REEL RUNNING: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Road Bike Parts

Something for all road bike newbies... like me.

(click to enlarge)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Out of Time to train Outdoors?

Some people do not have the luxury of training outdoors on the bike. Many often cram their cycling hours on weekends to stay fit.

I am one of those aspiring cyclists. I juggle hours spent studying for my diplomate examinations, outpatient private clinic and as municipal health consultant for our locality. I will also be teaching clinical skills to Medical students in the next few weeks. Together with my mates from Team Reborn, I intend to participate in an Olympic distance Triathlon race scheduled late this year.

Due to my schedule, I do not have time to bike 1-2 hours 5x a week. Instead, I use an indoor trainer to log in bike hours. I sweat, pant and grunt indoors.

Spinning is not as easy as it looks. A strong cooling fan is needed to compensate for the lack of wind. A good motivational cycling video or any fast paced movie would help you put up with the less stimulating (actually Boring is a better term) environment. A good indoor cycling program is required.

On the other side, indoor cycling also has advantages. It is definitely safer than riding outdoors. It provides a more controlled environment for specific workouts (No street corners or traffic to ruin your workouts). It is convenient and takes less time to start the program (home training). You can do the workout at any time (night riding can be very dangerous). Because there is no wind, you do not need to be in the aero position.

One of the disadvantages of indoor cycling is sweat. It can really get messy. So I figured I'd make something to prevent sweat from dripping on the bike or the floor. This is what I made (Design from the Net). And It works! Also, spinning can be noisy. But using a disc wheel can help reduce the irritating hum. Try it!