I had always heard that spin classes are the best way to train inside for cycling. Well that may be true, but not until you have tried compu cycle training. The coach I swim with told me about this class so she could teach me some things, and boy did I learn a lot.

I showed up around 5am, though nobody was there. After a 30 minutes drive I was certainly getting nervous I’d gotten up at 4:20 for nothing. Within a few minutes the instructor showed up and we headed in with our bikes. It was an amazing little “tri” workout center. They have several trainers where you setup your bike and hook it into a magnet that transmits to a computer. The computer runs a series of hills. Each hill was one mile long, with a flat and then a downhill. My goal was to keep my RPM at 90 on the up hill, 100 on the flat, and go easy on the downhill. I had always done the opposite. I went slow on the hills, and fast on the downhills. I also had a few issues with my form, I rock my shoulders, point my toes down when I fatigue and don’t keep a very smooth circle with my feet. Apparently these are all things I can learn.

We went 12 miles and each hill she gave me something new to focus on, the computer measured how hard I was pushing, how much effort I was using and so forth. I was definitely tired by the end of the ride but I did my 12 miles in an hour which is great for me. I need to get out and get myself a computer. Its all about the cadence!