Turbo boost
So tonight is the first turbo training session of the year. As I mentioned yesterday a turbo trainer is a device you attach to your bike to magically transform it into an exercise bike.
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Like most things in life there are some major advantages to riding your bike on the turbo trainer and some major disadvantages. Let's start with the advantages.
For a start you don't have to go anywhere. So even on the days when a trip to the gym seems too much you can get the turbo trainer out. It's pouring with rain outside? You can get the turbo trainer out.
It's a bit too windy? You can get the turbo trainer out. You're upset because someone laughed at your lycra cycling gear last week? You can get the turbo trainer out.
Independence Day is on Channel 5 again but you've got a race just around the corner? You can get the turbo trainer out.
However there are some disadvantages. Mainly, like the treadmill, it's incredibly boring. Obviously there are ways to counteract this. As you are in the comfort of your own home you can set it up in front of the TV and enjoy Homes Under The Hammer while you pedal away.
However as Mrs Trihard has banned any such activity from the lounge I tend to set it up in the conservatory among Toddler Trihard's toys and watch DVDs on my laptop. That's right DVD's. None of this newfangled Netflix malarkey for me, I like to keep it old school.
However the other problem of turbo training is it can get incredibly uncomfortable. Half an hour on the stationery bike can feel to your backside like you've done the entire Tour de France, without any of Lance Armstrong's buttock numbing medicine - I think that's what he used the drugs for isn't it?
Anyway to minimise this cheeky issue I bought a new saddle and some rather expensive cycling shorts but it still takes its toll on the posterior.
Another side effect of cycling indoors is the amount of sweat you produce. Unfortunately the corrosive nature of sweat means it can damage your bike. It's a good idea to keep a towel close at hand and perhaps maybe invest in this sexy little number - a bike thong.
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Not only does this protect the bike from sweat but there are some handy pockets to keep your remote control, sweeties, whiskey and a distress flare in case you get lost on your cycle.
Another handy bit of equipment is the bike riser. As the turbo trainer raises the rear wheel up it can make it even more unfomfortable on the saddle because you are pushed forward more than you would be out on the road.
Obviously this is where some of the big heavy textbooks, such as The Triathlete's Training Bible and the Lore of Running, can get most of their use but a bike riser does equally as well at lifting the front wheel so the bike is level.
.jpg)
So I'll be loading up the car later tonight to cycle for a good 45 minutes and get all sweaty with my fellow club members without actually going anywhere. While I tried to do a couple of sessions a week at home last year this will be the first time I've actually done a club session so I'm sure I'll discover that I've been doing it all wrong.
.jpg)
Like most things in life there are some major advantages to riding your bike on the turbo trainer and some major disadvantages. Let's start with the advantages.
For a start you don't have to go anywhere. So even on the days when a trip to the gym seems too much you can get the turbo trainer out. It's pouring with rain outside? You can get the turbo trainer out.
It's a bit too windy? You can get the turbo trainer out. You're upset because someone laughed at your lycra cycling gear last week? You can get the turbo trainer out.
Independence Day is on Channel 5 again but you've got a race just around the corner? You can get the turbo trainer out.
However there are some disadvantages. Mainly, like the treadmill, it's incredibly boring. Obviously there are ways to counteract this. As you are in the comfort of your own home you can set it up in front of the TV and enjoy Homes Under The Hammer while you pedal away.
However as Mrs Trihard has banned any such activity from the lounge I tend to set it up in the conservatory among Toddler Trihard's toys and watch DVDs on my laptop. That's right DVD's. None of this newfangled Netflix malarkey for me, I like to keep it old school.
However the other problem of turbo training is it can get incredibly uncomfortable. Half an hour on the stationery bike can feel to your backside like you've done the entire Tour de France, without any of Lance Armstrong's buttock numbing medicine - I think that's what he used the drugs for isn't it?
Anyway to minimise this cheeky issue I bought a new saddle and some rather expensive cycling shorts but it still takes its toll on the posterior.
Another side effect of cycling indoors is the amount of sweat you produce. Unfortunately the corrosive nature of sweat means it can damage your bike. It's a good idea to keep a towel close at hand and perhaps maybe invest in this sexy little number - a bike thong.
.JPG)
Not only does this protect the bike from sweat but there are some handy pockets to keep your remote control, sweeties, whiskey and a distress flare in case you get lost on your cycle.
Another handy bit of equipment is the bike riser. As the turbo trainer raises the rear wheel up it can make it even more unfomfortable on the saddle because you are pushed forward more than you would be out on the road.
Obviously this is where some of the big heavy textbooks, such as The Triathlete's Training Bible and the Lore of Running, can get most of their use but a bike riser does equally as well at lifting the front wheel so the bike is level.
.jpg)
So I'll be loading up the car later tonight to cycle for a good 45 minutes and get all sweaty with my fellow club members without actually going anywhere. While I tried to do a couple of sessions a week at home last year this will be the first time I've actually done a club session so I'm sure I'll discover that I've been doing it all wrong.
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