I wake up at dawn to the expected reality of freezing rain and all around us--walkways, lawn, and road--a solid sheet of ice. Icicles hang from the gutters and from the fence, thin knives of ice, slowly growing in the misting freeze of rain. As I view the frigid December dawn, I smile and decide it's a perfect time to ride my bicycle--my indoor exercise bicycle, that is, a
Wahoo Kickr Shift smart exercise bicycle.
Concerned about the lack of opportunity to exercise during the winter, I had originally considered buying a membership at the local gym. There I could walk the indoor track, lift weights, and exercise on a variety of machines. However, I still would have to dress and go outdoors to get to the gym. My wife and I decided to invest in a treadmill . . . and then the salesman at the shop said, "There's something else I'd like to show you, since I know you like to bike." And, of course, ka-ching, I am now the proud owner of a smart bike, a "smart bike" being a bicycle than can be linked to a cycling app that simulates elevation changes (necessitating shifting) and different environments, such as beach, mountain, or city rides.
I ride alone in my room, but I also ride with dozens of other riders from all around the world. My first experience on riding with other virtual riders was having a rider from Germany (a little German flag beside the rider's name), pass me in a flash and say a short string of German, ending with the word "grandpa." I only understood the
grandpa part, but I'm hoping the rider said, "Don't give up, grandpa!" rather than "Get off the road, grandpa!" Almost all the riders are much faster than I am, but I keep myself undiscouraged by maintaining the fantasy that all the riders are half a century younger than I am.
Zwift allows me to engage in rides in different environments with different levels of difficulty. Not all rides are available to me--some are too difficult. I guess I have to prove I can do them, which is nice actually, so I don't engage in rides that are overwhelming. So far I've ridden through London, Richmond (Virginia, I think?), and on various rides through Watopia, which is a fictional land with Mayan ruins, volcano rides, and rides through desert, forest, along the ocean, and through mountains. I find the visuals, sounds, and the need to shift keeps me occupied. Also, riding with others is fun. I try sometimes to keep up and pace with other riders. Also, sometimes I've also turned on the TV and streamed a movie or show. These possibilities are much more fun than just staring at a wall.
I hope to end the winter in much better shape than usual by being able to bicycle regularly without having to worry about falling on slippery roads and breaking a bone. I've also made myself a promise that if in the afternoon I want to watch a little TV, I'll watch it while walking on the treadmill. When good weather arrives in the spring, I plan at this time to cancel my Zwift membership and just ride my real bike on real roads and trails here in SE Iowa. We'll see, though. I might still want to get some concentrated exercise on the indoor smart bike. Right now, though, all I have to do is ride, no matter what the weather. Not such a bad thing, hmmm?
0 comments:
Post a Comment