Home trainer

10 years I would have been adamant never to step on one of those machines. Home trainer? Are you kidding me? Don't you ever think about it. I'm the kind of guy who rides outside, in the real world. I won't sweat alone in my garage, no way.

I still have my PBP 2015 number on my handle bag. Need to take that off at some point. Over 2 years already...

But then I did 48 hours on a treadmill so well, I had a clear opportunity to get into a gym and discover the various equipments. Also, my job sometimes requires that I would connect on some remote host and try and fix something because computers who take care of themselves without the help of any human are yet to be invented.

So well, home trainer is a good alternative. I can ride whenever I want without any complex logistics, and can also stop at will, be it for a professional reason or just to be with my family within 3 minutes. This is sort of more complicated when you are on the road 30 miles away from home.

Reading the adventures of Granny Weatherwax, thanks Terry Pratchett for writing all this, time flies by when immersed into the Discworld. And yes, there's a strange device with 4 wheels, 2 pedals and a handlebar in a corner, but hush, this is another story.

So I went to the dark side and without even trying to be yet another Philippe Dieumegard (a French friend who's crazy about long distance on a home trainer) I bought one of these models which replace your back wheel. I'm rather happy with it. A bit noisy but I don't really care as in my garage, no one can hear me. The effort is pretty much like a low grade uphill, rather than a pure windy flat or clear steep climb. It has some inertia, but not too much. And you need to remain seated, always. I'm considering adding a fan somewhere in the room. Or not, because, in the current setup, it's an awesome heat training, hell, I sweat so much on that thing!

There's a Bluetooth thingy on the device. I tried it with an Android app. And then I knew I was somewhere between 200W and 300W. Then I asked myself "what can I do with this piece of information?" and the answer was "nothing dude!" because, at the end of the day, I ride and push the pedals, left and right, and that's it.

So well, the 24 hours in Brands Hatch is coming soon, only one week left. I think I recovered quite well from the 6 jours de France so I keep riding a bit, but it's just for fun now, training is just done and behind me.