My training continues for PBP even in these recent UK wintry conditions (although clearly not on par with New York City! heck). After all you can't stay inside for 3 months of the year and expect to improve. Riding the ElliptiGO isn't a particularly dangerous past-time despite how it might look to the casual observer. It's as safe and stable as a conventional road bike, if not more so. But despite all this (and you know what's coming) when it comes to ICE it really doesn't matter what you are riding. If you hit some ice and all there is between you and the ice is a thin narrow layer of rubber you are GOing down!
And that's exactly what happened last weekend as I ventured out for a 60 miler at the crack of dawn. I've owed my ElliptiGO for 4 years now and only gone down once in all that time. On Saturday I went down twice! It was slippery in patches and for this reason I was taking it really easy. One very early warning sign saw my back wheel fish tail down the road but I kept that one under control. For the most part the roads were actually fine and as the dawn broke the frost and ice slowly melted, but you never know where danger is lurking. Without any warning or hint of danger the ElliptiGO instantly slid out from underneath me and I hit the deck hard as I turned into a shallow right-hander. For my troubles I had an abrasion on my side from sliding on the tarmac and a sore elbow and knee. One hour later and the same thing happened again, this time on the left side. I was taking it really easy too and couldn't have been going any slower as I turned into a left-hander. Just more minor bumps and lumps.
The worst thing is the noise of the ElliptiGO as you hear it scrap along the road and imagine what untold damage it is doing to the paint work. As you can see for yourself (before and after shots on left) it actually incurred own minor damage and nothing a can of metal gloss spray paint couldn't solve. I was very pleased with the end result and glad I own a black ElliptiGO as getting an exact colour match on any of the other wonderfully bright ElliptiGO's would be next to impossible.So what do I do about PBP training in the next few months as this cold snap continues?
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| Precor 'Open Stride' |
Well I certainly won't stop training but I also won't go out again in those conditions and risk another fall. The solution which I actioned this weekend was to join my local 24hr - Anytime Fitness gym. It's just two minutes away and has everything I need to get myself in peak fitness. One piece of equipment the 'Open Stride' by Precor is fantastic. Its a step up (pardon the pun) from a conventional cross-trainer in that you can actual shorten and lengthen your stride in mid-air, unlike a conventional cross-trainer where your stride length is fixed which tends to be on the short side and restrict your natural movement. The 'Open Stride' is the closest feeling I've found to the ElliptiGO and I have high hopes that it greatly supplement my training. I'm also planning to incorporate some Heart Rate training into the mix (both indoor and out). This is the best approach to endurance training if you have the discipline to stick with it. I will blog more about this in my next post. But if you can't wait for this my fellow ElliptiGO rider - Idai has written a piece on heart rate training here.
And lastly my ElliptiGO PBP team jersey has arrived (see first pic above). I actually wore it on this ride and it kept me nice and warm and thankfully the elbows didn't rip on the falls, and the blood stains came out in the wash too :-) Hooray!
Strava ride data