I’m a great fan of “to do” lists. I installed Post-it software on my computer specifically for this purpose. Well, specifically so I can type out my to do lists days in advance, and then put the extremely satisfying “DONE” next to each task.
I checked off my last “to do” task – outlining my tax law course – with shaky, sweaty hands last night. I think my feet were drenched in steamy sweat too. My right forearm was twitchy from overexertion. I am really full of terrible ideas.
All because of a simple entry on my “to do” list: “rollers.” I escaped the library early yesterday to meet a friend who was selling his rollers on the cheap. With only two single-speeds, I was advised that trainers wouldn’t be nearly as effective, so when the rollers went up for sale, I immediately called dibs. The first person claiming them dropped out – lucky[?] for me.
As I planted “DONE” next to tasks already completed late last night, I saw the “rollers” entry. For me, that originally meant “get cash, be at home to pick them up.” That somehow turned into “well, let’s try them out!”
This is sort of the time I kind of wish I had roommates to stop me from indulging my insanity. Against my better judgment, I set up the rollers in my hallway and propped my bike on top of it. And then I climbed on. That was the easy part. Now I had to actually get on my bike that was supported by this thing called air, and try to balance. I was half bracing myself against the wall, my hands flooding with nervous sweat as I attempted to push the pedals. Hunched over, clinging to my bars for dear life, I tried not to think about Mark’s roommate, who managed to fly off his trainer into his TV, or Jones’s friend who flew into his dorm room closet at 35mph.
I’ll admit, my courage lasted me a scant 10 minutes on the rollers, and that includes trying to get on. I left it in the hallway though, right in front of my door. I’m hoping the guilt of seeing it when I walk into my apartment will serve as extra motivation. And hopefully it’ll also stop my hands from constantly sweating every time I think about them. Because unless I can master those rollers, my fantasy of watching movies with bike friends who are all on rollers/trainers is going to stay just that…and that’s just unacceptable.
Tags: bad ideas · nervous · rollers · sweaty · training10 Comments
10 responses so far ↓
rollers are terrorifying. yes.
rollers are awesome. yes.
i have had a bike leave the rollers as i was riding them, the wheels stopped in an instant and i fell into a wall. those 35mph horror stories are not true.
although i didn’t see the spill, the broken collarbone seems to be pretty good evidence (although, i suppose it could’ve been a story to cover a more embarrassing accident). from a physics point of view, i don’t see how, with a high enough roller speed, it couldn’t happen.
i wonder, when all is said and done at pedalstrike, how many posts will be tagged with “sweaty?”
jeff — agreed! practice hopefully makes perfect though…
pete — you’re welcome to try them out whenever. the horror stories involved trainers, so i think they got unhooked from them?
jones — the rollers stop almost abruptly so then you kind of just fall over. ahahaha yeah, i’m a sweat monster these days. be glad you’re not in boston to see what a mess i’m turning into!
did your friend post them on craigslist for under $100 in somerville?
i was thinking of getting them then i bought another bike instead. hah!
maybe I’ll get a set before next winter.
I’ve never used them either.
good luck not crashing in your hallway!
-dan
dan — he lives in allston and it was posted on bostonfixed…new bike?! whatcha get???
Congrats on doing the rollers thing. I try them every winter in the shop and every winter I wind up twisted under my bike on the floor, laughing my ass off. Clearly it was not meant to be.
Please continue being awesome. Also, nice to see you are rockin’ the spoke bracelet from senor’ Jochem. I’ve gotta make mine more round soon, or else it will totally cut off circulation to my hand, thus making me an even more butterfinger-y mechanic.
erich — don’t congratulate me yet! i haven’t mastered them AT ALL. i will eventually (i hope). and the spoke bracelet is so perfect. it’s so light! i almost don’t notice it’s there!
the wide local market for rollers.
i got the blue schwinn madison that i’ve had my eyes on for a while.
i was going to mention a week ago that your bar tape in this photo looked like a petri dish, but refrained due to e-politeness. way to remedy that with WHITE!!! ;p
personally, i’ve been toying with the idea of using tennis racquet overgrips to keep the bartape feel, but have a sanitary way to have a white cockpit.