Wiggins is OUT for TDF, my indoor training ride and INSPIRATION!

First things first people: Wiggins is OUT for this year's Tour de France. Heard it this morning. WTF? (And I SO wish I had a picture of him crying). He leaves the Giro D'Italia with an "illness" and now his knee is "acting" up? Um, OKAY SIR BRADLEY. I think this is your public way of pouting that Team Sky has decided to put their resources into helping Chris Froome win the Tour this year. But whatever. You figure out what's going on - and come back when you're done with your mini-tantrum.

*Sara steps off soapbox*

Whew - glad I got that off my chest. In all seriousness, I like Wiggins but the circumstances are just a little too sketchy for my likes. Froome is awesome though - and I'm very excited to see what happens. It appears there's quite a build up coming between him and Alberto Contador. Or, these guys: 

Froome

Contador

They both look like badasses. 

Speaking of BAD ASS - check out this trailer for the 100th running of LE TOUR DE FRANCE. I have ALL of the goosebumps every time I watch this!!!!

Less than a month for my first viewing! Can't WAIT!

Ok - so I blogged a couple of days ago about picking up my hand-me down bike trainer. It didn't have the skewer to go with it - so I got that today. Hooked my bike up to to the trainer tonight and decided to take my first ride with it (couldn't ride outside tonight anyways because I have my kiddo). Here's what it looks like hooked up:

Let's talk about the things I LIKE about the trainer:

1 - I have a chance to ride regardless of the weather. (I didn't get to do the Urban Ride last night due to the weather which was a bummer…I hope there's another one scheduled soon).

2 - I don't have to put a helmet on to ride inside. (I will ALWAYS advocate for wearing a helmet when on a bike - except for riding in a stationary position inside). Although, with my accident proneness, maybe I should throw it on anyways. :) I did not fall or hurt myself in any way tonight, by the way.

3 - I can take funny pictures of myself sweating my ass off. Case in point:

 4 - I can finally put in my Beats by Dre headphones and crank the music UP! Tonight's playlist included songs from Eminem, Michael Jackson, AWOLNation and Young the Giant. GREAT music to pump my legs to. It's impossible and unsafe to listen to headphone while on a bike outside. Plus - you're outside people - connect with the sounds of NATURE!

5 - I don't have to wear a jersey - I can throw a tank top on and be comfy (and NO ONE has to see me and my fat arms).

6 - I can turn on a fan and aim it RIGHT AT MY HEAD. It's not the same as being in a wind tunnel for testing - but it's fun to imagine that's the case. I'm sure I don't look ANYTHING like this though:

(That's George Hincapie - just in case you were wondering).

Okay. That's a pretty good starting positive list. Now let's discuss the things I'm NOT so fond of about the trainer:

1 - It sounds like a jet plane is taking off in my living room. It's LOUD! It is an older model trainer so that may be part of it - but trainers are just somewhat loud anyways. I'm not complaining about the noise much though - I'm still SO very grateful to have gotten in for no cost! It's going to overall be a great thing for me.

2 - It's BORING. There's nothing to look at - except my walls of my apartment. Here was my view tonight while riding:

Yeah, that's no fun. I could turn the tv on - but music is better. This will change a little bit once I'm ready to start my SUFFERFEST training…the files are on my computer and there's videos that go with them so I'm actually looking forward to that part.

3 - Sitting on my bike while on the trainer is a bit of a different feeling. I don't feel like I can move around as easily on my saddle or back and forth between the gears and the handlebars. (Of course, this could just be operator error and I just need some additional practice).

4 - My Strava app doesn't work inside. It's GPS based - so there's no way to measure my speed or distance covered. SUFFERFEST will change this problem though - because I believe there's a sensor that will go on my bike that will help measure everything for me. So - it's only a small problem right now. I can live with that.

5 - It's BORING. Wait, did I already mention that?!?

My coach warned me that I would get bored easily on the trainer. He told me to only ride about 20 minutes today just to get the feel for it. But you know what? This CrazeeCyclist is stubborn. I don't listen very well. And, I have this desire to do just a BIT more than advised - just to push myself one step further. Just to do it because I know I have the power and motivation and desire to make it happen for myself. As long as it's safe and won't cause me harm or physical injury, I'm going to do just a little bit more than necessary. (Remember my earlier blogging about not doing anything half-assed? Yep - applied here tonight too).

I did 45 minutes on the trainer tonight. I have no idea how fast or how far - but I was sweating and my legs were SORE when I was done. I will call that a success.

All in all, I'm super stoked to have the trainer (thanks again Carmen!!!!). It's going to be a huge benefit to me and being able to train and ride regardless of the weather is something I'm very excited about.

One final thought tonight (I was really long winded tonight….oops!).

My coach posted this link on my timeline on Facebook last night. It's titled Saved By The Bike. (I've included the link below).

It's a blog written by another cyclist. He basically discusses the negative perception of the word "addiction" (drugs, alcohol, sex, food, etc.). But he then writes about how his (and others) addiction to cycling is anything BUT negative. It has SAVED some people. Helped them turn their lives around from other addictions - or just put some healthy activity into their daily life.

http://www.velominati.com/defining-moments/saved-by-the-bike/

He says this at the end of the blog (in case you don't want to take the time to read it - although I would suggest that you do):

Among all the turmoil, in the maelstrom of a life gone awry, their constant saving grace, the rock on which they could rebuild a solid foundation for happiness, or at least some form of normality – contentment, perhaps – was the bicycle.

Kids, this guy is SPOT ON. I, myself, believe that I have been SAVED BY THE BIKE.

Little, insignificant, ME.

Saved.

BY THE BIKE.

This is inspiration. Motivation to keep pushing. Desire to make a positive difference in my own life (in so many different ways) and others as well. Passion to pedal harder. Faster. Longer. And, of course, my quest for better looking legs. Can't forget about that part too!

No ride tomorrow - I'm doing an all day Crawl for Cancer Pub Crawl here in Kansas City. Should be a good time. But you know what I'm more excited about? Getting up and going for a ride on Sunday.

My heart is full.

Happy Cycling!