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Cycling Stuff Exercise

Indoors and happy…

Wednesday is an office day.

A patient asks in a serious tone, “Hear you are a bike racer?” “Yes,” I answer. “Have you ever ridden in the Tour de France.” Pause. Huge Grin. Trying not to disappoint, I respond, “No, I started a little late in life.”

I give you this file from today’s workout.

If those 5 min efforts were 500 watts then I might be pedaling in Bordeaux in July. 350-360 watts combined with “cat-like” cx skills is usually good enough for an 80 dollar pay-out each Sunday. Since the bike costs a couple thousand there will be no cessation of doctoring.

Miserable bone aching December weather in Louisville today – rain and 41 degrees. For me, this mandates indoor training. There are those who despise the indoor trainer. They dress warm and get outside. A teammate once told me “there was no such thing as bad weather, just inadequate gear.” Tis the season that you may start seeing a gang of garbage bag clad cyclists. I call those guys friends.

A rule of thumb for this blogger is, if a garbage bag is required, I am out.
The old Litespeed is on a Computrainer (circa 1997).
A no-remote RCA TV from med school, a second TV, 2 Target fans, a stereo and an ipod equipped with Pandora.

This is not mountain biking at Brown county IN, Tsali NC or Laguna. As a cyclist and lover of the outdoors, the pleasure of riding indoors is slightly embarrassing. No stop signs, no angry motorists, a constant tension, a peace and rhythmicity all contribute to an enjoyable experience. The post workout tingling is comforting. Picture a rodent on the metal wheel just spinning on and on. Isn’t he bored? No, he is in the “zone.”
In the winter, it is a family affair…
Total cost of computrainer and stereo et al. in 1997 was about 1500 dollars. About 300 rides a year for 13 years is about 35 cents/ride.
Why is it so hard to convince the masses?
JMM