DnvrFox

We now have 30 folks in the Trainer Support Group!

Please join us.

Group name: BicycleTrainerSupport

Group home page: https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BicycleTrainerSupport

Group email address: BicycleTrainerSupport@yahoogroups.com

RonH

I sure am. Here's my "trainer". It gets me to work 4-5 days a week. Riding indoors on a trainer is SO BORING that I'll tough it out and ride to work through the winter - I hope .

Velo Dog

Trying not to, though I'll probably hop on occasionally later in the year. I'd much rather ride outdoors in 25-degree weather than use the trainer in my living room, and normally I do. Our average winter day around here is probably in the high 20s to mid-30s, which isn't bad for cycling. I wear about the same clothes I would for cross-country skiing, and it works fine.
Tough when it snows, though. We don't normally get more than a few inches at a time, and it melts in a day or two. Last year we had a three-foot snowfall on New Year's Eve, then two months of cold weather, so it didn't melt off. I had snow in my yard into March, which is really unusual here. I don't know how people from Buffalo stand it. I HATED that trainer by the time winter was over....

stapfam

Trainers are not for me, but this winter I will be hoping to get out on the Bike midweek. If I can't- it will be down to the Gym for another spinning class. Do spinning bikes act as trainers?

Then I am fortunate in that I can leave my family alone. In fact, if I do not get out riding or down the gym, they start nagging me to get out from under their feet

DnvrFox

I have invited folks from three different forums (Bike Journals, BFN, Rec.bicycles.misc) to see if there was any interest in a "Trainer Support Group."

If there was interest, my thought was to have a place to record hours or miles or whatever, discuss motivation and concerns, equipment (if desired) and whatever.

So far, no specific interest from either BFN or Rec.bicycles.misc, some from Bike Journal.

This may be an idea whose time has gone.

Anyway, I did my 45 minutes this morning using the Spinervals "Clydesdale" video, plus another 40 minutes at the gym on the stair stepper and the treadmill.

So far, most remarksl I get are remarks like "Well, I ride in the snow and don't need a trainer" - mostly folks patting themselves on the back and bragging a bit, which sort of misses the point.

And spinning counts.

GrannyGear

Dnvr....good to see your name popping back in here. Early dark has begun limiting my miles and will soon extinguish weekday rides. I'd like to join in....don't have many resources out in the garage for "boredom alleviation" but a new routine is always welcome. Let me (us) know where we're meeting and I'll join in.

As I do others here, I admire you and your wife's dedication to one another and to pursuing LIFE (isn't cycling a great metaphor for many aspects of LIFE?) no matter what.
David.

tom cotter

We still have very bikable weather here on the coastal plain of New Jersey. But I'm starting to go thru my annual buy a trainer go to the gym schizo mind game. I hate the gym buttttt, it works for me. We'll see. A trainer group is a great idea.

webist

Haven't moved indoors yet but it is getting chillier and darker in the early AM. I'd probably check in on a trainer forum once in a while.

DnvrFox

Okay, I am going to post an announcement over in T&N.

However, I imagine it will get swacked (is there such a word) almost immediately under the guise of "We don't allow duplicate posts on BFN" or whatever other reasoning they can come up with to defeat a new idea, of which the main point will likely be missed!

Sigh!

Well, I will give it a shot.

Want to take bets on how long the post will last?

DnvrFox

Here it is. Please post to join.



Group name: BicycleTrainerSupport

Group home page: https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BicycleTrainerSupport

Group email address: BicycleTrainerSupport@yahoogroups.com

Dchiefransom

My arthroscopic knee surgery was yesterday, so I'll be hooking the new 'bent up on the trainer soon so I can do some of my physical therapy at home. I don't use my trainer enough, but will this winter to get better for next year. I'm more of a "nice weather" rider though, so I'm not out in the coold rain that much, even though I occasionally do it.

Edit: I just joined the Yahoo Group. It also has a "Chat" feature, and from prior experience, people with microphones on their computer can chat verbally on Yahoo.

Gus Riley

I'm not using one yet. Unlike Denver, we have no snow yet. Just a bit of wind and rain. It still isn't even cold here yet. In about a month I'll be in the basement.

mollusk

Never had the need for a trainer. The coldest I have ever ridden in around Gainesville, Florida was 17 F and whenever it gets that cold it is dry and the roads are fine. I'm actually looking forward to the cold weather so I can get out my wool jerseys and wool tights. Even when I lived in Champaign, IL in the late 70's/early 80's I would commute by bike all winter unless the roads had too much snow for a road bike. I do have an exercycle that I will ride on occasion during the college basketball season. I watch the games on TV while I ride.

Trsnrtr

This is the first winter since I retired and I'm hoping to be able to ride out enough to stay off of the trainer. I can't stop the snow or Arctic cold though.

Trsnrtr

How about those winter winds out on the prairie around Champaign? They could be a little daunting if you got out of town.

DnvrFox

We now have 6 (nope - 7) folks in the Trainer Support Group, which is enough for a starting group.

Please join us.

Group name: BicycleTrainerSupport

Group home page: https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BicycleTrainerSupport

Group email address: BicycleTrainerSupport@yahoogroups.com

cruzMOKS

How much do you lose by not riding at all for 30 or 60 days?

Does cross training help? Before bicycling, I would jump on a rebounder when I couldn’t
get outside to hike.

If you are inactive for 30 days, how many days on average would it take to get back to
where you were?

I have been bicycling for about 60 days, so I don’t really know what I will do this winter.
Yesterday I commuted to work for the first time. I plan of doing more commuting as the
hours of daylight shorten. 9 miles round trip at one job site. Another job site would be
about 20 miles round trip.

RockyMtnMerlin

Well, up here at 7200 feet and with windy winter weather, I have to use a trainer. Even when viewing taped bike races, i still find it nearly unbearably boring. I do enough to maintain fitness. I ride outdoors whenever I can, but DEC - FEB that is not very often.

RockyMtnMerlin

[QUOTE=cruzMOKS]How much do you lose by not riding at all for 30 or 60 days?
QUOTE]
Depending on a bunch of factors, you'll get a bunch of answers. But the concensus is that 30-60 days in a row (especially at our age range) really lowers your riding power and stamina. Not to mention that your butt might hurt when you get back on the bike. That's why many of us resort to the torture of riding a trainer if we can't get out on the road.

Trsnrtr

My wife and I are both avid riders but my wife's job (school principal) really affects her riding come September. As a result, she's lucky to ride once a week and often not for two or three weeks. I took her out on our tandem last Saturday and I thought I had an anchor back there. She had lost an immense amount of ability since the first of September. Luckily, she is very athletic and seems to come back fast in the Spring.

Bottom line, the losses in ability can be very substantial.

-Dennis

DnvrFox

We now have 11 participants, which is DEFINITELY a GROUP.

Join us

Group home page:


https://groups.yahoo.com/group/BicycleTrainerSupport


Group email address:


BicycleTrainerSupport@yahoogroups.com


BicycleTrainerSupport at yahoogroups.com

berts

i use an elliptical which seems to be good for out of the saddle riding. although the weather here permits virtually year round riding (in fact winter is better than summer) i am considering the purchase of rollers, as opposed to trainer. Anyone have experience with both?

GrannyGear

Yes. There is a deep 6" gouge in my hallway drywall where I shot off my rollers. Rollers seem best for developing a smooth spin and balance (you damn sure better! LOL) while a resistance trainer does what the name says....gives you more of a head down and crank experience--or a light, easy "keep the legs loose" experience if you choose. [Some people's idea of a workout is hummingbird spinning at 120 into anaerobic bliss...which you can do on rollers.] Personally, I'd go for a resistance trainer for general conditioning; I think there is a feeling of grace as you power spin on rollers....I never quite got there.

Digital Gee

Here's the trainer I'd like as winter approaches:

She's single, attractive and fit. She's knowledgeable about nutrition and physical fitness. She's inspiring and motivational. She gives me her full attention and doesn't make me feel like a number. She's absolutely devoted to helping me achieve maximum fitness. She's affordable. She comes to my place; I don't have to go to a gym to work with her. She pushes me, yes, but just enough. I could go on and on, but you get the point. And this is what I think of every time I see this thread. That's the kind of TRAINER I'd like as winter approaches -- or for that matter, in the Spring, Summer and Fall!

RockyMtnMerlin

You should post this over in the road cycling forum in the "When Stupidity Strikes" thread (which has some great stories). Check out the one about putting the foot in the spokes of the turning wheel ON PURPOSE .