Is it actually possible..............

[Flybye]

have you checked out the "Ice Bike" thread at www.bikejournal.com ?

Ah, but if you had studded tires on your winter bike (a must in your climate), you could be out not only getting a few miles, but also working the upper body and having a blast! Winter is young, get yourself some studded tires and a beater winter bike and go have fun!

I have **thought** about studded tires...... my neighbors will really think I have lost it, but I will check that out.............. I haven't been on the Ice Bike thread, but you have my curiosity peaked, I will check that out later today!

But you have to be willing to sit and spin for 2 to 3 hours at a time.

Bring it on!! I believe the playoffs are on Sunday - 8 hours of football and bike bliss

I eagerly await being able to just hop on the bike and go.

If we wait, it will come!!

Egads Flye, you have worse weather than I!!! Oh, wait, I just checked the forcast for this weekend....uh....are you sending it my way? 7F with strong winds. Another Coach Troy weekend.

The hardest part is the eyes, but I picked up some over-the-glasses safety glasses (dork, dork) that really help and don't fog up.

Hang in there...spring is coming. Keep the trainer spinning and keep looking for a day you can sneak out. The ice will go away and the temp will be warm enough and it *will* come before March. Have faith!

But, the best thing about spring is that when you hit the roads, you'll be able to do a long ride without discomfort. The trainer is a sad and distance second for training, but it does work.

I promise to keep the misery to myself, I won't send the weather your way.

How do you like coach Troy?

I had to laugh about the glasses!! Perhaps some "post cataract surgery shades" for the road??

Flybye, when's your century?

It is the first part of June. I should be able to train for it just fine, I was just thinking if it was actually possible to do all of one's training indoors, most of mine will be, but not all!!

[Thorn]

Post cataract glasses? Hmmm....yep, pretty much, except that they are clear. What can I say, once I'm moving I forget how dorky I look. But, at least I now have a better way to describe them

For me, Evil Coach Troy is good. I can't just sit and watch television. I tried movies, educational, even taped so I could fast foward commercials, but I just lose it. My best success for long duration on the trainer has been ECT (or LCD Boy). And, I can't explain why--it should be just as boring as television, shouldn't it?

Last year we were doing Aero V once a week (a little over 2 hours) and managed to hit the roads in spring at 40 miles without a hitch [Note: we're slow...so that is a 3 hour ride for us].

This year, we added the Hard Core 100 (the century dvd), but we break it into pieces. For any easier 2.5 hours we do the first half; for a harder 3 hours we do the second half. I suppose I could just do the same aerobic intervals without LCD Boy shouting at me, but I'm inherently lazy and if no one is shouting at me, I tend not to do it.

We're taking a trip to Tucson in March and one day is a metric in length. I fully believe that I'll be able to ride it without a problem. OK, maybe that is optimistic, but historically, we've done spring trips with less trainer work and managed about 90K rides by the end of the week.

I want to do a century in June as well. Time and weather will tell if it is possible. I'm holding out belief that it can be done, but, then, I'll be cheating with a week in Tucson. Sorry...

[spokewench]

I know how you feel. It is really icy here and has been forever. We are a bit warmer than you today. Probably will get around 38 high today. Right now it is 29 feels like 22. Tomorrow it is supposed to be high 28, 20-30 mph winds (YAHOO).

I trained 90% of my training on a trainer and in spin class one year for the Arizona mountain bike series. The races always start in January since we do have warm weather down south so us snowbound people have to train indoors alot or travel a lot (which I could never do). The really weird thing was that I actually won my first race of that year racing against people who should have been in prime fitness (it is southern arizona's good training time of the year in the winter.)

So, it can be done, but IT WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY! For the long slow miles, I would take breaks and watch movies. Otherwise, the rest of the time, I spent listening to really motivating music and doing lots of different kinds of intervals to spice the trainer work up. The spinning classes (2 hours) once a week really helped since there were other people there and it helps to keep you on the bike.

spoke