Connected and Apart

Sena R1 Bicycling Helmets Perfect for Cycling Couples

Recently Mrs. Bicycling Blogger and myself celebrated our 30th anniversary by joining a wine, food and cycling trip through Tuscany, Italy. What a fantastic way to celebrate our milestone anniversary!

Now, not every couple will be riding rolling terrain anywhere in the world - let alone the beautiful Tuscan hills - at the same side-by-side speed. 

But wouldn't it be sweet to still chat freely, pointing out sights? Or even from a safety aspect, tell your riding partner up ahead that you've got a problem?

Hands-Free Two-Way Communication Is the Answer

Sena, a company with a long history in creating motorcycle helmet communications, has picked up the call to give us cyclists hands-free communication too!

A pair of the Sena R1 Smart Cycling Helmets came with us on our tour of Tuscany, and we were thrilled with the results. 

Each helmet pairs through Bluetooth to a cell phone. From there you can configure Bluetooth pairing with up to 4 helmets altogether. The phone app of course has the full user guide. So if you forget the button press sequences and functions of each of the 3 buttons on the helmet, no problem - you can easily look it all up. 

Through the Bluetooth pairing you can listen to your own music playlists or podcasts from your phone. You can make and receive phone calls. You can even listen to local FM radio stations through the helmet's built-in radio tuner. 

As it is an open-ear design, nothing sits inside your ears. The speakers sit inside the rim of the helmet just above your ears. The microphone is embedded in the rim above your forehead. Not only do you safely continue to hear surrounding traffic, but you also stay on-side of the law in many jurisdictions that now outlaw in-ear headphones while riding your bike.

Also from a safety angle, the standard "Car Back" and "Car Up" warnings are easily shared in natural talking voices.

Excellent Noise Cancelling Audio Tech

Sena has gotten the noise cancelling dialed in too with their design. While we rode, my wife and I each spoke freely and could be heard clearly. Only big wind gusts occasionally broke through. 

All-in-all it was a pleasant way to chat and enjoy our rides together, like we were standing right next each other, even though we could have been hundreds of metres apart! The specs say a half-mile (900m). We had at least that much coverage, as long as we were still within line-of-sight. Over bigger hills and around rocky bends, connections would drop. But the R1 helmets would automatically re-connect all on their own.

Concerns

Having a built-in intercom in your helmet means it becomes a throw-away item eventually. Helmets do not last forever. And should you crash your Sena R1, you might be tempted to keep using it, because you've invested in the hands-free intercom system first and foremost with this purchase. But don't submit to your temptation to keep using a crashed helmet. It no longer qualifies as a true helmet if it's damaged. Throw it away. 

What would be a second design option in this case is to have the intercom radio available as an attachment to any helmet. Then all the radio functions can be easily moved from helmet to helmet. Sena does make some systems like this, but they all appear to involve some kind of over-the-ear audio component, which isn't ideal compared to the open ear design of the R1 helmet.

Unfortunately I don't see a crash replacement policy on Sena's website, which many standard bike helmet manufacturers do offer. It usually comes in the form of a $50 credit on the purchase of a new helmet when the crashed one gets sent back. This would help remove the customer temptation to keep using a crashed helmet. 

Pricing and Availability

 

Sena R1: Shop now on Amazon.ca

Priced under $200, you can buy the Sena R1 directly from the Sena.com website, but only if you live in the United States. Canadians can buy them through Amazon.ca, but full warranty support might not be available. Caveat emptor in that case I suppose.

Summary: A Great Way to Share Your Ride

Besides the basic headphone features for listening to music and talking on your phone, the hands-free intercom system sets the Sena R1 apart from other systems out there. And really, at the $200 price point, it's in the same cost range of most high-quality helmets on the market.

As I'm also a cycling coach (see: EpicSeasonCoaching.com) I can see the value too of using the R1 during coached training sessions. I could easily give in-ear coaching directions during a training ride, which would be particularly useful for technique feedback. 

 

Update 2021

Sena has released a new version of their two-way radio design: the pi. This is the version I've been looking for because it creates so much flexibility.

The pi makes any helmet into a smart helmet.

It has all the stay-connected Bluetooth intercom features of the R1 helmet I discuss above, but places it all inside a convenient headset design that attaches to the straps (up to 18mm wide) of any helmet. All it lacks is the 900m comm range. The pi specs out at 400m. For most riding scenarios, that'll still be fine.

So you can keep using your favourite helmet AND upgrade it to instantly talk two-way without cell phone data use of any kind. At the $99 price point, it's an ideal cycling enthusiast gift idea too for any special occasion.

 

Today, US riders can order it direct from Sena.com. Unfortunately Sena still doesn't ship to Canada. I hope they can change that. This could become a game changer product for many riding and coaching scenarios that cyclists around the world would enjoy. Perhaps at least we'll see it available soon on Amazon.ca.

Product Review: Trekz Titanium Bone Conduction Headphones • No Ears Required

Listening to a portable device while riding is not without controversy. Many people question the safety of not hearing cars coming up from behind. In my 10+ years of experience riding while listening, I've never had that problem.

With or without headphones, I hear traffic as it arrives over my left shoulder. Keeping myself safe means being a predictable rider … on the shoulder of the road. My ears have little to do with it.  And if a vehicle was passing too close for comfort — what could my ears tell me about that anyway? A rear view mirror is the only possible solution to that problem.

Nonetheless, there are jurisdictions where it's illegal to ride with any in-ear headphone. Enter the solution: patented bone conduction headphones from aftershokz.com. They sent me a pair to review for you.

What's Bone Conduction Audio Technology?

Bone conduction audio technology transmits audio waves to your inner ears through the skull, bypassing your eardrums completely. So technically, you don't even need external ears.

Place them on your cheekbones, just in front of your ears. This leaves your ear canals open, allowing you to remain alert and aware of ambient sounds while you enjoy your music.

People my age may remember an earlier incarnation that tried to do something similar: the Bone Fone. It's now thankfully a dead-tech device. It was a lame attempt to create an FM music bubble by transmitting sound through your collarbones. But you need to realize, we didn't have earbuds yet, and the first-gen Sony Walkman was just barely ramping up production.

Trekz Titanium Headphones

I was bit concerned when opening the box from Aftershokz. Besides the manual, headphones, little silicone size adjusters, case, and USB cable, there was also a set of earplugs. Hmm, maybe these won't be all they're cracked up to be? But I must credit Aftershokz with providing the earplugs as a solution to a potential problem. Read on for my comments …

While doing away with the earbuds, Aftershokz has also done away with cables. These headphones use Bluetooth to pair with your phone or other music player. I guess that's both a plus and minus. No cables, but your player must support Bluetooth.

The set up was straightforward. The manual detailed a simple 1-2-3 procedure to get them charged, paired and connected. I had no problems connecting them to my iPhone.

The headphones have functions and modes you can select. Besides standard headphone functions, they'll also work as a full-featured phone headset to make and receive calls.

However, they only have one red/blue LED. It indicates charging mode, pairing mode and charging status. So what do they have to help guide you through the other functions and modes?

They're smart headphones after all, so they talk to you. Various button presses will give simple "beep" tone confirmations. And they have an "Audrey" voice for more complex interactions. Her voice crackles a bit, but probably because engineers compressed her phrases to store them inside minimal memory. She doesn't need to be high-fidelity to be understood.

What's with the "Titanium" in their name? As a sportsperson's headphone, they have a strong, but flexible, titanium wrap-around band to hold them firmly to your head. It has just the right pressure. After a few hours of wearing them, nothing got uncomfortable.

I only had an issue trying to wear them when it was cold. I needed to cover my head and ears. The sound transducers needed to sit directly on my skin, in front of my ears. Ear coverings messed with that setup.

I think what I like most about these Trekz Titaniums is their Bluetooth pairing. Play, pause, skip tracks all flawlessly using the headphones without pulling out my iPhone.

The range was great. I could even keep listening while my iPhone was in a neighboring room. Engineers at Aftershokz nailed the Bluetooth protocol implementation.

Trekz Titanium Audio Quality

How did they score on sound? I would have to give them an OK rating. Not great. Not fantastic. But good enough given their primary goal of providing stereo sound without plugging your ear canals.

Aftershokz touts their PremiumPitch+™ Sound as the answer to sound leakage and weak bass. Yet I still have to say they do lack a full bass response. The sound was a bit "hollow," especially noticeable if you switched immediately from listening with standard earbuds to the Trekz. Maybe it's my head that's hollow — these sounded a bit like listening to a small speaker inside an empty room. They have a second sound equalization setting that really drops off the bass response. I'm not sure when I'd use that setting.

Open Road Performance

How do they sound on the open road? Like I said earlier, when I unboxed the headphones, I was worried how well they would perform in the real world because they came supplied with optional ear plugs.

I'm a bit of a podcast junkie when I go riding. I might as well listen to something insightful and feed my imagination with ideas while I ride steady-state. And at other times, hard intervals call for hard music. On my test rides, I listened to two podcasts: a James Altucher interview (talk-talk-talk) and Group Therapy with Above and Beyond (progressive trance music).

At my usual cruising speed of 30kph (19mph) the headphones could be heard above the wind in my ears. However, cars zooming by me on the highway tended to fill my ears with a rush of noise. And on a blustery day? Those earplugs were a necessity, negating all the open-ear-canal advantages.

None of this really mattered when listening to the Group Therapy tracks. But with the Altucher podcast the wind-rush drowned out key phrases at times. I missed some ideas and that frustrated me. Turning up the volume didn't help. For full volume, you must turn up the headphone volume on your phone and the additional volume on the Trekz Titanium. In fact, I found myself listening with both volume controls full on to hear everything well enough while riding.

Summary: Good Solution Where In-Ear Headphones Are Not An Option

If all you're after is background music on your ride, the Trekz Titanium headphones will do the job. And especially if your legal jurisdiction no longer allows you to use in-ear headphones, then definitely grab a pair of Trekz for yourself. You'll be back to enjoying music while you ride. As an added plus, with your open ears you'll be able to hear the interval prompts coming from your cycle computer.

But if listening to podcasts or audiobooks is more your thing, you may be disappointed. For that kind of audio listening I'll be using those earplugs or my usual earbuds, wherever the law allows me.

Finally, if you've got any issues with wearing regular headphones, from plain discomfort to an actual hearing disability with the outer ear, then you really should try these out.

 Learn more about the Trekz Titanium and where you can buy your own set.

UPDATE: AfterShokz has just released the Sportz Titanium and Sportz Titanium with mic. These give you all the bone conduction advantages of the Trekz Titanium. But as wired versions (versus Bluetooth), they can be bought at much lower price points!  

Book Review: The Endurance Handbook

The Endurance Handbook

written by Dr. Philip Maffetone
forward by Tawnee Prazak
published by Skyhorse Publishing

 

Who is Dr. Philip Maffetone?

Maffetone has a Doctor of Chiropractic degree, practices complementary medicine, and is an active songwriter. [REF: 1] He’s been coaching athletes for more than 30 years. In 1994, Triathlete Magazine named him Coach of the Year. Probably his most well-known client has been Mark Allen, who won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship six times in seven years, the last being 1995.

Maffetone has authored, or co-authored, at least 11 books on health and fitness over the years. But he’s probably most well-known for his “Maffetone Method”, which uses the idea of Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) heart rate (HR).

You can think of MAF HR as a revision of the “220-Age” heart rate formula. The formula becomes 180-Age, with some +/- HR modifiers for your current fitness and other health parameters. If forms the basis of Maffetone’s training method. It’s the antithesis of “No Pain, No Gain.” Many athletes feel they’re training too easily at this heart rate. But Maffetone advises them to be patient. Results will eventually manifest themselves.

The Endurance Handbook, though, is not about MAF training. It does have an appendix briefly discussing it, but the book is a much more general treatment of endurance training.

What is The Endurance Handbook About? Mind Over Movement

Along the lines of knocking down “No Pain, No Gain” thinking, The Endurance Handbook is an introductory text to starting a journey to becoming an endurance athlete. It seems to follow the medical tenet of “First, do no harm.”

Building on that tenet, Maffetone’s message in the book is to get healthy first, then get fit. And I agree. It’ll be much easier to live a pain-free life that way. Learn the motor movements of your sport slowly, deliberately, and you’ll preserve and protect your muscles, joints and tendons. 

For example, he recommends runners train barefoot so their running gait follows the most natural motion possible. Shoes add an unnecessary structure to a foot that has evolved to hit the ground bare. And he feels if only the elite marathoners didn’t have running shoe sponsorships to worry about, then a barefoot sub-two hour marathon would be within reach. Breaking that barrier could then lead to a cascade of equally fast marathons — just like Roger Bannister’s first sub-four minute mile achievement did for other sub-four performances.

However, I think his enthusiasm for a 1:59 marathon needs to be tempered. In August, 2015, The Sunday Times reported [REF: 2] that 1/3 of the Olympic and World Championship endurance and middle distance runners had given a suspicious blood test at some point during their careers. Perhaps all the knocking at the 1:59 marathon door has been enhanced a little … 

Nonetheless, after reading Maffetone’s chapter on feet I found myself padding barefoot about my house and yard more often. But as a cyclist, of course I can’t ride barefoot – that makes no sense. But I think the equivalent is paying for a really good bike fit. Get an objective view of how you sit on and pedal your bike. If you’ll be spinning through 10,000+ pedal strokes during a single ride, you should ensure each rotation is as efficient as possible. The only way to achieve that level of efficiency is to measure you and your bike – then make your bike fit you. Not the other way around.

And Maffetone advises you mind your brain too. It’s the central governor of all training and racing. Not only does it drive the neuropathways that make physical activity possible and indeed elegant, but it’s also responsible for the simple fact of getting your butt up off the couch and out the door for a workout in the first place. Maffetone presents some ideas to nurture your mind, which any person – athlete or not – would benefit from. Music is one approach he discusses. I especially liked his idea of “marking my territory” with the music I enjoy and find important to me.

Nutrition is a key natural performance enhancer for all athletes. I found Maffetone getting a little carried away and repetitive with his discussion of folate – primarily a criticism of too much folate in our diets – yet he does make a clear conclusion: “The remedy for these problems is very simple: eat your fruits and vegetables.” And finally he provides this sensible summary at the end of the Eating chapter: “Food is what powers our body to be the best endurance athletes. Don’t cheat your body and brain by eating junk food. Get into the habit of only buying healthy food – then it’s less likely to find its way into your house.” That last sentence reads a bit awkward. The premise is, if you have junk food in your house then you’re almost certainly going to eat it. If you don’t buy it in the first place, of course you won’t eat it! Some people don’t understand how powerful that simple logic is.

Problems

So my problems with the book are minor. There are some laughable editing errors, such as “attaché” where “attach” was needed. I’m not sure how a proof-reader could have missed these, unless the proofreading was farmed out to a low quality virtual assistant. 

I’m a man of action. I would have liked to see more summaries of action steps the reader could take away at the end of each chapter. But at least there's a helpful “Muscle Fatigue Checklist.” Every endurance athlete should reference it to keep their training on an accelerated pace.

Recommendation

This is a book I’d give to new endurance athletes. They won’t go wrong starting with the information here. If you know someone that’s keen on beginning cycling or running or triathlon, it would make a good gift idea. But it’s only a start. Cyclists will need more of this information mapped to them. And that’s where the services of a knowledgeable coach would be a solid next step after reading The Endurance Handbook. 

Check it out yourself at Amazon …

The Endurance Handbook: How to Achieve Athletic Potential, Stay Healthy, and Get the Most Out of Your Body

And Maffetone's full treatment on endurance training using the MAF HR method …
The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing

References

1.  http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=1938276&privcapId=2482488&previousCapId=82032365&previousTitle=Omthera%20Pharmaceuticals,%20Inc.
2. http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/33948924

2012 - Santa, I've Been Good...

Christmas Eve Gran Fondo

 Dear Santa,

2012 has almost come to a close. You must have begun packing your sled for the Christmas Eve Gran Fondo - or is that a Gran-Gran Fondo. How would they add emphasis in Italian?

I'm sure you've got your team of reindeer all gunning for personal bests this year. Have you passed out their little brown lunch bags of "goodies" yet? This is one event that even WADA might agree would require a little performance enhancement to get everybody through to the end. I also received an anonymous text message that the UCI will grant Rudolph a morphological exception for his little - ahem - nose issue. But there may be donation strings attached to the exception. Ah, put him on the team anyway, and apologize later if needed!

But if you think about it, simply completing this Gran Fondo within the cut-off time will come down to managing your transition times - land on the rooftop, grab the right presents, down the chimney, drop those presents, have a quick swig of recovery drink and a bite of an energy bar (aka, milk and cookies), then back up the chimney, into the sled, clip in and you're off! Whew! That's a lot to do in transition, and it has so many places to go off the rails. Maybe you'll need a little something in your own brown lunch bag to simply manage the mental focus to stay on track?

But who am I to give Santa coaching advice? Please, forgive my impertinence! Alas, I'm no Dr. Ferrari!

Let me explain...

Actually, I think I've really been a good boy this year. I never blew-off a workout... unless it was raining. But who has time to clean a bike after a ride in the rain? But I did get caught in the rain a few times! And I didn't hide it out. Just kept on riding.

I started the year strong, riding all the way up Haleakala on Maui, all by myself. Okay, I did come across a couple of riders, but dropped them like stones before we were even half-way to the top. And later, I only stopped long enough to layer-up when I got to the Ranger Station. Despite being Maui, it gets chilly between 7,000' and 10,000' - but not as chilly as your North Pole!

A few weeks later I went with my local riding buddies to a spring cycling camp in Penticton, BC. Now these guys didn't really need my help, other than a little bit of route guiding here-and-there. But I did my share of pulls into the wind when it counted.

And that went for racing with my team too - I did my share of working when needed, and then got out of the way so the big boys could finish off the race for the team.

And at the Argyll Velodrome, I was the pawn that kept all the young guys racing strong and honest. I even helped organize some informal match sprint racing, something I dubbed "The Tom & Jerrys".

As a coach, I again led the weekly rides for our local youth triathlon club, The Gators Tri Club. My job was mainly about keeping these kids safe on the roads, making sure "No man gets left behind". And none did!

I kept the rest of my coaching duties focused on one client, BP, an up-and-coming former Junior hockey player. I believe I've done a decent job of helping BP to basically get through Cat 3, and upgraded to Cat 2. Of course, he had to do all of the hard work to get there. I'm proud of him, and hope you are too! Please be good to him!

So you see Santa, I've been giving, giving, giving all season long. Perhaps you can look over my little cyclist's Christmas Wish List, and find something there you can give me this Christmas! And please keep this list in mind for any of the cyclists you have on your list this year, I'm sure they'd all appreciate receiving any of these:

The 2012 Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

1. Continental Gatorskin Tires - Because we all spend more time training than racing. When we can carve out that precious time to train, we can use a great training tire that doesn't leave us standing on the side of the road, changing a flat.
2. Rollers - Even just 30mins a couple times a week will improve your pedaling technique immensely. See if you can get to standing while riding your rollers!
3. Snowshoes - Because you want to keep sane, and still train outside, but don't really want to take up snow-cycling. Snowshoeing has basically no learning curve, unlike any form of cross country skiing. Snowshoes are quick to put on and get outside, and provide a super workout for your glutes and hip flexors. You really only need to find a snow covered soccer or football field, and you're good to go, though any kind of trail system will make it feel like you're truly out on an adventure.
4. A cycling DVD - Like Blood, Sweat + Gears. This winter it would be really inspirational to watch the story of an American ProTour cycling team trying its level best to compete honestly on the world stage.
5. A cycling book - Like the current tell-all The Secret Race, by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle. Because if we are ignorant of our history, we are doomed to repeat it...
6. An awesome set of Park Tools - Because Park makes basically the most reliable bike tools out there, and they stand firmly behind their quality. Any bike tool by Park Tool deserves a place on my workbench.
7. Socks! - A touch of whimsy can be added to any cycling kit with a simple pair of socks, and SockGuy is the go-to-guy for whimsy. They'll at least put a smile on my face when I kit-up, and maybe they'll distract that wheel-suck behind me just enough that when I drop the hammer, he gets dropped like a bag of nails!

Big Week Recovery

Getting faster on the bike is always about proper recovery from your hard workouts. Having completed a big volume week like we did in Penticton (at least 2x the hours most people ride weekly), you need to really back off on both volume and intensity during the following week.

Cut Your Volume

The simplest approach is to cut your riding volume in the following week to about 1/3 to 1/4 of the big week riding volume. So, from riding 20hrs, you'd drop down to 5-7hrs of riding, and I'd suggest keeping it all at your basic Endurance riding exertion.

Power Down For Sleep

Then, of course, pay attention to quality sleep. Throughout your season you need to be keeping up with good sleep hygiene. If you haven't developed a decent nighttime routine, now is the time to do so. Here is a good 1-hour power down outline to begin following, broken down into 3 x 20minute blocks (yeah, kinda like an interval session, but this one is pretty laid back):

1. Spend 20 minutes doing simple chores that need to be done for the next day. This will relieve some mental stress. Do things like making tomorrow's lunch, packing your briefcase or book bag, making sure the dishes are put away. It's not the time to do vacuuming, or any other heavy cleaning chores.
2. Spend the next 20 minutes taking care of your personal hygiene, things like washing up (a quick shower or bath or hot tub soak), flossing (you do floss, don't you???) and brushing your teeth.
3. Spend the last 20 minutes reading or meditating.
   

If you only have about 30 minutes for all of this, then split the routine into 10 minute chunks.

No More Ice For Injuries

Finally, take care of your little aches and pains. Visit your massage therapist and identify any muscles that seem to have been particularly over-worked. If something needs a little more care, the latest research points to R.C.E - not R.I.C.E. If you're not familiar with the acronym, it goes as follows:

• R = Rest - avoid using the affected muscle, tendon or joint
  
• C = Compression - wrap the affected area in a compression bandage
  
• E = Elevation - elevate the affected area

Compression and elevation are used to encourage any swelling to dissipate. Rest, of course, prevents further aggravation until the area has fully recovered. Ice (the "I" in R.I.C.E) is no longer suggested. The cold interferes with an immuno-factor that your body tries to send to the area for healing inflammation. Even Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), like ASA or ibuprofen, interfere with your body's immune response to inflammation. They should only be used if the pain is so bad, you can't otherwise function or get any useful rest. I learned about dropping the "I" from the doctor that first coined the term - Gabe Mirkin. You can read more about it here: http://www.drmirkin.com/public/ezine111410.html

MuscleCare Product Review

I was given a sample of MuscleCare to review during our Penticton camp. If you do need a little extra spot-relief from muscle pains, MuscleCare can help. The idea is similar to other muscle ache products, but this one provided a cooling-effect, not a heating effect like the others. I really can't say whether or not it speeds healing your hurts, but it did provide me some relief. I used it on the back of my neck and my lower-back after a long day in the saddle. It seemed to help get my mind off the aches, allowing me to concentrate on other things. I'm not sure if this is because of its slight topical pain-killing properties, or simply the cold sensation it provided to the area.

In any case, I really liked the roll-on applicator that my sample came in (it's also available in a maximum strength ointment). Using the roll-on provided a mini-massage of the area, and I didn't get the product all over my hands in the process. It was non-greasy, and dried up quite quickly after application. Knowing now to stay away from ice and NSAIDs, I'll reach for MuscleCare first, next time I've got any persistent aches.

If you're interested, check out their website www.MuscleCare.net, or pick some up at your local drug store. I appreciate that it's a stand-out Canadian product in a sea of multi-national commercial formulas.

Note: No financial considerations have been given or offered for this product review.

Riding Across Hawaii - At Home!

After my little cardiac episode, my cardiologist told me I should initially return to stationary cycling. He felt it best for me to stay in a safe environment should anything strange happen to me again. But who wants to ride indoors during the summer? Anyway, I used my predicament as an opportunity to review Global Ride's "Hawaii Rides" DVD set. Read on and you'll find some reasons why you may want to use these DVDs yourself any time of the year...

I already have a CompuTrainer. That provides me with probably the best indoor cycling experience. However, at about $2500+ for a full setup (the CompuTrainer, plus a computer to run it), what are the alternatives for cyclists without piles of money to invest? Virtual ride DVDs can fit the bill.

In this market segment, Global Ride has put together a set of 3 DVDs in their "Hawaii Rides" product: Volume 1, StrenDurance in Hawaii; Volume 2, Oceanside Ride; and Volume 3, Maui Rides. Coming soon and sold separately will be their "Speed & Power in Italy" volume.

The formats are similar on each DVD. Riders warm up to a slide show of scenic Hawaii photos. Then the on-bike video workouts begin. Riders are given first-person videos shot from an actual cyclist's ride, featuring some of the best roads on Maui and Oahu. Original House-style music and various audio coaching tracks are available on each ride, providing different coaching voice-overs to accompany cyclists. For a cool down, each DVD concludes with another slide show, but this time the photos are from the producer's world-wide cycling adventures. Finally, each DVD includes a bonus off-bike training segment: Strength Training on Volume 1, Pilates Training on Volume 2, and Yoga Training on Volume 3.

Why You'd Use These Videos

• You're looking for alternatives to simply riding a trainer and staring at your handlebars for an hour.
• You're short on time (damn meetings at the office kept you late, again) and/or short on daylight and/or lack good weather for an outdoor workout. Maybe it's pouring rain. If you don't have an extra hour to clean up a muddy bike afterward, then why not throw on a Global Ride DVD, turn on a fan, and ride your trainer? It's certainly better than taking an unplanned day off.
• You don't have the big bucks for a computerized virtual trainer, but you'd still like some virtual video for your training pleasure.

How To Use These Videos

Most of my own training is structured around intervals. The very nature of bike racing is unstructured intervals. Attacking, counter attacking, covering breaks - they're all synonyms for intervals.

Climbing intervals are one of the best ways to interval train. And these Global Ride DVDs are mostly about climbing intervals. The Hawaiian Islands are collections of lumpy volcanic rock. The most picturesque rides are roller coaster ups and downs over smooth black asphalt. Gene Nacey, producer of these videos, has grabbed the best of them (mostly from Maui) and burned them onto these DVDs. Almost by default, each DVD is a concentrated 50 to 55 minutes of interval riding.

Yet like a spin class, which these seem to have been initially produced for, you ride at your own pace. The four separate audio coaching tracks on each DVD give you options. Follow each coach's prompts for when to dial up the resistance, hit the pedals a bit harder, or sit down and spin out the lactic acid. If you want to get the most from less than an hour on your bike, then intervals are about the only way to go.

During my mid-winter training, I could see myself using these videos to put together my own Staycation Mini-Camp. As a break from my regular training, over the course of a week I could cycle through all three videos, selecting different coaching tracks and bonus sections each day. It would certainly be cheaper than even 1 night's accommodation in Hawaii, let alone the airfare to get there!

Technically, setting up in front of a wide screen TV would be best. But running on a laptop or portable DVD player set on a chair in front of your trainer will also work. Head phones are almost a must, if you want to get the best audio into your head over the drone of your trainer.

How To Use The Bonus Sections

Riders can use the DVD's Main Menu to quickly navigate to each bonus section, providing about 25 minutes of supplemental material on each DVD.

Strength Training Bonus (on StrenDurance DVD): If you're new to strength training for cyclists, then this is a good introduction. But if you've spent at least one season in the weight room, then you've likely moved beyond the routine provided. It only uses dumbbells, making it extremely approachable for novices. Advanced users could use this routine for some in-season maintenance, or during your fall transition period as you ease back into the weight room.

Pilates Bonus (on Oceanside Ride DVD): An excellent core stability section. In-season, I only hit my core with 3 basic exercises (front plank, side plank and bird-dogs). Off-season, a compact Pilates routine like this one would make for some good core stability work. And a stable core is key for a strong, stable pedal stroke.

Yoga Bonus (on Maui Rollers DVD): Yoga for cyclists is like stretching on steroids. It takes a little extra time than a basic stretching routine, but in the end you always feel more rejuvenated. After your longest weekly ride, spending a half-hour with this yoga routine will get your recovery well under way. My only criticism is the first half of the routine progresses too fast - cyclists without any yoga pose familiarity will probably find themselves pushing the video pause button a number of times trying to keep up.

Bravos!

• Looks great on a wide-screen TV or laptop. Hawaiian scenery is a fantastic backdrop for your cycling. These videos are the next-best thing to actually being there.
• Audio coaching is like having your own team coach shouting in your ear, keeping you honest during the workout.
• You can get some Magic Maui Miles - almost - for less than the cost of a night in a hotel. No airfare required!
• Rider-cam video is stable when the roads are smooth. Thankfully, most of the rough-road riding has been left on the editing room floor.
• Strength, Pilates and Yoga bonuses add worthwhile seasonal supplements to the cyclist's training toolbox.
• During these rides, you can cycle at your own pace, and you'll never get dropped on the hills!
• Great hard-driving House music is fun for spinning.

Blunders¡

• Some sections of the audio coaching can be hard to hear over the music track. Users at least can select the audio coaching only, get used to the routine, and then add the music back in later. Or if they like, they can select music-only.
• I could do without the raindrops on the camera lens during the beginning of the Hana Highway ride on the Maui Rollers DVD. At least this "camera creativity" is only around for about the first 10 minutes of the ride.
• Yoga routine moves a little too fast for novices.
• Audio coaching is more spin-class centric. It took me a few views to realize that, "Let's turn right," meant to increase the bike resistance (turn the resistance knob clockwise), not turn my bike right. If you're not actually on a spin bike, then you'll probably want to be on a trainer with a handlebar mounted resistance controller (works a bit better to "dial in" the hills, though switching to a bigger gear can also work but might be a little less precise than you want).

Product Summary

Producer: www.GlobalRide.net
Price at time of review: $75 for complete "Hawaii Rides" 3 DVD set, or $30 for each individual DVD.
Features on each DVD: 50 to 55 minutes of image stabilized first person video recording, English language coaching tracks from experienced American, Australian and Italian coaches as well as a live recording from a spin studio, original House-style music audio tracks, and about 25 minutes of bonus supplemental training.
How obtained: Sent to me by the producer.
Am I an affiliate?: No.
Would I use this in my own training?: Yes! I particularly like my Staycation Mini-Camp idea. I really love riding on Maui - these Global Ride DVDs would be a good travel alternative during our cold Canadian winters.