Team Chimera has offered to let me borrow one of their rollers. I jumped at the offer and should be picking it up tonight or tomorrow. Ryan has told me that he wants me to videotape my first experience. I will have my Hi8 ready. Who knows, I might be able to make some money on America's Funniest Home Videos
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Be sure to place lots of pillows around the rollers,
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So when Ryans falls over laughing he does not hurt himself. :D
 
[img:7c60f52a7e]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/albums/bc_personal/120x90.png[/img:7c60f52a7e]

I can't wait to see the video.

Chris I've tried to reiterate your roller story a few times but I'd really love it if you could post it up here and do it some justice. I seem to recall something about narrowly missing a TV and crashing into a couch.

All I know is if you tried them and no longer use them any more, that's all I need to know.

Ryan

[quote:41dbcf59a2="chrisnaimie"]Rollers are a great way to work on your pedal stroke during the off-season. Until you get pretty proficient on them it is kind of scary to stand up ... so you end up having a real tired back-side after a pretty short ride. I have ridden them quite a bit in my many years of road riding, but I have found that they require me to think a little to much about balancing on them to promote a good hard interval workout like I can get on a fluid trainer (yes ... I have also owned at least one wind trainer (could not hear myself think) and a magnetic trainer (catastrophically failed made me think I was being shot at) also).

I do have one funny roller story. About 6 years ago we had a cat. I was riding my rollers (which have long since worn out and been discarded) and the cat decided it would be a good idea to dart between my wheels as I was cranking away in a modest sprint. It scared the heck out of me and I fell off the side of the rollers. Fortunately ... both wheels hit the floor at the same time. Unfortunately ... I took off at a fairly good rate of speed toward the TV. Fortunately ... I was able to take a 90 degree right turn before I hit the TV. Unfortunately ... that sent me through a doorway that has a 4 inch drop into our dining room. Luckly ... I kept the bike upright, rode through the dining room into the kitchen, where Tina (my wife) was sitting at the kitchen table. Those of you who are married can imagine the incredulous look she gave me![/quote:41dbcf59a2]

Here it is
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Well I did it, its done. I picked up the rollers earlier down in Keene, got home as quick as possible, got all my biking gear on, setup the rollers, put my bike on and there I go. I take my first few pedals and realize that Tim wasn't kidding when he told me that its kind of like riding on ice. If you can't pedal at a high rate of speed and stay going in a straight line, your done. As soon as the rollers start going, your bike gets a mind of its own. Left, then right, left, right............ take a break. I started up again and took Tim's recommendation of getting up to a high speed ASAP. So I start up and quickly get my speed to about 20mph. One hand is on the handlebars and on e hand on the wall. I keep this pace for about 5 minutes just trying to keep the handlebars as straight as possible. My cat thought it was quite interesting, until of course it got underneath me, luckily I was holding onto the wall at that point. After about another 5 minutes of being able to keep my bike straight while holding onto the wall, I started testing my balance. I slowly started letting go of the wall, just letting my hand hover above the area I was holding onto for dear life 10 minutes earlier. Slowly I was able to move my hand off the wall more and more and then was able to ride for about 5 minutes not holding onto anything other than the handlebars. So, in summary, nothing exciting happened, and within about 10 minutes I was able to let go of the wall. Next task will be to build the confidence to not need a wall to start.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Maybe rollers would help me with my balance too.

You do really have to pay attention to everything. Your pedaling needs to be smooth or you bike will start wanting to lunge forward or weave side to side. You have to pay attention to the amount of weight you are putting on the handlebars, because if you put to much weight on one side, the bike will turn the other way. You also have to keep you body aligned with the bike or you start to lean and fall of the rollers. I rode for about 15 minute this morning and that was enough for me. I was tired just from concentrating on everything so much just to stay on. Now I know why people say that they are not good for long workouts.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Ken,
Sounds like the rollers are quite a "hit".

The first time I tried them was on an open floor with exercise mats all around and someone holding my seat. They let go and I didn't even know until they walked in front of me and I panicked and hit the floor. It doesn't take long to get good on them, and besides it looks cool warming up before a race. Good Luck!!
P.S.> We can't make the Sat ride, but I would be interested in Sunday, road or mountain.

Tim

I don't know if I can ride on Sunday. It all depends on what happens Saturday. If I ride Saturday, then I won't be able to Sunday, otherwise I probably can. If you want, you can put a post up under MTB Rides to see if anyone wants to give you a full tour of the Pinnacle on Sunday. You might be able to get a couple people together. Its to early in the week for me to commit to anything other than I really want to go for a MTB ride this weekend.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Tim, I won't be able to make the ride on Sunday. I believe my friend Dana wants to go for a MTB ride Sunday morning if you are interested. He knows the trails pretty well also, so he can give you a tour of the Pinnacle and Coit if you would like.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini