Me and My Trainer

At the end of December I went to Costco and I bought myself a trainer. For those of you in the multiverse that are not familiar with all things cycling, a trainer is a heavy, expensive gadget that allows you to take your "real" bike and turn it into a stationary bike. The purpose of doing this is so on cold, dark, rainy January evenings I can ride my bike while watching episodes of Alien Nation on DVD. In other words-- NO EXCUSES!!!

Sidebar: In posts related to cycling, I'm sure I'll be talking a lot about 3 cyclists in particular: Tony, Carlos, and James. I'll introduce them eventually, but I just wanted to give readers a heads up.

I have some heavy (for me) cycling goals this year, so I needed to get started early. That's why I bought the trainer.

One thing about trainers: They are boring!!! Ask any cyclist. That's why most of the world's trainers are parked in front of big TV's. I have spent 9+ hours out there, in God's beautiful country, in the name of a bike ride. How long do I last on my trainer? 30 minutes. Pathetic isn't it?

Tony recommended to me some items that would help me ride my bike in inclimate weather. Good advice, it really is, but I don't see myself going out there. I'm just not hardcore. Insane, yes, hardcore, no. I'll leave that to all the Lance-like cyclists out there like Tony and James. I'd rather spend 30 minutes spinning to nowhere brushing up on my Tenctonese.

There is a downside to all this trainer business, it really messes up the tires. My rear tire is developing a flat strip where it comes in contact to the roller. The trainer instructions should have warned me about it. I emailed Tony in a panic thinking I was doing something horribly wrong, but he was kind enough to set me straight on that. Thanks Tony!

I'm up to 30 minutes at a time, 4 days a week. There is room to improve, but I'm please with those numbers. For the beginning of my training season I use this formula: If X>0, then X= all good. (^ ^)

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