Geek Habitat

Reposted from my vox blog:

The eagerly anticipated bike trainer arrived today, and after some choice words that I hope not to hear from my 11-month-old’s lips anytime soon, it is fully assembled and my road bike is firmly (one hopes, anyway) mounted to it.

I had planned to use the kiddo’s blue mats underneath the entire bike footprint, in case of grease from the chain ring or from the bike trainer itself, but that didn’t leave me much clearance below my rear tire when I’m on the bike, so out that plan went. No wonder they charge $50 for ultra-thin rubber mats to go under bike trainers. Oh well. I figure a towel or two will serve the same purpose, and maybe once I lose some weight the bike+trainer won’t sink so far on the mat? (Hey, a chick can dream!)

So, I plan on logging my first bike trainer ride tomorrow, although my Garmin cadence & speed sensor for my Forerunner 305 won’t be in for a couple more days–so I won’t have distance data; thanks to the 305, however, I will have heart rate data so I can focus on achieving/maintaining target heart rate zones during my indoor training rides.

I haven’t planned my workouts yet, but I hope to log at least three rides during the week and either an indoor trainer ride or a real-life road ride with Justin on the weekends. That’d be four sessions of solid cardio that I just plain am not getting right now.

Hopefully, the kiddo will think watching me spinning away on the bike is high entertainment, and I will be able to get in 30-, 45-, 60-minute workouts. We’ll see if popping her in her exersaucer or bouncer works, or if I have to devise an elaborate Toddler Containment Unit with our existing self-supporting baby gates (still need to buy a hardware-mounted one for the top of the stairs.)