just started doing interval workouts using the Johson and Johson 7 minute workout app.  It's great! Workouts from 7 minutes to 30 minutes or more and you can personalize the workouts based on your fitness and goals.

still early on using it, but it's been great so far and put a hurtin on me.

free app and is like having a personal trainer... almost.

I have a spin bike in the garage and I also do crossfit. When I ride the spin bike, I grab the Ipad and watch Blue Ridge Adventures videos of their races. They have a bunch of them and each of them are about roughly 5 minutes long. So I am spinning my legs and watching mountain biking....makes the time go by much faster....

You need gears. That's how you simulate climbs and vary intensity.  A cadence sensor helps.  Many workouts require a certain cadence. Videos are a key for me. I need constant coaching. Regular tv doesn't work for me.  A front wheel riser helps if your workouts have you standing up and pedaling. It keeps the wheel from turning or the bike from leaning.  A sweat bib for the bike helps keep the massive amounts of sweat from corroding your bike.

If darkness is your only barrier then that's an easy one to overcome...I use my lights during the day when i commute as well. definitely recommend at least 1000 lumens for a headlight though. You definitely want to see and be seen.

I like the commute idea also but I live 8 miles out in the sticks.  It makes for good riding in the daylight.  Not much traffic, good roads, etc but there is only 2 roads to my house from town.  One is a Hwy that I don't ride in the daytime, and the other one is a 55 mile and hour 2 lane road.  Anyone that lives that way takes that road home from work so it get very heavy traveled.  No way I'm riding that road at night.

I usually take a bike to work in the winter.  I have a loop I ride at night that only puts me a sketchy roads for a minute or so.  The rest of the time I'm on roads that aren't traveled much, bike lanes, and  side streets.  All with street lights.  It gets boring riding the same loop over and over (and it doesn't help that my office is in a hole a the bottom of a hill so I have to start out with a big climb) but still way better than riding the trainer or doing nothing.

Yellowduck wrote on 02/20/14 at 1:58pm:


I rode part of my commute this morning with a guy from Waxhaw; he drives to the Lowe's in Pineville/Charlotte and then rides the other half of his commute.  Still getting in some miles but not having to worry about the very long distance.

isitwinteryet wrote on 02/25/14 at 3:09pm:

Hahahaha Isitwinteryet returns!