Indoors at the V and Dime
If we liked breathing stale, recycled air, we’d all take up a sport like wrestling or indoor fly-fishing. But we love the feel of a gale on our faces. We cherish the smell of cow manure filling our nostrils with its almost tangible grittiness. We hold scared the privilege to breathe in diesel fuel while doing hill repeats up l’Alpe d’Huez.
But such whimsy is not for every day. Occasionally, we find ourselves faced with the prospect of an hour of solitude upon the wind trainer or rollers, where our sport is transformed from a glorious experience of powering ourselves along with only Nature for company to one where a ride of 30 minutes is barely tolerable, 45 seems like a lifetime wasted, and 60 minutes is more than most of us can even consider enduring. 60 minutes on the trainer at a leisurely pace or a 4 and a half hour death march up a barren, heat-riddled climb? I’ll take the 4 and half hours every time, thank you very much.
We all have to do it, and there are even some redeeming qualities to be had. You get better at Rule #5, for one. You develop a more magnificent stroke, for another. Whatever the redeeming qualities, we all have our way of coping. Jeff in PetroMetro returns with his view on how to make it suck just a little bit less.
Yours in Cycling,
Frank
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Either due to life-threatening weather or poor scheduling of life’s lesser priorities (see Rule #11), we Velominati spend a little time each year riding indoors. Whether one enjoys a ride on rollers or a trainer, and no matter if one methodically spins (as all good recovery ride specialists do), grinds out intervals, or practices ways to improve one’s magnificent stroke (scrape the mud off your shoes, scrape the mud off your shoes…), death-by-boredom is always a possibility. I’m not one to go for videos, or read books, or hook up to a computer. Call me old fashioned. I like to meditate on the V with only the voices inside my head screaming for mercy from the pain of a complete lactic acid meltdown.
Or, sometimes I like a little music.
Back in the Dark Ages, I used the yellow (sweatproof) Sony Walkman to play my favorite homemade training cassette tapes. But in our modern days of inexpensive digital storage, and with the brilliant invention of the “shuffle” command on my iPod Nano, I have some seven hours of musical motivation to keep my indoor sessions lively and loud.
I thought I might start a little conversation regarding favorite training tunes. Now, I know ALL of my fellow Velominati strictly adhere to Rule #62 when riding outside. And of course, we prefer strict adherence to Rule #9, but, as I stated above, shit happens.
While I have eclectic taste, I don’t fancy Al Green, Buck Owens, or Duke Ellington when loving a Rule #5 beatdown. No. I tack to the loud and fast. My preferences are punk and “classic rock”. (It was just rock when I first heard it.) So here’s a little flavor of my indoor training selection, in no particular order.
Hate to Say I Told You So“”The Hives””from the album “Your New Favourite Band”
Tick Tick Boom“”The Hives””from the album “The Black and White Album”
American Idiot“”Green Day””from the album “American Idiot”
The Rock Show“”Blink 182″”from the album “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket”
I Fought the Law (Live)””The Clash””from the album “The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium”
Batman Theme“”The Jam””from the album “In the City”
Communication Breakdown“”Led Zeppelin””from the album “Led Zeppelin”
The Real Me“”The Who””from the album “Quadrophenia”
Rock Around the Clock“”Ten Pole Tudor””from the album “The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle”
Of course there are many, many others. But I offer these few picks-to-click to perhaps start a little discussion and get some musical ideas for my next indoor shopping spree at the V and Dime.
A-Merckx
Noticed this morning that if I move my left hand right in to the stem when going for the bidon, it gets much less wobbly. Might work for others.
Any of you rollerminati had prblems with getting sweat on the rear roller? I’m not sure if I have but twice now I’ve come close to comming off when the rear wheel has slid out from under me alarmingly quickly. The first time was doing descending intervals and I’d just put the hammer down on the last 15 second effort. Tonight was much more unprovoked, I minding my own business in the middle of a 2 x 20 effort at a constant cadence when it went.
I haven’t experienced this but I set up my rollers in a doorway that has a pass through counter/bar on one side. This means on my left I have a counter at the perfect height for beverages and a towel. I also have a fan blowing on me. Sweat still flows, but not like a waterfall so perhaps I’ve just avoided this.
@itburns
I’ve got a big fan as part of my set up but by the time I’ve finished something like a 2 x 20 minute session, I’ll be completely soaked. I’ve got to wear a cycling cap to keep the sweat out of my eyes! Mrs Chris finds that to be ridiculously funny.
I’m set up in the kitchen with counters to my front and right so I’ve got the computer in front of me with Sufferfest films for intervals or a box set of something for the longer less intense constant efforts (all five series of The Wire at the moment) and my drinks, remote etc. to the side. We’ve got a bar stool with a back on it that provides excellent emergency support on the other side.
@Chris
10 bucks says it ain’t sweat on your rollers (think about how fast rollers rotate – water won’t stay on em for long) – most likely it is you getting a bit ropey on your bike when u get really fatigued – a good sign! Let it be said I have unintentionally dismounted more than once…
@Marcus
It’s a good point and you may well be right about the speed of the rollers shedding any moisture before it amounts to enough to cause an issue. I also suspsect that the rear rollers are too far back to be badly affected, but the reason I wondered about it being sweat was the speed at which the back wheel departed, it was definitely slipping rather than wandering and there wasn’t much in terms of leaning that might have unweighted the wheel, especially on the second occurrence, I was spinning with a surprisingly pleasant level of souplesse at the time.
I was certainly all over the place, turning squares on lumpy rollers by the end of it, though!
@Chris
Maybe take a little air out of the tires. You don’t need to worry about pinch flats, and you’ll get both more traction and more resistance.
Or maybe a film of oily residue got on the rollers somehow — you could try cleaning them with something.
@Nate
I’ll give that a go, they’re at about 120 at the moment.
Excessive nipple lube might result in oily residue…
@Chris
I bet you cleaned and lubed your drivetrain before using the bike on rollers and while training some amount of oil from the chain and cassette ended up on the rear roller.Wipe off excess of lubricant you use from the chain and cassette before riding on rollers.
@TommyTubolare
Tommy, thanks, you’re quite right I did clean and lube my drive chain the day before a roller session I will take more care to wipe of any excess before hitting the rollers next time.
@Nate @TommyTubolare
Tried letting a bit of air out didn’t like that, the bike started bobbing at high cadence. Cleaning up the roller helped so there may have been some residual lube on it.
Flatted for the second time in 7 sessions. What’s going on? I haven’t flatted since August on the road and now they’re coming in thick and fast on the rollers.
Can’t say I’ve ever flatted on the rollers. Being new to this discussion, I’ll throw my 2c in the ring.
I have the Elite parabolic rollers, with the red plastic drums. Not too noisy, and good quality. Probably not on par with the Kreitlers though.
the bad (or good thing) is being able to generate whopping amounts of static due to the plastic drums. This is bad when you go to grab your balcony railing, but good when someone walks past you at the track as you’re warming up and you can give them an insight as to your personality.
I don’t use them much as I’m level 4 of a unit building and people come out and stare. For this, I long for a stand-alone garage mancave area of my own. Ahh, to own a house in Sydney. Easier to win Le Tour, really.
@Chris
Huh, I have never flatted on my stationary trainer (100’s of hours on that thing over the last three years) or on my rollers.
Not sure why you’re having all the bad luck. Maybe it is your fate not to ride rollers? :)
Having arrived in Argentina, the Belgian chose to eschew a training ride with his teammates; staying in the garage of the team’s hotel.
“The rest opted for a ride in the rain,” Boonen explained to Het Nieuwsblad. “But then you can’t train properly; not like a session on the rollers.”
Hell, Boonen needs to HTFU and obey Rule #9, eh?
Has anyone tried incorporating Tabata intervals into their winter indoor work?
@Buck Rogers
I understand what he’s saying. Round these parts, you almost have to halve your speed in the rain. Wet oil on the roads will bring you unstuck eventually, if a rain-blinded motorist doesn’t first. Imagine if they’d all crashed and he was the only team member left because of it!
@Nate
I haven’t tried doing any of those and they do look quite useful. The problem I have with high intensity short intervals is getting up to speed smoothly on the rollers. I do a descending interval session once a week (Sufferfest’s Downward Spiral) and find that for 45 seconds or under I’m either in 50 x 11 or 50 x 12 but the last few shift have to be smooth otherwise I’d be rearranging the furniture. For the 15 second effort I usually start slightly early and because it’s the last one before the recovery I’ll hold it at max for an extra 10 seconds as I’ll have only just hit full speed.
@Chris @Rhys @Nate @Buck Rogers
granted this weekend the weather is not suitable for cycling in England (indeed, I am sure not in an hysterical overreaction, COBRA has been convened by the Prime Minister- same group will meet in an underground bunker when nuclear attack imminent/ongoing, and declared a State of National Anxiety)
Anyway, what I am going to say is, why are we not out on the roads? – unless it is less than 1C, which it rarely has been until this week, surely better to be outside? Still refusing to train indoors me
@Dr C
Are you suggesting a lack of V? Who, doctor? Me doctor? How very dare you, how very dare you!?
Apart from being spineless, I’m currently without decent lights, my last set of cheapo high lumen Chinese lights are currently only offering random, occasional flicker mode. The new set, I was informed this morning are finally en route.
Despite such set backs, I am determined to ride with my club on Sunday with the caveat that it’s not snowing (not so much that I don’t want to go riding in it but I don’t want to have Mrs Chris and the kids driving around in it if I need rescuing). I’m off to see if I can find some warmer gloves and a decent snood thing at lunch time.
@Dr C
By “England”, I realise that you are excluding the Peoples Socialist Republic of Liverpool. Here, we have crystal clear skies and only the lightest smearing of ice on the roads. The council provides potholes and ruts in order for us to gain traction in the event of skidding on ice so it’s business as usual over here. Rollers? Pah, rollers are what scouse girls put in their hair to go shopping on a Saturday afternoon.
@Nate
I have in the past but not this winter. I’m too out of shape for them to be of much use, perhaps when I’m closer to peaking I will. I love them and hate them. It’s not my favorite work out but at least it’s short. I can’t do them on the rollers since, like Chris mentioned, it takes too long to get up to speed. So I switch to the statioinary stand. Plus if your doing them right after the 4th or 5th one you should be about ready to puke.
@seemunkee
Puking on the rollers, that’s got disaster written all over it!
@heinous, @Dr C
it’s bloody cold, granted, but the snow is some sort of media fabrication, I keep reading about it but it hasn’t come yet. The roads round us a re bone dry as well so little ice.
@Dr C
I can actually get some training in while I also “watch” the kiddos while the VMH is out. Otherwise I am on the roads!
@Buck Rogers
Likewise, Mrs Chris travels abroad a fair bit which would prevent me from training if it wasn’t for my rollers.
I’m quite jealous of your Keitlers, excessive V-transfer (or excessive perspiration) has caused the plastic end cap to separate from the aluminium drum on my Minoura Action Advance Rollers.
@Chris
The Kreitlers have not let me down. They really have been worth it so far.
Yeah, my kiddos love it when I ride as they get to watch a DVD. We rarely watch TV except on weekend nights so they are on my side for riding the rollers!
@Buck Rogers
I’ll keep an eye open for a set on ebay although they’re relatively rare over here.
I only ever ride the rollers when the kids are in bed but on the last few occasions they have been complaining about the noise, suspect that was the disintegrating drum.
@Chris
How could I declare a man lacking in V, who will not cycle in the cold until it is actually snowing (ie. tomorrow and sunday) – you are as hard as a lunatic
Good luck against the Scots by the way – might be less painful to go riding the roads in the buff than sit through the Calcutta Cup tomorrow
@heinous
I imagine you will be singing “Flower of Scotland” tomorrow afternoon
@Dr C
Coming from a man who goes dinghy boating in the snow!
Anyway I have new gloves, and a nice merino snood thing so I’m invincible – don’t you love the fact that you can buy invincibility! (and if it all goes wrong, you’ll never know about it, my fingers will have fallen off and I won’t be able to type)
I love my rugby but I’m really struggling to muster up any enthusiasm for the six nations. That said a shit England team shouldn’t struggle with most of the opposition.
I thought @heinous said he was in Liverpool which would make him Irish, would it not?
@Chris
True, sorry @heinous – forgot you were one of us
“A shit England team shouldn’t struggle with most of the opposition” – indeed, it would do them no favours to struggle, when they will be soundly thrashed anyway – you are indeed a wise sage
@Chris
I tried them the other night and dragged out the fluid trainer. The full on 100% all outness did not seem like it would work for me on rollers. Hard as fuck workout, I managed 4 reps. Last night did the Downward Spiral on the rollers. Outstanding workout.
@Dr C
Unfortunately I have to “work” for a living. Also it’s hard for me to do a ride without at least one technical descent — not something I care to do in the dark.
@Nate
I just had to chime on this one. There is something very satisfying about the hum of rollers and the requisite control needed to take a drink, forward to the next song, reach for the towel, or give your junk a rest by riding no-handed for the recovery interval.
I’m using Sta-Up rollers (-anyone ever heard of them? I suspect they might be unique in the universe) Traded a Campy Record brake set for them back in 1980-something. Had to replace the belt once about ten years ago.
Plus they weigh about 30 kg: original owner must have sprung for the depleted uranium option, which makes them just about impossible to take to the track.
I’ve since bought a fluid trainer, which, admittedly, is better for resistance (2x20s etc.). And maybe this is just the nostalgia talking, but I still like rollers for tempo workouts and recovery days. It seems to make the time pass quicker because you have to pay just a bit more attention, even if subconsciously.
@marcovelo
Completely agree.
I have even had fleeting moments of La Volupte on the rollers (yeah I know, blasphemy at its best) but there is something about clipping in and just knowing that you will be headed deep into the pain cave before it is all over.
I gave up the stationary trainer two months ago now and haven’t looked back.
@marcovelo, @Buck Rogers
Totally, the whole time I was warming up for Tabatas on the stationary I was looking over at the corner wishing I was on the rollers. That was worse than the physical suffering. Re resistance, I have the 3″ Kreitlers and can get a very solid workout on them, including short intervals.
@Dr C
Aha, I see what you’ve done there, very clever but you know what I mean.
I wasn’t including Ireland amongst the teams we’d struggle with, they might be a problem. To be fair, this year I’d rather just go ride my bike…
@Nate
I have the 3″ with one flywheel. I kill myself on them and the flywheel gives acceptable spindown time as well as added resistance. Might get another flywheel on down the road. I know @Buck has the 2.25’s but he also kicks in doors and double taps bad guys so I expect a bit of craziness from him.
@Nate
Why not do your warm up on the rollers and then switch to the stationary for the tabatas?
@seemunkee
Fucking brilliant.
@Dr C, @Chris
It started snowing at about 6pm last night while I was out picking my daughter up from friends house, heavily enough to settle on the local dual carriage way. Quickly realised cycling was out off today so had a couple of beers with a mate – by midnight we couldn’t get down the drive on mountain bikes or BMXs.
@Chris
Looks pretty hateful over with you, stay safe, should clear soon I hope
And England won, and the Irish lost – severe helpings of humble pie for pudding tonight for me!
@Dr C
It was pretty cool, we don’t get snow like that, ever, so the kids had a great time sledging. It’ll take a few days to go but the roads are fine now.
Indoors-at-the-V-and-dime, Jen’s style!
How I Survive Winter and Keep Training, by Jens Voigt
Indoors-at-the-V-and-dime, Chris Hoy style!
“We’re used to working hard on the track, road and gym, week in week out, but these drills on the turbo stand alone in terms of pain. It’s a love-hate relationship that I have with these particular sessions. We only do them at certain points in the season and there’s no two ways about it – they hurt.They hurt a lot.
The thing is, you know the benefit they can bring and you know that the real returns only come when you push yourself right to the limit of your pain tolerances. After the full set of sprints which are interspersed with very short recovery times, I usually collapse into a heap on the crash mat next to the bike.
The searing pain in your legs is horrible and you begin to shutdown totally as you retreat into a dark little place for a while. You feel sick and indeed often are sick. It can get pretty messy. And every time you do it you convince yourself that you have never felt this bad before, you must be ill or something is badly wrong with you. Never again.
And then, every time, after about 15 minutes in the foetal position the mist and pain lifts and you start feeling OK, a bit groggy and your muscles ache but basically all right. So you get up and do it all again.
The strange thing is that counter-intuitively you actually suffer more as your conditioning improves. You are able to produce more power, create a greater concentration of lactate in the blood and therefore hurt yourself more. You’d think it would get easier but it most certainly doesn’t!
It’s very tough but I always feel reassured to complete such a block.”
I am obviously not trying hard enough…
@Chris
He obviously reads the Rules and pays special attention to Rule #10 with his qutoe:
“You’d think it would get easier but it most certainly doesn’t!”
Any advice on Kreitlers or any other comparative set of rollers ?? Any ?? Anyone ??
I need to pay my dues when indoors is a must.
@Vin’cenza
I’ve got Kreitlers. They are great and I enjoy riding on them. That said, the last couple months I’ve spent way more time on my wife’s cyclops trainer. After about 45 minutes on the rollers my balls fall asleep and I get scared as I like my balls and my ability to procreate. I can do three hours on the trainer and switch up positions. Yes, I can ride out of the saddle on the rollers but it doesn’t feel natural and takes too much focus. So I stick to shorter periods on the rollers to build stroke and improve smoothness.
@Vin’cenza
(1) So much better than stationary trainers — more fun and improve rather than ruin your pedalstroke
(2) why would you consider anything other than Kreitlers?
(3) get the 3″ or 2.25″ the 4.5″ diameter won’t give you enough resistance; if you are in any shape you’d easily spin out your top gear on the 4.5s. More info on chosing the right size on their website.
@Marko
Thanx for the affirmation on Kreitlers. I do need to focus on technique and may need to stay sharp(er) just to stay engaged. And I may know where there is a used set (3 or 2.25)
@Nate
Thanx as well. Can change the belt length and cylinder if I must go to 2.25 — right ??
@Nate
Agree with all the above. Go with the 2.25. I used stationary for four years and thought they were the best but this November I bought a pair of Krietlers 2.25’s and I have not gone back. At first I could not ride much past 1 hour as my nurts also would fall asleep but after about 5 rides I learned to slowly ride the rollers standing up and that really helped to keep the blood flowing and now can ride over two hours straight without problems. I just ride standing every 15 minutes for 1 to 3 minutes. Definitely would recommend krietlers!
Ditto that on the Kreitlers. My first rollers and went for the 2.25s without regret, though I am on a compact.
But aye, the nethers can suffer. Managed 2 hours last night after putting the kids to bed. Won’t be having more kids.
And yeah, the smaller ones are where it’s at. Mine are 3″ and that seems to feel closest to actually riding. Buck’s a hardass, two hours, shit. But then again, he’s got like 18 kids already so probably isn’t too worried about his nards. I also feel like the stationary allows me to stand for long periods which is better for low intensity “climb” training/core strengthening. I’ll “climb” for five-ten minutes at a time. I’m not trying to dissuade you from rollers, I love mine, just not for long trainer sessions.