For sure, t'is a difficult time of year to be on the trails except for the option of one day of the week, so I stoke up my fitness training at the gym. Now, I know this sounds perverted and really sad, but I've discovered a whole new thing at the gym for the spin bikes. I don't do the classes too often, but I get on the bikes 3x a week and I generally spin away like a happy hamster for about 30 minutes. I vary standing and sitting but two weeks ago I set a personal, though somewhat pointless record of doing a non-stop spin session in the standing position for 1 hour, yes, 60 minutes standing without pause!

I know this is hardly worth shouting about but these spin sessions are setting me up nicely for when the light evenings come back and I can tackle the trails again. When I did tackle a trail recently I was able to cope with the uphill section very comfortably, so that's the pay-off with more to come.

Believe me when I say that doing spin sessions alone and without an instructor to help with pace and variety and with no music to help set a tempo requires a fair bit of motivation to see it through. But on the wall opposite are some posters for Polar HRM watches and one features a cyclist being pursued by two others behind, and I put myself alongside them and I visualise myself chasing the leader down and taking him out on the Alp d'Huez.

Yeah, gyms can be boring and no substitute for a good trail but when you have no practical alternatives you can get out of a gym as much as you want if you know where to look for it...

Merry Christmas all.

Peter.