
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.
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
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.
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!
For only 1 year old channel you are doing really well. Keep up the good work
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!
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.
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.
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 🤣
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.
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.
Great video Andy thanks for sharing 😉
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.
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.
Club rides with other like minded people helps, we are social beings. 😀
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!!)
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!
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.
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary on YouTube. Take care you are crushing it, I’m lucky I don’t seam to be affected by seasonal Depression
"I am only ugly now" 🤣
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.
Real important topics to discuss. Thanks for bringing them up.
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 YouTube year.🎉
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!
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!
Thanks for opening up about something’s lot of people get
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.
Excellent! I have the same – I follow quality vit D daily, red/ infrared light starting 6am, plenty of sleep / yoga / meditation / exercise
Tapo wifi timer smartplug is £10 – fix up with red light for 6am
Midwest USA 🇺🇸 here. Our winters are much different.