Epic tales for epicRides™

Around this time of the year, not one day goes by without several tweets about how terrible cycling trainers are. People are lamenting the boredom and monotony, and I am scratching my head thinking: WHY?

Some comments taken from Twitter stream

I don’t mind getting on a trainer, and there are times when I really look forward to it. At times I ride for 45 minutes, sometimes an hour, and others longer, but always with a purpose. Personally, I think I get the best workout between 45 minutes to 90 minutes. There are some who told me that the reason I like the trainer is because I am fairly new to it and perhaps there is some truth to that.

However, I think my enthusiasm comes from using the epicRides™videos as my training tool. My physical setup is fairly simple, and I use my laptop set on a table in front of my bike to watch the DVD’s, because I don’t have a TV/DVR combo in the room I have the trainer (you can read about the setup here). But back to epicRides™training DVD’s.

Here are some of the reasons I get excited about getting onto the trainer, and since pictures tell a thousand words, the next segment will be augmented by some images taken from the Mt. Lemmon ride, an amazing 70 minute workout. The visual perspective of the rides is very attractive to me, because for the most part, the training ride is filmed from the riders point-of-view (exceptions are panorama views and the occasional glimpse of the group of riders in the video). Have a look:

In short, the videography is truly great, but what makes this all work for me are the tools which come with it, and right on the top of the list is the digital dashboard. It is a simple layover the ride images which keeps track of your time and indicates the position of your ride. Readouts of training zones, elevations and countdowns help in the training effort. Yet all of this has a very easy to read, and uncluttered interface.

 

Information about the next segment; Training Zone, Time and Effort

…and the fun begins

 

The progress bar always lets you know where you are in your ride

But, that would do nothing without the training guides, which give you a solid understanding of the TZ, training zone:

 

Explanation of Training Zones - TZ

A quick caption of the HUD (heads up display)

 

Easy explanation to maximize your training

And the best part, every ride comes with three different training instructions: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Unleash the power of these training rides by following the instructions for your riding ability. Staying on point with the Mt. Lemmon ride for the last 20 minutes, here is an example for an intermediate rider:

Look at the last entry

 

I can guarantee you, if you follow the training guide, no matter what your fitness level may be, you will get a hell of a workout with no room to think that ‘trainers are boring‘!

Epic ride locations, stunning videography in wide screen format, well designed training programs for all levels, companion music mixes (free), power profiles for those who own equipment to use them, digital downloads as an alternative to DVD’s – in short – a product I love to use because of its beauty and functionality. Most of all, it is never boring – because all you need to do to get rid of your boredom, shift into a smaller cog and try to keep up the RPM’s and scream when you get to the top.

I know there are many other products on the market and I have to admit that I don’t have knowledge about them, because I am very happy with the training scenario provided by epicRides™ I could not imagine getting onto a trainer just listening to music, or spinning away while watching a movie. However, I do look forward to getting onto my trainer with a structured workout, and epicRides™ does that for me perfectly.

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