The funny thing about trainers...

The weather has actually cleared up a lot over the past few days--I've been out for a number of awesome rides both on my single-speed and my Tarmac (I converted an old Podium 2 into a single speed with bullbars for my quiet commute in the morning). But that didn't stop one of my concerned neighbors from hooking me up with a CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer (branded Trek for some odd reason).

Okay, so it wasn't actually one of my neighbors that caved. Nor was it my lovely wife (even if she caved, the budget wouldn't allow it). It was Craigslist that came to the rescue. And somebody else's wife. Apparently he wasn't using it enough and it was taking up a whole room downstairs (big house, if you ask me--trainer's a pretty small thing). He told me he wasn't sure if it worked (and I still haven't tested it) so he didn't feel like he could charge me (not the typical east coast mentality), but that I was welcome to it.

Which brings me to the funny thing about trainers. Selling trainers--like a lot of exercise equipment--is really selling an idea more than a product. A lot of people buy them with the good intention to use them, and then they never do. Or they use it once and realize that it is outrageously boring/exhausting and never manage to get their bike back onto it again. Or they use it too early in the season, then switch their rear wheel out for a ride when it warms up slightly (or even more inconvenient, just the rear tire) and never bother to switch back, and by the time they think about using their trainer they're already exhausted by the idea of having to get everything set up (whew! I'm breaking a sweat just thinking about it...) Maybe having a room dedicated to a trainer (and a spare bike for that matter) is a good idea...except that the guy who gave me this one never used it...so maybe not.

Exercising, like a lot of things we do, requires us to develop a habit (somebody told me it takes 30 days to start a habit and 1 to lose it--my experience confirms that). Habits are notoriously hard to form. As a result, a lot of exercise advice tells people to make extremely small changes to their routine to get in the recommended levels of exercise (ie. take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the grocery store instead of driving two blocks, etc.). I don't buy it. I'd be overweight for sure if that's all I did. Maybe it works for some people, but those kinds of things don't even raise my heart rate most of the time--and I'm pretty sure that's the definition of exercise.

So if you're thinking about getting a trainer, start like this: ride every morning 6 days a week (Sunday being your "day of rest"). EVERY morning. If you do that every day of the spring and summer, then get yourself a trainer and leave your bike on it and you'll keep riding it every day.

Otherwise, it'll end up on Craigslist for someone like me.

Not that I mind, of course.