A poor substitute

I haven't seen the trails after Dennis came thru, but if the lack of damage that I've seen in my travels are any indicator, then the trails should be in decent shape. Dave and Pat were gonna check out the trails this afternoon, hopefully they found no downed trees, only branches and junk. I hope that the trails will be good to go by the weekend.

For now, I'm relegated to training indoors...


With the company of the Trek/Volkswagen MTB team...


Using that video offers an excellent workout. Besides the specific workout (intervals), you're pedaling for a solid hour. When you're out in the real world, on a real trail, there are times when you're not pedaling- crossing various obstacles, railing tight turns, steep descents, etc. That continuous pedaling really can do wonders for your endurance. I guess that's why so many serious mtn bikers train some on a road bike. But since I just spent some serious coin a new mtn bike, Sean is in no hurry to buy another bike.
Despite the benefits of the workout, there is one glaring disadvantage to riding indoors. Scenery...or a lack of.
I'm either staring at my blinds, or vegging out to this...

I really don't like staring at the tv while doing this workout. I know it might seem strange to put a dvd on, but not watch it. I have a method to my madness though. See that little clock in the bottom center of the screen? That clock is the bane of my indoor training existence, my nemesis, if you will. I'll be in the middle of a 2 minute max effort, thinking I'm almost halfway done with that 2 minutes then I'll look at the screen and see that I've only been pedaling for 45 seconds. Look again, 55 seconds. Again, 1:03. "Dammit, when is this interval gonna be over!?!?" So, there you go... that's why I try my darndest not to look at the screen. I haven't perfected my strategy though. I still look at the screen MANY times throughout the workout.

If it makes me a stronger rider, I guess it's worth it though. At least that's what I keep telling myself.