Maintaining Bike Fitness

i am wondering the same but my question is more so about swimming.

i plan on doing alot of running and biking over the winter...with maybe 1 swim every once in a while based on feel....

personally i don't think the loss will be that tremendous.  i had a knee issue beginning of the year and could not run AT ALL for 6 weeks.  i literally had 2 3 milers 1 week prior to olympic race.  still put down an ok split.  trained only biking and swimming no impact on the knee was ok.

Edited by trix 2010-09-29 3:50 PM

Do Jorge's plan.  Don't use the winter to "maintain"; use the winter to get faster.  Don't worry about long rides or runs, just get faster - Jorge's will do that.

What's "Jorge's plan"?

trav 

this

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=186131&start=1

Thanks; found it right after I posed the question.  

trav 

Exercise/fitness, is akin to blowing up a balloon with a hole in it.
The harder you blow, the bigger the balloon gets, but the more you need to blow to keep it that size. 

there is a bit of good news, and to carry the analogy a step further, in that if you let the balloon shrink, it's easier to blow it back up the second and third time, than it was the 1st time.

just my analogy theory.   

You may not be able to replicate all the long summer rides, but you can still get on a trainer and get in the gym to improve strength with some of that extra time you'll have not going on 80 mile rides.