It’s been over a week since I was last on the road with my bike.  Last week was cold and wet, so I spent every morning in the garage on the trainer.  Saturday I was lazy and didn’t ride, and yesterday I had no opportunity.  It’s cold again this week, but expected to warm up by Wednesday or Thursday.  Unfortunately, I’m going to miss my long rides again this coming weekend because I’ll be out of town.

I’ve been experimenting with music while I ride the stationary trainer, trying to determine the best music for riding.  I’ve come to the realization that “best” is determined in large part by what kind of workout I want.  If I’m aiming for a slow or moderate workout, Pink Floyd seems to work well, and The Cars debut album isn’t too bad.  For a fast ride at a steady pace, my favorite is Deep Purple’s “Best Of” album because most of the songs are similarly paced with some raw guitar and heavy percussion.  I can turn off the brain and just pedal along with the music.  I’m still trying to decide what’s best for the interval workouts.  BTO’s “Best Of” album is pretty good, with a few moderately slow tunes interspersed and some hard-driving rock & roll that pushes me to the limit.  Today I tried Bob Seger’s “Nine Tonight” live album and was pleasantly surprised.  Even most of his slower cuts have enough energy in them to keep me pumping, and songs like “Her Strut” have me pushing my heart rate up over 100%.

Believe me, you need stuff like this to alleviate the boredom of pedaling in one place.  I’ve tried music other than rock and roll, but it just doesn’t seem to work for me.  Classical music and jazz require active listening.  I can hardly bear to listen to modern “Country” music.  The older stuff is great for dancing or drinking beer, but doesn’t have the raw power of classic rock.  And rap, well, that’s not really music.