Daily Marauder

COMPUTRAINING: BIKE RACING ON A COMPUTER SCREEN

Like Oprah, I have my list of favorite things.  Apart from the obligatory items like pedicures and Twizzlers, my bike and my computer are at the top of my list.  Especially now, as I train for the AIDS Lifecycle ride from San Francisco to LA, cycling has become the main focus of my weekend diet.  So, after biking 55 miles to Piermont in the morning, I met up with Ray and Martha at Cadence Cycle in NYC to try out a free computraining class.

Step 1

Put your bike on a trainer and hook it into a computer which automatically changes the resistance according to the selected course.

Step 2

Calibrate the bike and stare down your surrounding competition.

Step 3

The names and weights of all bikers are loaded into the computer.  In the screen above, the elevation is at the top of the screen and the columns at the bottom indicate each biker.

Step 4

Start peddling furiously and talking smack to surrounding bikers.

Along the course, a green line (towards the top of the screen in the image above) indicates a decline in elevation from the current elevation.  A red line indicates an increase.  It’s not quite like an outdoor riding looking at a hill as the change in elevation could be a big increase/decrease or slight.  The image above was taken from my iPhone.  The much better, brighter picture at the top is a stock photo.

Of course, I get seated next to Ray, ultramarathoner on my left, and overly-intense cycling dude on my right.  Regardless, it was a nice experience to spin using my own bike.  The added competition pushed me to a mph must faster than a traditional spin class.  I also enjoyed knowing that everyone was at the same resistance.  There’s always that person in every spin class who is told to turn it up ‘one full turn’ and makes a fake-out hand movement and then spins like a nut job.  You know who you are.

If you want to take a class, the first two are free. $25 per class moving forward.  Click here for more info either on the Philadelphia or NYC location.