Virtual Training

I had always been interested and intrigued by the idea of the CompuTrainer. For those of us in areas where winter can interupt our riding season, countless boring hours on a trainer, can lead one into a deep depression. While I admit spin class, and videos such as those offered by Spinnervals can be fun there is still something missing.

So I purchased and have begun using the CompuTrainer, and can say nothing but wonderful things. If you have not had an experience, get to a local center or a coach who has one and give it a try. It provides an athlete with hundreds of courses from actual IronMan and USAT races. So instead of saying to yourself, I will do hill repeats, you can actually select a program. I would have loved to have ridden Wisconsin before last years race. Now I can. This morning, with snow falling in the northeast I began prep for my frist race of the season and rode the Olympic course at Columbia, Md.
Other than actual races, I was astonished by the amount of data provided to a rider. I was able to receive data on my watts, HR, speed, cadance. Plus this data can then be imported into Training Peaks and or Cycling Peaks which are two of the most popular ways to keep a log and analysis throughout the year.
To an athlete I intend to use the system to keep bench marks on progress. Unlike riding outside, all outside factors can be controlled. No stopping for cars, not traffic lights, no weather changes. This will allow us to see, how we are actually progressing. A ten mile time trial will be just that, and we will print and save the data to mark our progress and make changes accordingly.
In addition to all of these advantages, it is honestly quite fun. Though I felt like the old arcade game Paperboy sans newpapers. So, my recommedation to you is, find a bike shop, coach or fitness center with a Computrainer or similar virtual riding device and give it a try this off season.