Is an offseason good?

I couldn’t care less about having an off-season.  I’d much prefer to ride year round than not.  But i like seasonality and wouldn’t want to be so cal or Arizona based where it’s just varying degrees of hot and dry riding.  I enjoy prime wet and tacky spring, dry dusty summers, and leaf surfing in the fall.  Warmer parts of pnw are ideal for me cause you basically have cold spring and nice spring instead of winter.

My riding season is about 9-months long. Sure, I would love to ride year-round, but I think a little bit of a break can be beneficial even if it isn't ideal.

After a long riding season, I think a little time off can recharge the stoke. During the spring/summer/fall riding becomes part of the routine. Over the winter you are thinking and dreaming about riding.  When your favorite trails start melting off one by one in the spring I find you kind of fall in love with the sport again. 

Also, the older I get the more I read about diversifying your workouts. The winter is a nice time to give your riding muscles a break and work on other aspects of fitness. It can be fun to focus on other things and ski, lift, etc. 

All of that being said, do I wish I could ride year-round? Yes. 

Variety is the spice of life (or something like that). I ride ~180-200 days a year. Its great. But putting the bike down from mid-November to April is always good for my psyche. We aren't curing cancer or launching rockets. Do other things. Its fun.

Off season is a part of life. Sometimes I get desperate and ride the hardtail on packed snow gravel road. Or do trialsish stuff on the dj in the backyard or driveway. Take some 2x4s and 2x6s and make a zig zag course and try to ride it, like a skinny. Snow (in backyard) can be packed down and sorta holds the boards. And I hike a lot in winter. 

I'm Chris from Alpine MTB Training. There's many options for training during the off-season. It will vary based on your goals and where you life, depending if trails are ridable or not in the winter.

I coach mountain bikers and build training programs to be well rounded that meet the demands of the sport. Not just a strength program nor just an endurance program to follow on Zwift. Unfortunately this is the case with many programs you see out there. A comprehensive program covering strength, endurance, mobility and skills. You don't need multiple programs or subscriptions to improve each

I currently have a 12 week program for Trail riders and am releasing a plan focused on Gravity rider/racers who want to put in big miles on the bike in the summer.

You can check out my programs and coaching on my website www.alpinemtbtraining.com.

Also feel free to follow me on Instagram