In case you haven’t noticed, these first posts are backdated and somewhat out of order. That’s what happens when you procrastinate for two years to start you triathlon blog. Give me a few weeks to catch up.
Now, back to the topic on hand. I picked up a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine so I can round out my pain cave and continue training in the winter. I paired it with their Riser Ring and a custom built laptop/book/whatever holder. (Note that my six year old is playing Super Mario 2 in the background, you gotta start them out right!)
On top of that, I paired my Wahoo Bluetooth Speed & Cadence Sensor, Heart Rate Monitor and TrainerRoad (that’s my profile if you want to look at it) so that I could do realistic structured workouts indoors. TrainerRoad’s actually really cool and helps keep you motivated and working hard during what can become incredibly boring. It even uses your speed/cadence/HR and to get accurate power ratings (watts), FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and TSS (Training Stress Score).
The cool thing about using a “dumb” trainer like the Road Machine verses a “smart” trainer like the Wahoo Kickr (besides saving $800) is that I have to meet the requirements of the workout rather than having the trainer auto-adjust. This keeps your head in the game similar to how driving a manual transmission car keeps you more attentive than an automatic. When the workout wants you to work harder, you have to consciously get on it, rather than just keep pedaling with the Kickr. Believe me, it’s a big challenge.
You’ll note the blue rear tire. Apparently, when you’re in the middle of a hard ride, your tire heats up so much it literally explodes. Yes, that is a 1×1″ piece of tire that is missing.
So I picked up a Tacx Trainer Tire that is designed for trainer use. Works 100% better. Less slipping and more constant pressures.