Trainers

I hate riding indoors. I don't know anyone would actually rather be stuck inside going nowhere than outside enjoying the open roads. Unless, of course, those open roads are covered in ice, there are 50mph headwinds, or rain so torrential that you don't even need to shower when you get home. Weather is not always my friend.

With this in mind, I am trying to discover how to make indoor trainer time as painless as possible. This is not an easy task, but one of my main weapons against boredom is movies. What kind of movies you might ask? That is precisely what my latest experiment is trying to discover. For instance, I have tried: Casino Royale, Batman Begins, Pride and Prejudice, Down With Love, Moulin Rouge, Live Free or Die Hard, and many others. As you can imagine, some of these worked better than others.

Previously, I would just pick a movie at random depending on my mood and what was available. Now, I am systematically going through genres in an attempt to find the ideal trainer movie. The first genre to be tested: underdog sports movies. As a cyclist with more enthusiasm than skill, I am an underdog. And cycling is a sport. Therefore, these movies should allow me to identify with the characters and really get into the story. Plus, there's usually a lot more action than plot. The movies of choice: The Cutting Edge, Cool Runnings and The Mighty Ducks. I realize some people might be embarrassed to walk into a video store and rent those three movies, but remember, this was for science.

The verdict? Excellent. I didn't have to pay attention, because I already knew what was going to happen. They all had remarkably bad, but upbeat, soundtracks to keep me pedaling and when I did pay attention I could laugh at whatever was going on. I deem this phase of the experiment a success. Despite the embarrassment.

Next up: Dancing movies. Similar to the underdog sports movies, but with more inspiring soundtracks.