Got this DVD in the mail a few weeks ago and have finally had the chance to sit down to review it. Here it is…..

If you like to climb mountains in your own living room for an hour on a home trainer then this is probably one of the better ways to do it.

This DVD brings the Suffrage climb to you without having to step out the door, jump on a plane and fly to Italy with your bike and cycling shoes.

You get to climb slowly through this Ride with a couple of chaps taking in the scenery (you can see them in the video clip below).

Great for those days when the weather is bad outside and you still want to get your cycling fix.

There are four soundtracks to choose from. The first three are narrated by a coach from either New Zealand, America of a UK American… The fourth has a narration from what appears to be a live spin class that is watching this DVD.

The coach guides you through the climb – enticing you to go hard at certain points and provides advice on Heart Rate intensity.

You can also switch off the audio and just watch the video without the narration.

It takes about an hour and you get to ride on the right hand side of the road.

At the end of the DVD there is a bonus 30 minute Cycling Yoga class. It covers all the classic yoga moves that can be applied to cyclists and they do it in cycling clothes… Go figure?

I have embedded the YouTube promotion of this DVD for you too.

Picture This:

Its pouring rain outside, about 10 degrees, massive puddles everywhere, and the wind is blowing a gale…. Not exactly a good day for training, or is it?

The weather outside today was crap, not somewhere i wanted to be. but my training schedule called for 2 hours on the bike then i remembered the box set DVD’s of Hawaii Rides by Global Ride.

Hawaii Rides Review

The concept behind the DVD’s is great. for those who have never used an indoor video training partner i will briefly explain what they are.

Somebody goes out and videos a ride and turns the footage into a DVD. simple concept, that can be done really well, or just look really bad, either way it makes your indoor training sessions so much better than “myth busters on discovery channel”

With this set, Global Rides has nailed it. These particular DVD’s are shot on some of the most beautiful roads around Hawaii. The pace the car sets is spot on. when you are climbing its nice and slow, and then naturally speeds up when you hit the downhills and the flats. I am lucky enough to have a 42″ plasma TV at home and this makes the riding/viewing experience even better. My indoor trainer of choice was my set of rollers, however i should have chosen the stationary trainer so that i could adjust resistance when the road went up hill.

Within minutes of the first disk i watched (Oceanside road) i found myself completely immersed in what was happening in front of me. I even waved at the man with the dog…. lucky no one saw me…

45 or so minutes later the disk was done, and left me wanting more. so i quickly hopped off the bike (well that’s not true, i was already off the bike and you will see why later) and chucked in another one. The next disk in was StrenDurance.

Its here where i should explain how each disk is setup. They all come with three main cycling sections. It seems the first and the last are shorter than the middle. when you put the disk in you are given the option of music on or music off, i chose to put it on. you are also given the choice of having a coach talk you through the “stages” on the first disk i chose the Australian coach and had a lady telling me what gear i should be in and when to rest and when to drink. i stopped the disk returned to the menu and then turned her off. I found her a little frustrating, felt like she was holding me back, but i can that other riders who need added motivation to train indoors will want to have her there. The music is great, keeps you nice and energized to help keep up the motivation.

before the first stage and after the final “stage” you are shown some lovely still images from the area you have just ridden. it gives you time to cool off at your own pace. When the images at the end are done you get the chance to do either a Yoga, Pilates or strength training plan. Each disk has a different one. (This is why i was off the bike already)

Knowing nothing about pilates and having never ever done it before i decided to give it a try. My Mrs was home from work just before the riding finished and saw that the Pilates section was up next, she asked if i was going to do cause she would like to join me, so we did it together. she really enjoyed it and says that she will be skipping forward to do it again. she is also looking forward to trying out the yoga that comes on the Maui Rollers disk

Its difficult to find anything negative about these DVD’s. They are so well shot, the scenery and roads are fantastic, the camera even drives in the bike lane to give added authenticity.

But if i have to nit pick, I would like to see more of the rider in front of the camera, when he is there you get a better feeling on just how steep the road is. During most rides he is obviously following the camera car cause you get the occasional shot of him shot out the back of the car. having him there gives it a slightly more personal feel as well. Sort of like having a trainer buddy with you.

Another feature i would like to see would be to have a small graphic in the corner that shows the road grade as a % and also how many minutes are left till the ride is over

Conclusion

I kind of feel like i have been on a cycling holiday in Hawaii today riding around with some dude. We rode some great roads, waved at some locals watched the sunset, powered up some hills, cruised down a few hills, took in the stunning cliffs that seem to drop off into the sea… i could go on and on….

If you cant afford to head to Hawaii this weekend to do a few rides… like most of us. then head over to amazon.com and buy this box set. I highly recommend it and give it 4.5 stars out of 5

Last week, I was openly told about my time management skills: “They aren’t the best!”. Well, I have known that for a long time and chose to take it as a personal characteristic and not as a modern day calamity. It is a less stressful approach to life, I reckon, and might just be a healthier one too.

Now that I mentioned that, I can confess that the USPS parcel with the Global Ride DVDs arrived a “few weeks” ago. Not that I just put them aside – I was too excited about getting them to do that – so I did opened the package quickly and started playing the first DVD straight away. Then, there was a trip overseas, a bit of training, a couple of races, etc…
My first impression: I liked them! And from the week I received them, I started doing the Yoga sessions two to three times a week. Now, after going through them, I can write a little review and hope that it will assist someone wishing to purchase training DVDs. I wish I had received them six months ago…

Let me start by saying that I haven’t been overly keen to use training DVDs in the past and I have only tried a couple of them, made by some big manufacturer of wind trainers. The Global Ride DVDs, having been produced by a small production house and featuring a couple of familiar voices (let me surprise you there if you are in Brisbane), made me more interested. Another point of interest to me is the location where the rides took place – Hawaii. I am still a surfer by heart and the dream of surfing in Hawaii still comes up now and then.

At first, I didn’t set up the bike on the trainer to try the DVDs. I had just returned to riding on the road after months and months of training on the wind-trainer and spinning on the rollers. So every chance I had, I just got on the road. Nevertheless, I chose to sit in the front of the TV set and watch them while doing my basic stretches and/or having my post-ride meals.

The first thing I liked about this three DVD set is the inclusion of the Strength, Pilates and Yoga training. They are a huge bonus! The sessions are well presented and easy to follow. The Pilates training is fairly new to me and I haven’t done a lot of strength work in the past but I have done lots of Yoga and I can tell this session in the Maui Rollers DVD is what we, as cyclists, need after every training session on the bike.

It’s also a plus to have the choices of trainers (voice-overs) in all of the DVDs. In fact, there are lots of choices when playing the DVDs and surely everyone will find something they like. Or even, no voice-over at all. While on the subject of sound, the music is good, motivating.

I found Italian coach Marzia Cozzolino the best as she guides through the sessions. Funny enough, I was expecting to learn a bit of Italian but Marzia only speaks English on the DVDs. With a lovely accent, I must add. Surely, some ladies could enjoy listening to coach Massimiliano. That’s if they could find him, sorry, I couldn’t. Something to be looked at by the folks at Global Ride.

Back with the music, I am not a music buff so there is a lot of stuff that I didn’t know. So good, I can just play one of the DVDs and pump the volume a little to have nice music in the house.

Another good feature on the three DVDs is the slide-show set up for the warm-up so you don’t get thrown into the hard part straight away. The photographs are beautiful and get you in the right mood for the training, or packing and buying a ticket to Hawaii.

Kissed by Morning Rain is one of my favourite sessions but I would prefer not to have the rain drops on the lens. For the purist, it makes it very realistic, so “grab your light weight rain jacket”… The scenery is beautiful.

As they come in a package of three, there are lots of choices and great rides to keep anyone motivated during the winter months and rainy days. Not just that, for those days that we don’t have the time, the DVDs will make a quick session on the rollers more fun.

Now, for my next holiday, I won’t just take my surfboards to Hawaii, I will be taking my bike as well!!

Thanks to the folks at Global Ride!