Putting in time...

There comes a time for every bike racer, where you have to put in miles, or hours, or kilometers (if that's how you roll) on a trainer or spin bike. For me, it is hours. I have spent countless hours over the years, sitting on my spin bike just killing time...easy, boring, and seemingly pointless hours.

My time usually goes something like this:

First 10 minutes...adjusting the tension on the flywheel (or gears if I have my bike on a trainer) trying to get the resistance and cadence just right.

10 min - 20 min...why is this getting harder? I haven't increased the tension (specific to my spin bike). I have documented this phenomenon. At 90 RPMs, I will be putting out 175 watts just easily spinning along, then, BAM! the watts shoot up to 215 and my heartrate goes up 15 beats. Ok, so maybe it is not BAM!, but it definitely happens. And, it is not as gradual as boiling a frog... I have determined that the steel flywheel starts to heat up and expand, therefore increasing the pressure of the pads ont the flywheel...yep, that must be it.

20 min - 21 min...determination that I'm a friggin training nerd.

21 min - 45 min...fired up about how much this one workout will help me and hurt my competition. This is accompanied by the overwhelming urge to stand up every 10 min due to pain in the sitbones or numbness in left leg...

45 min - 46 min...determination that this pain and numbness must be directly proportional to the amount I am improving.

46 min - 1.5 hours...no man's land. During this stage of the trainer/spinner ride, profuse sweating begins to occur. If the intensity is high, this sets in earlier...but hey, this blog is about LSD: long slow distance. No man's land is daydream time about past races, future races, winning future races, winning future races by large margins, winning future races by large margins over insurmountable odds, winning future races by large margins over insurmountable odds against an unbeatable opponent...Leadville against Lance or something of that sort.

1 hour 30 min - 1 hour 31 min - realization that you are starting to smell like sweaty bike clothes that have been sitting in a duffle bag for a day or two...

1 hour 31 min - 4 hours...I think my limit these days is probably close to 4 hours on a spinner, less if riding a bike on a trainer. After 1.5 hours, you need a movie. Action flicks that keep the time rolling by are my favorite. Good bike vids are also helpful...like the 2005 Tour de France or any one of the several Paris-Roubaix races (let's face it, watching Paris-Roubaix just makes you glad you are not bouncing on the cobbles at 30mph in the pooring rain). Approaching 4 hours, even while engrossed in a good movie, the stench of yourself starts to make an impact. You may find yourself smelling vinegar...the sit-bones go past pain into a sort of numbness....you can't find a comfy hand position...

4 hours or more - you start to wish you were bouncing on the cobbles at 30mph in the pooring rain...

Cheers,

Chuck