It was a a dark and cold winter's morning when I dragged myself out of bed at 6am. I'd slept through the iPhone alarm and only woke up properly when it fell with an expensive bump onto the wooden floor. It had probably been playing the ITV Tour de France ringtone for about 5 minutes. I pondered my options - and prevaricated.
It was too wet to cycle to London.
Poking my head out of the bathroom window confirmed that. The dark and shiny Patio said so. It was cold. The Turbo again.
Getting the turbo ready took too long as usual.
So. A CTS session? or a CTS field test?
And so it was. I ended up doing the Field test. Two 8 minute, all-out efforts to measure average HR and average Power. The first went quite well with my power up - but strangely, my HR down.
Ten minute rest then the next 8 mins of pain.
Is this what life comes down to. Up early. Riding a bike that goes nowhere in the dining room to the maximum pain I can stand.
The previously, slightly temperamental loading mechanism on the Blackburn Ultra, decided to go barking mad. One second some ultra-high speed spinning, legs in a silly cartoon blur, then the thing would grind to a standstill wall of immovable fly-wheel.
It was one minute down, seven to go, sweat dotting the cardboard protecting the parquet, lungs bursting against ribs, legs burning and screaming, flicking gears shifters, the chain jumping up and down trying to find somewhere where I can pedal at 90 rpm for Watts of payback. Nope. Just random, annoying, infuriating technology. Find the gear, 90 rpm, then 130 rpm and no load. Find the gear, 90-ish rpm then standstill - 20 rpm at 600W.
I got off, dripping with sweat, swore profusely and gave it a damned good kicking.
Showered, dressed, got the train to work and ordered a new turbo trainer online. £250 from somewhere in Yorkshire.
(this was last year probably in November 2010 - found it in my Draft folder. The new Turbo trainer is the biz. It's a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Trainer (Brilliant))
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