This past week brought a weather report wrought with snow, freezing rain, and temps that culminated in a delightful mess.  It had me, there was no way I would be able to ride my bike to work let alone my jaunt southeast of town along the lush farmland.  It was cold, miserable and unsafe.  I can take cold weather, I’ll even grumble my way through the wind, but at some point you gotta call it when the vehicles are struggling to travel the roads.  Over the winter many cyclists head indoor to stay in shape, they partake of a wide range of activities that fall under indoor cycling so they’ll be ready to ride when the weather allows.  I suppose the stars were aligned or perhaps I was on the ropes, either way our Plant Manager, Bobby seized the opportunity to encourage me once again to try out the indoor cycling that was underway at Cycle Therapy in Twin Falls.  As many will attest, there are a lot of thoughts that keep you from trying something new, and when you finally give it go, many of those thoughts turn out to be just plain ludicrous.

Questions, questions, questions?

I don’t want to embarrass myself and so I have a lot of questions whenever trying something new.  If you can find people you can trust to give you the proper details, you just might try anything, once.  If your buddy tells you to bring your helmet to indoor cycling, he’s not the one to trust.  My questions are all still fresh in my head so I will try to address all of them in hopes that maybe someone out there had the same questions and we can eliminate any roadblocks.  Let’s start with what to ride; in this cycling studio there is the option to bring your own bike or use a stationary cycle.  If you have a road bike, I would suggest utilizing your own bike and especially if you have been properly fit for said bike.  If you are trying to keep in shape and train for big rides in the spring, it only makes sense to dial things in on your trusted steed.  So I decided I would attend a class, there was one being offered at 5am or another at 5:30pm.  Of course I chose the one in the evening, I’m not absolutely crazy.  People that are regular attendees actually leave their bikes on site and check-in for the classes they will attend and when they arrive, they find their bike already hooked up to the trainer and ready to go.

So after I phoned in my commitment and reserved a spot, I was instructed to roll my bike in during the afternoon so it would be ready to go for the class.  Karisha and Steve were gracious to answer a few more questions to help me feel at ease and my anxiousness was transforming to excitement, bring on the class!

Spandex or not to spandex

Do people wear cycling shorts to indoor cycling?  This had me concerned, would I commit a dreaded fashion faux pas and be labeled “that guy.”  I’m not really comfortable in those spandex shorts when other people are around, but they do serve a purpose while riding and it seems like they would be a good idea.  I deferred the question to Karisha and Steve and again their answer was accurate.  Just about everyone in the class was wearing cycling shorts, the majority wore a cycling jersey and at least two had a moisture wicking shirt.  If you ride with cycling shoes, bring them, grab your water bottle, don’t need gloves, a towel was supplied and by all means get there a few minutes early to get signed in and situated.

Are You A Wahooligan?

The Wahoo KICKR is the ultimate indoor trainer for accurate power measurement and controlled resistance, so a little overkill for my level of riding, or is it?

These trainers adapt to the individual rider and offer a great experience to all.   Although I have a fluid trainer at home which I have only used a handful of times, the KICKR is something special.   If I had a heart rate monitor and a speed sensor I could have tapped these items into the system for some workout feedback which is emailed to you at the end of your session so you can really analyze your workouts and measure your results.  Not necessary, but a certain level of rider appreciates this data and uses it to train better.  So as Steve helped us all get situated and got me signed into the computer I was at the very beginning of being impressed.

Countdown to training

Another cyclist had asked me if I usually attend the morning class and I was proud to announce to him that this was actually the first class I have been to.  I immediately informed him that I prefer to ride outdoors and I was just trying out this whole indoor thing.  He politely told me that just about everybody in the class would rather be outside riding but this what you have to do to keep your conditioning when you live in Idaho.  After seeing the technology involved, the workouts, and the session feedback, it may be incorrect to think of this as maintaining, and more accurately to realize that many riders will return stronger to the outdoors come spring.

Time to ride

I went to an aerobics class many years ago with my wife, thought it would be a good thing to do as a couple.  They told me to just follow along, it was simple.  Liars, in fact I am convinced it is the highlight of their day to see a well-intentioned husband stumble in to the class and watch him try to keep up with all the steps and movements.  I felt so out of my league I started looking for the nearest open door to escape.  I didn’t feel lost in the cycling class,

I was aboard my own bike, and the monitors in the front of the room gave clear instructions on one and the other offered up the data to keep us pushing properly in the right zones.  As the monitors in the front of the room displayed a countdown, I began to pedal and get a feel for the interaction between the program, the trainer, and my ability.  I felt very comfortable in the class, everyone was friendly, some training harder than others and all of us seemed to be content in being on our bikes.  This is actually better than I thought it would be.

Curve ball

During the workout, the left monitor surprisingly instructed us to only pedal with our right leg.  I glanced around the room, pondering the command, only to see everyone popping their left shoe out of their clips and pedaling with…only their right leg!

Oh, here’s the big surprise, I thought as I attempted to follow along.  I don’t think I’ve ever tried to pedal with one leg and it was obvious.  I’m not sure if I was pedaling or appeared to be convulsing, but it was clunky.  It took me the first couple of individual leg sets to figure out how to pedal with one leg, but I came along into a reasonable manner.  I think others heard me laughing at myself, even over the music and it didn’t take long to feel the burn hit each leg.  It was obvious that there is some training reason for this and if nothing else it sure made me  thankful for the moments when I got to return both feet to the pedals.

When does this class end?

I forgot to ask how long the class would be, it turns out it was just shy of an hour.  I felt pretty good, even though the last ten minutes seemed longer than usual and as we appeared to complete the workout graph on the program, I felt like I had a pretty decent workout.

I thought maybe this would be a one-time-try, but now I’m already thinking about my schedule and when I might be able to return.  I even felt a little sad to be rolling my bike out the door after class, even though they invited me to ride the next morning.

Who should ride?

Who should ride?  Well, you of course!  Indoor cycling of any kind is great for a wide range of people.  It’s a great way to achieve an effective cardio and strength workout that is low impact and you have the opportunity to burn several hundred calories a workout.  Remember to ask lots of questions and just be yourself riding at your level.  If you’re looking at trying out a class, just search the internet for indoor cycling studios or checkout some of the fitness products from  Wahoo.  If you’re in Twin Falls, Idaho contact Cycle Therapy in Twin Falls, classes are offered Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5am or in the evening at 5:30pm. They will allow you to try out the different options and truly help you have a great indoor cycling experience.  Now is the time to try something new and start a new adventure for your life.