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| Photograph: Getty Images via The Guardian |
Today I should have gone to Pilates. Local bus services to the nearest town with a proper Stott Pilates studio are rubbish, so I cycle instead: 6 miles there and 6 miles back.
I woke up this morning feeling a bit under the weather. Literally not just metaphorically as it happens, but more on that in a moment. I stumbled bleary-eyed downstairs in time to see Adam off to work but then crawled back into bed and slept another two hours.
Cue an hour sitting on the sofa with a sleeping cat on my lap, watching the rain falling steadily on our backyard patio. Hmmm. The idea of getting up and suiting up for a really wet cycle ride just didn't appeal.
.... Then the rain changed to sleet. The noise against the patio doors was incredible.
Then the noise stopped. I looked out again.... only to see big fat sloppy sloshy snowflakes falling amidst the rain drops. No chance of it settling (or 'sticking' as we say back where I come from) but the trees were swaying in a moderate breeze (~10mph).
Cycling outdoors lost whatever appeal it had remaining.
I logged onto Facebook. The first thing my eyes landed on was a friend's comment that it was time to get out the turbo.
Hmmm, turbo.
I've had the idea of a turbo floating round the back of my mind ever since last winter, when I managed to cycle through most of the (normal) winter months but completely ran out of fortitude when March came with no sign of winter loosening its grip. No daffodils, no snowdrops, not a single ray of even weak wintry sunshine. I don't think I managed to ride more than 3 times from mid-March til the first weekend of April.
I made a number of (New Year-style) Resolutions on 1st November, one being to ride 5 days out of 7 each week. I have a fantastic new bike, all suitably equipped for winter riding. (Have I said I love these mudguards? I love these mudguards.) I want to maintain a good exercise regime through the winter and hit the spring in good shape for proper 50+ mile rides again. Maybe even be able to do a hilly 100km night ride in mid-March. For that, I need lots of "base miles" -- steady low intensity rides -- with a view to adding interval training when the days start lengthening again.
I did well the first two weeks of the month, but this past week I managed 2 days only. The omens are not good.
So. Is getting a turbo the answer?
I've been on a turbo several times before, with a physiotherapist or bike fitter in attendance. I think I could live with it. But I'm worried I'd get bored quite quickly, as I don't do TV or videos.
The other option is to get rollers. Riding rollers requires full-on concentration but are said to improve balance, core strength and improved technique, especially in developing a smooth pedal stroke at higher cadences. I would love to use an indoor training method that improves core strength in cycling-targetted ways (beyond what I do with Pilates) and could definitely stand to develop better bike skills! So there's merit, right there, in getting rollers instead of a turbo.
But I feel quite intimidated by rollers. All the cycling 'wisdom' says they can be difficult to learn how to use and you should expect to fall -- and fall a lot -- when first starting out. I already know that I'm somewhat balance-challenged. If anybody's going to fall over, it's going to be me! I've got experience with this which tells me that mentally I can cope with a few falls. But physically, I'm prone to injury and know my body can't take fall after fall after fall. At what point is getting battered and bruised from falling off rollers not worth it if it makes me miss out on an outdoor ride when the sun does decide to briefly show its face?
Now if the Met Office could guarantee a full 2-week period of unrelenting gloom and doom, then I'd have an ideal "learn how to use rollers and recover from it" window!
So at the moment I'm mired in anxiety and indecision and would welcome views, feedback and/or advice from readers.
Do you use rollers?
If you fell a lot at first, what helped you get past that stage and keep using your rollers?
What benefits do you get out of them?
Will you keep using them?
(And.... do you also have a turbo?)
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