Spinning

Last night, Kirby Girl and I went spinning at our local leisure centre. It was our first time doing spinning and it was really tough. I found it much tougher going than any cycling I've done to date. As I cycle purely for leisure, that's not terribly surprising but that does include wheezing my way through a couple of reasonably fast paced club runs (which I didn't enjoy much either).

For me to really push myself hard on a bike is akin to some sort of punishment or torture. Could it be simply because I'm a bit lazy? Maybe, but I know it displays the exercise side of cycling isn't the main reason I do it.

From about twenty minutes into the (hour long) class, I started clock watching and couldn't wait for it to finish. My wearing stupidly thinly soled shoes didn't help my cause much either as my feet were smarting away like nobody's business. Additionally, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast (the class started at 6pm), forgot to bring any fluid with me, found the toestraps on the pedals held my feet too far into them and the music comprised of a load of techno butchering of old pop songs I liked eg. A-Ha's 'Take On Me' and an Ultravox song which I can't remember right now. Oh, and Alice Cooper's 'Poison' (which I used to think was dead 'heavy metal' when I was about eleven) had a techno version of it in there too. All the classics.

Anyway, I was pleased to discover Kirby Girl enjoyed herself and got a lot more from it than I did (and didn't get the sore knee and headache I got). We've been talking about it a bit since then (we really don't get out anything like enough) and reckon we can do something similar-ish but more suited to us at home, with turbo trainers. As the class was costing us a combined £8-40GBP per session, getting another cheap turbo trainer (at about £80GBP) and making up our own exercise routines to music we actually like seems like a pretty good idea. Plus, if we actually get off our arses and read it, we could use a book we once bought to show us how to use our heart rate monitors for a bit of indoor healthiness.

Today, I was talking to a local shop proprietor about turbo trainers (as we'll be buying one from him) and he warned me they can bugger up parts of bikes if you're not careful, or so he's heard at any rate. Apparently, the usual lack of gear changing on a turbo trainer leads to individual cogs and chainwheels getting more wear than they should and can even, therefore, end up stretching/wearing chains a bit more quickly than normal road usage might. From experience, I know it's a bugger on rear tyres but I'm sure we can get round that okay.

I reckon I'll get a rusty old Peugeot road bike I once bought for the grand sum of either £10GBP or £12GBP and make it turbo trainer worthy. All it should take initially is some new bar tape, a new inner tube and a different saddle (which is fortunate as I've got a spare saddle). I can use the SPD pedals from my supposed winter bike for the time being, and an old tyre I wouldn't use on a roadworthy bike. My only worry is whether its old wheels will clamp into a turbo trainer. I might end up having to get a new rear wheel built for the purpose and, whilst I know a man who does so cheaply and well, it's still an expense I could do without. Additionally, where the hell am I going to get a hub with a quick release and a five speed (maybe six) cassette on it in this day and age? Jeez, I hope the wheel fits into the bloody turbo trainer. If it doesn't, I'll have to risk my winter bike on it (which would be a lot less hassle).

Enough of my rantings. Thanks for reading and I'll be sure to post how I get on with my prospective indoor turbo training (if that's the right name for it).