I can't be the only one...

[Owlie]

I did half an hour on the trainer today--I put an episode of The Thin Blue Line on and just pedaled, with a break to grab water. Whew. It's a problem when you're squirting yourself with water...I had my fan on full-blast too.

I'm wondering if trainer riding means that things that are comfortable on the road aren't and vice versa. Some of the muscles immediately around my knee weren't happy (and this was at a relatively low resistance), and I'm finding that on the trainer, I'm more comfortable in the drops than I am on the hoods. On the road, it's the opposite.

Equally, though, it could be a function of fiddling with saddle position...

[Bike Chick]

I hate the trainer too and DH and I both have one set up in the basement with training DVD's, a fan, towels.......I just have to make myself go down those steps and get on the bike 2-3 times a week. It's sort of like running on a treadmill---UGH! They are both great for training when you can't get outside; better than nothing.

[Seajay]

IMO There is really no reason to be on the trainer nearly as long as on an outdoor ride.

There is no coasting, braking, downhills, stop signs curves...all those things that give you a little break throughout a ride. Try to figure out how much of your outdoor rides are ACTUALLY spent at a given level of effort. It's not the whole time.
An hour on the trainer is generally more than enough.

[featuretile]

Anyway, this morning I was thinking that it would be great if someone came up with wiring/sensors that enabled people to use the trainer with simulations (say a Wii cycling game). Found this, which is not exactly what I had in mind, but it gave some hope: http://usbrider.com/index.htm Wouldn't it be cool if a game console was able to pick up on cadence and gear changes for a game? <of course, being a bit of a luddite, I don't own any game consoles...>

That is exactly the same thing that I have been thinking! I was talking about it with my son who works as a video game programmer. Seems like it would be a giant undertaking and I wonder how many people would be interested. What would someone be willing to pay for such a system? The website you refer to is in German so......

In the meantime, I have set up a DVD viewer right in front of my bike/trainer. I was looking at the one video I have and managed to do the whole hour! But what I really want is something that makes me feel like I am in the scenery riding down the road. I have been looking at different companies that make videos, and I plan on getting some of the Bike O Vision dvd's. They seem to be just riding down the road in beautiful places like CA coast, Utah, Yosemite, etc.

I'd even prefer virtual reality glasses to go with this setup.

[LivetoRide]

Tacx trainers are set up kind of like you describe -- http://www.tacx.com/producten/vr-trainers/index.dot

[Owlie]

Tacx trainers are set up kind of like you describe -- http://www.tacx.com/producten/vr-trainers/index.dot

Anyone have a kidney they're not using? If not, perhaps a spare arm and leg?