My bike spent late fall and a long winter tethered to a trainer in the basement, put through its daily grind.  Recently, it was freed for its first outdoor ride.  After being consigned to months of basement workouts in front of a big screen TV, the bike is not only above ground, but in its preferred cycling season home, the garage.

Winter cycling season on a trainer does have some benefits.  Keeping in some semblance of shape in the off season is the most obvious one. Others include:

• • Watching movies, I wouldn’t otherwise have time to enjoy. If it was a bust (since I only watch the on-demand freebies) I could exit out of it and start a new one.
  • Not as much prep time required. Since the most I can take pedaling and not moving forward is two hours, dressing is easier. Not a lot of nutrition to calculate and pack, nor need to spend much time figuring out the weather and dressing for multiple scenarios. Being no more than 13 steps away from anything that’s needed makes it easy.
  • Working out in such a controlled environment means not getting pushed sideways by wind gusts, no need to navigate cars or dogs, and always having a smooth surface.

Despite these benefits, I think any rider will take an outdoor opportunity over indoor (weather permitting) every time as the following benefits clearly outweigh the ones above:

• • Traveling at speeds much slower than a car provides an opportunity to appreciate things in your surroundings, that are always there, but never previously noticed.
  • The need for greater concentration helps block out so many other thoughts and issues creating serenity and clarity, allowing the mind to find new paths to travel, unimpeded by routine distractions.
  • Not being locked into a stationary trainer, the rush of movement and speed is exhilarating! Entering only my second season of serious cycling my speed has topped out at 40mph. Nonetheless, being on only 2 wheels with no protective metal, the speed can also create some apprehension.

With seven months of outdoor riding ahead of us, if my bike could talk, I think it would say “thank you” for its new found freedom.  However, my bike tires would say…fix the damn roads.

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