Decisions, Decisions…

Ride in the weather, or stay inside and spin on the trainer? This is a pretty straightforward question when it comes to the commute to work. Riding wins everytime. This is because the alternative is a long, steamy trip on a bus packed full of my closest friends and neighbours. It also means doing it all again after work, with the same neighbours. You see, the alternative is so terrible, that even riding through a dark, monsoonhurricane seems like the rational choice. I also like to follow Rule 9 religiously…

Every now and then, just to remind myself how terrible it is, I muster up the courage to ride the bus once again, hoping that it will be better. Every time that I do, I’m reminded of why I choose to ride.

— Weekend rides are a different beast though. With daylight lasting just a few hours, it can be hard to find the time to go for those long rides. It’s also pretty unappealing to put on wet gear from Friday evening and go out for a 4-hour ride on a Saturday morning. This is why the indoor trainer was invented.

So I can stay in the safe confines of my basement and hammer out some stationary miles on the trainer while breathing in recycled air, listening to gangster rap and watching old Tour de France footage. There is an entire website (much more successful than mine, I might add) that is dedicated to this torture regime. What a weekend.

But seriously. The indoor trainer alternative exists for the same reason that the bus ride exists. It is there to remind us that we should quit complaining, slap on some fenders, booties and a jacket and get outside (Rule 9 and Rule 5 should be applied in harmony here). I am almost certain that no cyclist ever fell in love with the sport while sitting on a trainer in their basement.

**Full disclosure: I probably ride the indoor trainer once a week in the Winter. I also believe it’s a pretty darn good training tool. And yes, I’ve been guilty on a few occasions of perusing Craigslist in search of a ‘gently used’ spin bike for a bargain basement price to put in my garage. Doesn’t mean I have to like it…