Riding the CompuTrainer

One of the problems is always how to maintain cycling fitness during the winter months. Living in Virgina, I was able to pretty much ride year round. Sure, you would lose weekends to bad weather, but you could always get some miles in every month. In Wisconsin during the winter though, riding outdoors is not an option. I plan to resume cross country skiing this winter, but it would still be nice to get some cycling specific training in.

The Recyclist bike shop here in Appleton may have the answer. They have 3 CompuTrainers set up that you can use on an hourly basis for $8 an hour. You can also buy a 10 pack pass for $70. This link has all the details.

http://www.bicycledealer.net/indoorcycling.html

For those unfamiliar with a CompuTrainer, its a cycling trainer that is hooked up to the computer. The computer will change the resistance of the trainer based on the course you ride, so if you are going uphill, resistance will be harder and downhill resistance will be less. It also includes computer graphics that display on a monitor (or at the Recyclist, that they project onto a wall) so you see a little bit of the course you are riding. The trainer has a power meter in it, so you get instantaneous and average watts. You can ride against a friend on the CompuTrainer next to you or against a computer generated "pacer" who will ride at a constant wattage throughout the course. There are over 400 courses to choose from, everything from dead flats to rollers to climbing workouts. With these features, the CompuTrainer tries to overcome the limitations on indoor cycling--namely boredom and repetition. Anyone reading this who has ridden on a standard trainer for 30 minutes knows what I am talking about. But with the power meter and software to analyze your pedal stroke, they also provide a tool that can help you work on weaknesses--and who doesn't have weaknesses that they can't improve.

I had heard of the CompuTrainer before, but never ridden on one. And at $1600 to purchase my own, it was going to stay that way until I found this option at the Recyclist. So I made an appointment for Friday and headed over with the bike in the back of the car.

You want to arrive about 15 minutes early to get your bike set up. The first thing they do is calibrate your resistance on the trainer. Then they enter your information into the computer--your name, your weight including the bike and the average watts you want your pacer to ride at. From there, you select your course and you are off. The guys at the shop suggested a course called the Death Valley something or other, 15 miles of what looked like a rolling profile (or so they thought).

Let me tell you, it was HARD!. Several sections with grades of 13% and long sections of grades over 10% (the CompuTrainer tells you on screen what the simulated grade is). There were two hills, and when I got to the top of the first simulated hill, I was wasted. I recovered on the downhill and fought my way up the second. For the ride, my average watts turned out to be 175. Not sure if this is good or bad--but its where I'm at. I can ride this exact same course a month from now and tell if I improved. At the end of the ride, my jersey was soaked. They do have a fan blowing and towels, of which a couple were soaked too. It was a hard intensity workout. Not exactly what I was intending to do, but good in the sense that I had to work at it.

I think the intensity of the workout falls into the positive category for the CompuTrainer. In Appleton, we don't have long hard climbs like the simulated ones I was climbing. But the CompuTrainer forced me to climb those. Also, I can use the CompuTrainer in the winter to get in that hard workout once a week, so I can maintain some power through the winter. Riding the CompuTrainer isn't as good as being outside, but its better than the stationary bike or riding a normal trainer. Better than a stationary bike because you are riding your bike in the position you are normally riding in. Better than a trainer because there are some graphics to look at and because it will automatically adjust resistance throughout the course. Not as good as a real ride because nothing can compete with real scenery and because you don't have to worry about bike handling. But on Friday night when its 40 degrees and raining, it sure beats being outside and it beats riding the couch.

One of the most promising aspects of the CompuTrainer is the Real Course Videos they have released. Instead of computer generated graphics, these are actual videos of Ironman bike courses. This would make the CompuTrainer ride even more interesting because now you are looking at real scenery. I'll need to inquire at Recyclist if they have these available (they are a CompuTrainer dealer, so they may get them at a discount or included with their setup). If not, I may have to try to talk them into splitting the cost with me. Riding an actual Ironman course with actual video of the course--then I could see myself going in on a snowy Saturday and doing 50 miles. That would be great for maintaining on bike endurance through the winter.

So all in all, I'll be back, probably on Monday, toiling away on the CompuTrainer. I'm starting to put together my 2009 cycling goals, and they will include some long distance events. I'll need a strong base for that, and I'm sure the CompuTrainer will be a big part of that base.