Keeping my word
Like I mentioned yesterday, the weather here is still cold and miserable so I did ride the rollers.
I had a great workout actually. As it turns out, my winter tires have a stupid amount of rolling resistance, so my rollers now have the ability to make me cry.
I managed to get some of that searing pain last night. Perhaps not a great time of year for this type of training, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I did some ascending intervals, some super high cadence drills, and even some stupid roller stunts.
I like to constantly practice bike handling skills to improve my craft. I have found riders that find ways to push themselves out of their comfort zones (not just pain from intervals) tend to do the best in cycling.
Recently, someone questioned me regarding the need (or priority) for learning to ride rollers. It seems this guy thought anyone riding rollers was wasting training time...and any efforts to learn stunts like riding no-handed were good only for those hoping to join the circus. The response I gave was something akin to, "group rides and mass starts are *not* a circus!?!" Anyone who rides in a pack certainly can understand the rationale for training handling skills (ever want to remove a vest mid race?).
I did a bit of bike maintenance too. This is a great time of year to do a serious checkup for your bikes too. I believe it is a good idea to take a bike down to the rails once a year for a good cleaning and inspection. What I mean is, I take the bike apart completely and re-lube everything after a thorough cleaning and inspection. Ever hear of a guy having a seat post seized in the frame? There is a good chance that he was not periodically maintaining his bike in this manner. It will take you an afternoon, but it is worth the time. While you are at it, replace your cables, you will be glad you did.
I gotta come clean though. The real reason I did some maintenance yesterday had everything to do with what happened when I hopped on the rollers. I started pedaling and immediately thought that every bit of my skills had left me. I could barely stay upright and the effort to get going was maximum! It was only after about 15 seconds (quite a long time in retrospect) that I realized my front tire was flat...what a D-bag I am. I though to my self, "self, you have really slipped to a new low for pre-ride maintenance. Time to take a few minutes for an inspection/lube/etc." This reminds me, I need to pick up a couple winter tubes today.
The photo? Yeah, that is Bob Roll in his better days demonstrating why good handling skills and regular mike maintenance are important.
Agree wholeheartedly on
Agree wholeheartedly on rollers.
They are my nemesis, but I noticed a huge difference in how smooth I am, whether I'm riding alone or in the pack, after I learned to ride them.
Now I'm not at a point where I'm comfortable riding one-handed for any length of time, never mind less no-handed. I bow to your general direction for that skill. But I am a proponent of learning to ride them, especially for folks that want to improve their handling skills.
The Bobke Steer
I love that photo. Nothing like steering a bike with your backside. If you've ridden off-road for any period of time, you'll handle a bike similarly. Rollers are one of my short term goals in this off-season. If you can master rollers, you are qualified to remove knee warmers during a group ride. Albeit, we've already established knee warmers are very non-PRO, so maybe that's a bad goal.
Got any yet?
Rollers are a big deal, you may want to try before you buy. You do not want to spend big on something you will never use, or buy cheap only to wear them out. If you do not yet own a pair, I have several and would be willing to loan a set to your cause.
This Ones Ready To Try
I'll take a set off your hands for the winter. I would love to try rollers for a season. I mean I'm not sure how much it'll help, I kinda have the balance of a cat on his last life. Well, I'm not sure if the cat is as good as I am, but you know what I mean. In reality I see myself running through the wall on my first try, but then again whens running through a wall not fun?
No problem
It is funny you say that about running through the wall...so many non-roller-ers think that if you ride off the edge you will go speeding through the wall and have a fatal crash. Rest easy, when you fall off of rollers you stop dead and fall like a sack of hammers onto the floor.
Do not get me wrong, it hurts, but you get bruises not abrasions from roller crashes.
If you want to try them out, come over...but the price for you trying them is ...you gotta try them while I video your first attempt. Oh boy, this will be great!
