Posted On Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 By David Veatch
I’ve gotten pretty good at the rollers*. Every day I ride a little longer and a little harder. There’s no doubt that it’s good preparation, even if it’s neither ideal, nor as enjoyable as actual outdoor riding. Still, I miss my new bike. It’s hanging on the wall in the little bike alcove I made last year, and hasn’t seen any action in weeks. I console it every day as I pass by, knowing that at my approach, it’s gears start to vibrate and it’s chain starts to glisten, but I continue on my way, and it’s left hanging. Poor thing. I’m a bad bikefriend. But it’s just too cold out for me. I proved I could do it last year, and realized that it just wasn’t any fun at all. Furthermore, I don’t have any way to have a car both at work and at home when I commute by bike these days. I could feasibly stop with the wussing, and deal with the cold, but the logistics of needing a car here and there, and only having the one for both places are, at least for the moment, prohibitively difficult to overcome. When it warms up, I may more »
Posted On Monday, January 19th, 2009 By David Veatch
I rode for a little over an hour this afternoon, with a single break around the 34 minute mark. That’s my best so far in terms of roller endurance. I’ve not been able to go over 30 minutes before, and that only once. Prior to that, I had to break after 20 minutes on a good day, or 10 to 15 minutes on an average day. The secret? Motivation. For me, I use two primary forms of motivation, also known as "distractions." The first is television. Like The Fat Cyclist, I will typically throw in a couple episodes of my favorite-show-of-the-month and ride while the plot thickens and the bike goes nowhere. The second is music. Today, this is the motivation/distraction method I used, and at least today, it worked better for me. First, I chose exciting tunes out of my music library with tempos between 85 and 105bpm (determined using MixMeister BPM Analyzer), and set them up on a Nano playlist so that they started off slowish at 85bpm, slowly sped up to 105bpm, and then relaxed back down to an easy 85bpm. Setting them up this way allowed me to easily maintain my own rpm, as it is more »
Posted On Monday, January 5th, 2009 By David Veatch
Last year, my focus was on getting as many miles in as I could. I had twin goals of increased fitness and minimizing the use of my car, at least insofar as getting to and from work. This year, I’m simplifying a bit. Both life at work and life at home have changed, and I’m in a position where I have need of my car during the day while at work, and during the evenings while at home. That makes it difficult some days to ride in. I’m the first to admit that the frigid temperatures have something to do with it. As I said, I just don’t care for riding in the cold. Moreover, I’m still fighting a very persistent and frustrating low grade sinus infection, which I don’t want to exacerbate through exposure. However, I’m going to maintain my goal of increased fitness. That has always been my primary goal, and was why I started commuting by bike to begin with. So.. this morning was the beginning of something a little different. Since I won’t be/can’t be riding my bike to work every day, on those days I don’t ride on the streets, I’ll roll. You may recall more »
Posted On Monday, December 22nd, 2008 By David Veatch
After having seen the video today of duder mounting and dismounting the E-Motion Rollers, I decided that I was tired of having to rely on walls to balance myself when I, myself, mounted the rollers. I decided I was tired of having to use a crutch to get started on my indoor workouts. I decided that I was tired of requiring assistance in order to get the aluminum drums rolling and my wheels flying on them. I decided that I was going to learn how to ride them alone. Without aid. Without hesitation And without fear. And on my own. Imagining myself mounting the rollers as effortlessly and naturally as the honorable man in the video, I set about slowly and patiently. I took heed to his example and first mastered the initial spin. I spun the wheels and balanced the bike until the rollers stopped and the bike threatened to fall. I did this until I could perform the maneuver as easily as switching from G to C in the first position. Then, just as slowly, and just as patiently, I began to move my left foot to the pedal. Not to clip in, no, but only to increase more »
Posted On Monday, December 22nd, 2008 By David Veatch
So, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s pretty cold. It’s been in the single digits for a while now, and in case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m not a fan of riding in the cold. My excuse the last week or so has been b/c I’ve been sick with a minor upper respiratory tract infection. My excuse this week is that it’s Christmas week, and as such, is pretty hectic. My excuse next week will be b/c it’s New Years, and I’ll be very tired because of it. I know, those are excuses, not reasons. After all is said and done, the truth is if I wanted to, I’d find a way. But unlike others, I’ve had to face the cold (ha!) harsh reality that riding in the sub-zero cold is too harsh for me. I won’t whine about why it’s too harsh for me, suffice to say that for daily outings, it just is. Riding should be fun. Riding in tear-freezing temperatures, at least for me, isn’t. That’s my burden to bear, and I bear it without shame. But that leaves me with a problem. I do love to ride, and I love the benefits of riding. I’m healthier more »
Posted On Friday, June 6th, 2008 By David Veatch
It’s been an incredibly slow week for riding. I drove, for a variety of reasons, three entire times this week. This is the first week since February that I’ve driven more than ridden in a given week. I think I just really needed a bit of a break. That, and having all but made up my mind to go from an old mountain bike commuter to a roady commuter makes getting on the Kona a little less joyous in the mornings. I really yearn for the feel of a roady again. Quite a lot, actually. Given the rain, I may or may not make it out this weekend for a long ride. If I don’t, I’ll substitute miles for quality roller workouts. I may not get the miles in, but the concentrated effort will be just as good in terms of preparation and training. Just because it’s not as impressive on paper doesn’t mean it’s not as effective.
Posted On Saturday, May 24th, 2008 By David Veatch
… again. So it looks like I won’t be getting out for a long ride today. It’s rollers again in front of the television.
Posted On Monday, May 12th, 2008 By David Veatch
A cool 40°F kicked off the 2008 Bike to Work Week work week this morning. There are various activities set aside for the week, but my schedule is going to keep my from doing… well, any of them, really. The Commuter Convoy that others are having great success with was a bust for me (and others) this morning. I arrived at the Walmart parking lot at about 06:05 this morning and hung out until 06:15. No one showed, so I took off. On Quivira at around Monrovia, I passed the news crew that interviewed Noah. They didn’t even raise their heads for a lone cyclist not part of a convoy. I guess that’s not news. This weekend was similarly news unworthy. With the rain on Saturday and the wind on Sunday, I stayed indoors and watched much of the television with the GF. I did get on the rollers for an hour or so on Sunday, pulling the equivalent of about 20 miles. It’s a shame really, the rollers marked the first time the new Edge 705 met the Torelli, and the maiden voyage of the new Triple cranks. They work, at least on the rollers, like a champ. I more »
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Posted On Monday, April 28th, 2008 By David Veatch
Yet another weekend has come and gone with little in the way of riding. At this rate, I won’t even make it up the first pass. Saturday was about cleaning the house, putting stuff out to the curb for the bi-annual free trash pickup day, and relaxing in front of the television. The GF was amazed at how many people drove around the neighborhood with trucks and trailers waiting to see what people would put out on their lawn. It’s dumpster diving on steroids. We had a spare mattress and box spring that we had no use and no room for. They were nice, but they were the least of what we had, and they were taking up room we needed for other things. Out to the front lawn they went, and maybe 30 minutes later, they were strapped to the top of a van, on their way to a good home. I love free trash pick up day. I did get on the rollers for about 50 minutes on Sunday. Laid them out in front of the television and rolled to a BtVS episode. Hush, to be exact. It wasn’t an epic ride, by any means, but it got more »
Posted On Monday, January 8th, 2007 By David Veatch
Assuming that tax season doesn’t hurt as bad as I fear it will, I’m thinking about turning the spare bedroom into a small home gym of sorts. Populating said gym could be the following: The Weider Max The Kreitler Challenger Rollers with Forkstand, Flywheel and Killer Headwind attachments. Anyone out there have any thoughts on those? I’ve been reading reviews all over the place online and haven’t seen anything to rule out these two. It terms of price for value, they seem like a pretty good deal, with all of the above coming in for less than $1,200. I’d rather go with something like the Max vs. free weights for a variety of reasons including price, safety and space available. I’d rather go with the Kreitler rollers vs. a fluid or mag trainer b/c it trains not only the endurance, but the balance as well, and from all accounts the headwind and flywheel attachments make for a very realistic road-like experience. I can expect some adjustment time as I get used to it, but once I’m there, I should be golden for a long time. I’m leaning towards a home gym setup vs. continued gym membership for convenience, long term more »