Here we go... At the request of The Spoken One, let's take a look at a typical winter training ride from my perspective.

The attire- If the weather is cold and windy like it was on Saturday (in the 30's) here is what I wear:
-Three pairs of lightweight tights, with my team shorts over top
-1 "long johns" long sleeved shirt
-2 short sleeve jerseys
-1 fleece vest
-1 pair of wool socks
-winter specific cycling shoes- I love the LAKE boots
-heavyweight shoe covers
-one knit hat
-ski goggles
-thin glove liners
-heavy lobster gloves

The route. Select a route that you are familiar with and make sure you have a couple of hills to challenge you. Personally I like to do shorter
routes multiple times as opposed to a longer ride. This gives me a bail out option if I get too cold.

The effort. I believe in the 5 zones of training
-Active recovery. slightly more activity than no activity. This zone will bath your body in oxygen and carb rich blood while helping to remove metabolic waste from the muscles
-Easy distance- like it says easy rides. Use this for base miles
-Endurance- Like easy distance but longer. Helps build aerobic conditioning
-Intervals- Hard efforts on the flats, hills or even into the wind keeping your HEART RATE around 90%. Do these as often and as frequently as possible. You can never get enough of these efforts
-Sprinting- Like intervals but let it all out and don't worry about heart rate. If you die or suffer from a heart attack, you know you are doing it right!

My winter ride on Saturday was 30 miles, long very hilly, and I would consider it a ZONE 3 ride. Long distance at an easy pace. For 30 miles it took me just 4 hours 4 min and 16 seconds. There was a pretty stiff wind which slowed me down some, but overall it was a good solid ride. Rides like this keep you in shape through the winter and help make sure you come out strong in the spring. Since I am training for 3-4 hour races, 30 mile rides at this pace are just what I need.