Your thoughts please

sithebike

Because of various work and family commitments I am struggling to get very many miles in. Last week I managed 15
I do however have access to an exercise bike at home which I have reluctantly started to use.. in fact I am using it now.
My question is: I have entered a charity ride in July - London to Paris. will using the exercise bike during this difficult time substitute time out on the bike.
Obviously I want to maintain my cycling fitness, but am starting to worry whether I will be ready for the ride.
I do not have a turbo or rollers otherwise I would use them.
At the moment when using the exercise bike I vary the intensity to keep it varied.

Your thoughts please.....

Simon

2Fast4Love

In my experience the exercise bike will obviously be better than doing nothing for your fitness, and will also enable you to do interval training in an easily measurable way.

However, only being out on your bike can really prepare you for the few hours a day that your charity ride will be. Different sitting position to your exercise bike, etc.

btw, is it the Christian Aid ride?

sithebike

Thanks for the reply, My situation should change in the next few weeks so I will be able to get out on the bike.
The ride is for the u foundation

Bronzie

giantscr2.0 wrote:

I do however have access to an exercise bike at home which I have reluctantly started to use.. in fact I am using it now.

If you are unable to get out and get some miles in, then riding an excercise bike is a good alternative BUT there is no point just sitting on it and twiddling away. This will provide you with very little benefit - if you can still post messages to a forum while you are on it, you almost certainly are not working hard enough to gain anything much.

If you are stretched for time, something like a 1-hour session of 2x20's will be more beneficial than just getting on it and pedalling. You will probably need a heart rate monitor and a rough idea of you max heart rate in order to derive the heart rate zones you should aim for when doing these sessions. If you don't have an HRM, you can get an idea of the effort level required using "perceived exertion", but it requires a little experience to be able to know how hard you are working.