I had the opportunity on Saturday to test ride a Global Ride roller workout DVD – “Climbing Suffrage in Italy“. Here’s how that opportunity came about — my wife was working this weekend, and my parents were out of town so I was in charge of our kids all day. When my wife came home in the evening, it was too late to go ride outside so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try out this new workout. I rarely ride inside, and when I do I am usually doing a recovery ride on the rollers while listening to music or watching an old Tour de France or Paris Roubaix DVD. But this day was different because I knew that I had a hard race coming up on Sunday, and also because the people I would be racing against were all racing in Dilworth, NC at that very moment. So I wanted to get a good hard workout in to get my legs ready for Sunday.

The Global Ride DVD was absolutely PERFECT! Normally I can’t get my heartrate out of Zone 3 on the rollers but with this DVD I made it all the way into Zone 5. The music was great although the first five minutes of introductory warm-up music was a bit too mellow for my taste. I think you were supposed to be stretching during that time, but I just spun easy. Then the last few minutes of easy warm-up was some good upbeat music before hitting the first section of the course — rollers on the scenic 2009 Giro D’Italia Stage 12 TT course. This was still a warm-up section, but at a faster pace as encouraged by the New Zelander coach. I believe the section that was covered was from miles 9 to 12 (see my topo creator map below). The views were stunning!

Then onto the main climb for the day — a 30 minute climb in Italy — the DVD shows you a nice Google Earth animation of the climb right as you hit it. The climb is not simply 30 minutes all out, but rather, the coach and the two accompanying riders do a good job of helping you go faster of slower to recover. The video coverage is smooth and switches between the view of the road ahead (mostly) and then a view of the companion riders who are either behind or ahead of you depending on what effort the coach currently has you doing. There are also occasional views of the spectacular scenery too. Once you push it to the top, you only have a couple minutes rest before you hit a different climb. This climb is full of switchbacks which the coach uses to push you hard on some short intervals. The cooldown begins once you make it to the very top as you see a beautiful ocean view stretched out below you looking back down to the beach where you could imagine you had just climbed up from. Then there are some scenes of Florence as you finish your cool-down.

Wow – loved it – here’s the highlights of what I liked -

* timer – easy to see and always visible
* good music – although warm-up music was a bit too mellow
* creative use of pace riders to encourage pushing it and/or recovery
* absolutely beautiful scenery – giro d’ italia tt course
* “sweet switchbacks” – good hard climbing – beautiful view of ocean from the top

Looking forward to the next one!

Urban Assault in Italy
The talented crew with Global Ride have once again produced a high quality series of virtual cycling DVD’s. I viewed, ” Urban Asault in Italy” this weekend. I am anxious to get up to training camp at The Cabin, where I can get on the Lemond Rev Pro, stationary bike and fly through the streets and hills of Italy. This video gives you options of your coach, including language options! You can go with or without the music, I opted for the music, which starts in the warm up phase with some authentic sounds from Italy. The warm up takes you through street scenes of Verona and Siena for about 7 minutes. You are riding through the streets with traffic, pedestrians and it as real as real gets. Following the warm up, previewing each new section of your ride is a birds eye view google map, giving you an idea of where you are in Italy. American coach and cyclist Phil Gaimon guides your workout, suggesting how hard to ride; zone 1, 2, 3 or 4 and for how long, with a good music beat it’s a great workout. On my next ride through Italy, I will try without the coach and do my own thing, it’s nice to have the option. The climb is a challenging one but with great street and road scenes throughout there is plenty to enjoy while your working those pedals. You will be ready for the cool down when it comes and perhaps feel as though you had a quick vacation in Italy when your ride is complete! As a bonus on this DVD, there is a stability ball exercise session, smartly done to help cyclists with their core strength. The best part of this video is the camera work combined with music to ride by, you won’t forget the Italian streets and roads, as true to life as can be, a great ride! Global Ride; thanks you have done it again!

From: Cycle Guy Blog

So much for riding outdoors or even making it to the computrainer classes this weekend. We had our second decent snow storm here in Davidson that started on Friday night. All in all we got about 6 inches of snow. Just enough to turn the roads into a mess. Unlike the north, when snow hits around here, it usually has a lot of ice mixed in. Those who dare to go out driving are risky indeed. The roads in our neighborhood are still covered and very few cars have gone in or out all weekend.

We generally hit the computrainer classes on Saturday morning up at Cool Breeze Cyclery. We use Saturday as a good base ride consisting of 30-35 miles. Here lately, we have started hitting some threshhold rides in preparation for the upcoming time trial season. Let’s just say that plan got snowed under.

Cyclops and Global Ride Cycling training DVDs to the rescue. Fortunately, we were able to go downstairs and climb onto the Cyclops trainers. Yesterday we rode two 1 hour sessions. The first was an interval session to Robbie Ventura’s Power training DVD. After that we hit a good hill climbing threshold ride with Urban Assault on Italy. Needless to say, when we were done, there was a very large sweat puddle on the floor beneath.

Today we are going to ride to two new Indoor Cycling Training DVDs. Both of these are from Global Ride and they are the remaining DVDs from the Italy Box set.

DVD #1 is called Speed and Power in Italy. A good combination of rollers with some good climbs mixed in. DVD #2 is titled Climbing Sufferage. Hmmm, I’m not so sure I like the sounds of that. I am positive that my riding partner and wife wont care too much for it. sshhhhhhhh.

Regardless of the outcome, riding indoors this weekend is the only option that we have. Hey, it’s a heck of lot better than the alternative of sitting on the couch, eating, and drinking Fat Tire beer all weekend. Next weekend will be our Super Bowl ride. Hopefully these two hour sessions will somewhat prepare us for the long, long ride during the Super Bowl.

Packaging makes a nice box set gift

Global Ride’s Hawaii Rides DVD set is a collection of three cycling workouts followed by three different cross training routines that tie into the spin session on that disc. Each cycling workout follows different scenic roads through Hawaii, offering a visual distraction from the sometimes (usually) boring time spent on the trainer and, if you’re like me, they help keep you focused on riding hard enough. My mind tends to wander, resulting in slower, easier spinning until I snap to. With the Global Ride training DVDs, you have three different coach “tracks” to choose from on each DVD, so you’re reminded to pedal harder, faster or whatever the specific workout requires.

Three of us tried one DVD each. If you typically spend a lot of time on the trainer in the winter, check out what our three testers have to say about the DVD’s after the break…

DVDs can be purchased separately too

Prior to the coaching, there’s a warm-up period that scrolls through photos of the islands. The cycling workouts vary in length, and you’ll get either Pilates, Yoga or Strength Training sessions following the ride. Each of us reviewed one DVD in the set, click on the picture of the individual DVD’s below to enlarge and you can read the back panel in full.

Maui Rollers, reviewed by Tyler (road and mountain biker):

The Maui Rollers DVD follows some of the coast of Hawaii and is, as the title suggests, a series of rollers, but they seem to go mostly up. You have to shift gears to adjust the cadence and effort to match what you’re watching and what the coach is telling you to do, so how much you get out of it is directly tied to how much you put into it.

As mentioned, I tend to let my mind wander and in the past I’ve caught myself staring into space with a pedal cadence of about 20 RPM. With these, I was engaged enough with the scenery and trying to do what the coach was suggesting that I kept the workout intensity up pretty well. In fact, the 45 minute session felt like only 20…and anything that can make an indoor trainer workout go fast gets some kudos. As far as watching this versus DVD’s of Le Tour or something, it’s different, and it has multiple coaching options on each DVD to keep it fresh, so it’s a good alternative when you’re *gasp* bored with watching Lance dance his way up the Sestriere. Even though it was only 45 minutes (plus warmup and cool down), it was a pretty solid workout…the quads were burnin’.

The Yoga section on this DVD is good as a post-workout stretching routine, and it has cycling specific stretches to help open up the hips and stretch the hamstrings and lower back. It’s a fairly long Yoga routine, not just a little something tacked on to say it’s there, and it’s well coached. The only downside is it tends to move a little quickly, especially for those not used to the poses. Here’s a sample video from the Maui Rollers DVD:

Oceanside Rides – Reviewed by Rob (road and mountain biker)

The two best things I can say about the DVD is that the scenery of Hawaii is beautiful and the Pilates bonus feature at the end really works your body. The cycling video part, though, could use some improvement. The entire program feels like someone took a spin class and recorded the audio then combined it with some techno music (which I liked, but not everyone will appreciate). Then they took some jerky home video from a route that someone had ridden in a car, motorcycle, ect. and combined all three together. The result is a video with some cool music, scenery, and a spin class coach in the background that sort of misses the mark as a workout video, but it does provide some cool shots of Hawaii if you have nothing else to watch on the trainer. The video lacks any on screen metrics to tell you where you are like in spinervals or a CTS workout video. Basically you are just listening to a spin class with some cool scenery and music in the background. Finally, the music was louder than the coaches so even if you were trying to follow their advice you couldn’t hear them clearly.

However, I did like the fact you can turn the coaching on and off as well as the music. Also, the option to hear the coaching done in different languages was pretty cool. The Australian chick sounded really hot!!

Editor’s Note (Tyler): I agree about the on-screen metrics. An incline graphic or time-to-finish would help you adjust your effort level…visually it’s hard to tell how steep the incline is just from the video.

Strendurance – Reviewed by Mick (triathlete)

Typically trainer rides are endured in the cold/dark winter days and training DVDs are an attempt to fight the boredom of the indoor ride.

This DVD knocks off the cold of winter with its beautiful scenes of Hawaii and pumps out a workout that makes the most of your time on the trainer. The music gets your legs moving, and the training sets are well coordinated with the beautiful Hawaii scenery.

Riding indoors is more intense and challenging than riding outdoors and requires more motivation. This DVD sucks you into the scenery and takes you into the beautiful Hawaiian landscape and makes staying in the saddle much less of a mental challenge than staring at the wall or TV show. The coaches add to the motivation to keep with it. The workout is challenging and leaves you feeling like you’ve had a great ride and vacation from the dreary days of winter when you’re done.

BIKERUMOR RATING:

The Global Rides aren’t so exciting that you look forward to trainer rides (what is, really?), but once you’ve dragged yourself onto the bike, they certainly make it bearable, and they tend to push you to actually get a good workout in. For that, they’re commendable, and the various workout/yoga/pilates sessions and pretty good, too. However, the quality of the video could be slightly better (there are rain drops on the camera for the first section of the Maui Rollers vid), and it really needs some sort of timing and elevation or intensity graphic to help illustrate what the coaches are saying. Target heartrate goals (as a percentage) or power outputs would also be helpful for those who use such training tools. As is, they’re a good visual distraction with some OK coaching and decent post-ride workouts, but they’re not a very scientific training tool. For the price, we think they should offer a little more technical info and graphics, but if you’re bored with everything else you’ve got to watch, they’re worth checking out. We give them 3.5 Thumbs Up.

I got an email a few weeks ago from Gene Nacey – founder of Global Rides, a company specializing in “first person” riding experiences for indoor training – wondering if I’d be interested in giving one of his DVDs a test-run. Not being the biggest fan of training indoors, I agreed enthusiastically… I’m eager to try anything that helps alleviate the potential boredom of training inside on your own.

Global Rides has managed to pack a lot of nice (and thoughtful) touches into this DVD, and it’s apparent right from the menu. Right off the start you’re able to make the choice as to whether or not you’d like music, and if you’d like a coach guiding your ride. I’ve only used the DVD a handful of times, but I can already see that it will be nice to have the flexibility and variety of spinning to your choice of tunes, and/or to ride a slightly different program than the one that’s offered on the DVD.

In addition to being able to turn the music/coaching audio off, you can select from 3 different coaches or a live session. After trying them all, I can say that this is a really great feature (and for me, almost a necessity). Sure it’s nice to be able to mix it up sometimes, but I also found some of the ways the different coaches handled the ride and the motivated you to grind through the gears better suited to my mental riding style. I actually really liked the live session as well, though I found (perhaps not surprisingly) that the voice-over coaching for this section not of the same quality as the others.

Select your coach

After using the DVD a few times, there were a number of things that stood out to me as being particularly helpful – many of which a direct by-product of the “first-person” riding experience:

1. Mini checkpoints
Just as if we were on a ‘real’ ride, the coaches did a good job at using mini-mental checkpoints. Rather than simply pushing out a hard set for a final “x” seconds, they would highlight landmarks in the environment… “Let’s push real hard until this corner…” or “keep those legs spinning until we crest this hill.” I found this really helpful since many times this is the way I push myself when I ride – I’ll look at a rock halfway up a gnarly climb and tell myself that I have to make it to the rock, then when I hit the rock I set another goal, until I either blow up, or get to the top.

2. Using the on-screen riders
Another thing I found unique and really helpful was some of the coaches use of the on-screen riders. Sometimes it was simply mirroring their actions

Puttin' the hurt on Gene

3. Posture checks
I find that many times when I’m doing intervals or spinning, the goal simply becomes finishing the set and I forget all about good riding form… It was nice to have the coaches chiming in little reminders… “Keep your elbow bent” or “Remember to flatten that back”. Practice like you play… Ensuring you have proper form during these sessions will go a long way to ensure you’re not a wet noodle out there next season.

4. Use of heart rate / perceived exertion
Depending on how you train the coaches used both perceived exertion and heart rate, so even if you don’t have a heart rate monitor you’ll be able to get a sincere workout in – Tough I will say that having an understanding of how to train using your heart rate will definitely let you get the most out of the sessions. Sally Edwards also does some cadence work which she’ll help you count out if you don’t have a computer with a cadence setting. That said, the work-outs will be much more enjoyable if you let gadgets do the math so you can focus on your riding

5. Cinematography & aerial course topography
Though the cinematography wasn’t quite BBC or National Geographic HD quality, it was still really well done, and did a good job of recreating that “rider” feel.

Course topography

5. Extras
The last feature I really like was the inclusion of a yoga/stretching session. I find yoga to be a little bit of personal thing (ie. whether or not you like it or not), but I found the sesssions at the end of the DVD to be helpful (and hard Flexibility is key in staying healthy and the exercises did a good job of working the areas specific to cyclists. Although the instructor did a pretty good job of describing the positions (ie. downward dog, cow, cat, etc.) I found that if you’ve gone to yoga sessions before, it will really help get the most out of the poses (then you can focus on moving through the poses, not on how to actually position your body through the poses – especially since some of the positions are moved through quite quickly). Another thing I found helpful was how the instructor often explained how the different stretches synced up with various biking positions. From my understanding this is mixed up on the different DVDs, being one of yoga, pilates, or strength training.

Yoga for cyclists is a bonus

Really after a few sessions with the DVD there was only one thing that bothered me… The audio mixing. The quality itself was fine, but for some reason the coaching was mixed into the left channel and the audio into the right. Because I generally use headphones (yes, even when it’s on the TV) I really noticed this. Not a deal-breaker by any means, but it did bug me.

Overall the DVD was great and it did a good job of getting me to turn the legs over and kick some ass, and production-wise they’re well put together, though there was one little hiccup that I found particularly humorous and I just have to share… As we were grinding up a climb Sally Edwards (the coach) was reminding us to “Take a second to enjoy the scenery, *really* look at it and soak it in”… While on screen Gene Nacey and his riding partner are in front of you out of the saddle… So really you’re soaking in Genes sculpted glutes… But then again, maybe that’s the way Gene wanted it… After all, he’s been working hard on those glutes all season

The ups

* Nice coaching cues – Mini checkpoints, use of on-screen riders, and notes on posture
* Cinematography give you a ‘riders’ feel
* Ability to change coaches (or turn them off)
* Ability to turn music off
* Aerial topography was fun (and previewed your workout to an extent)

The downs

* Though the audio quality was good, it would have been nice to have it mixed in stereo rather than music in one channel and voice-over coaching in another

Bottom line, would I recommend the DVD? If you’re looking for something to mix up your indoor training, then definitely. The flexibility of coaching and music options, combined with the ‘real ride’ feel are enough to make the DVD great in my mind – the extra features like yoga/pilates/strength and aerial course views are just icing on the cake!

The days are becoming shorter and colder. Soon, it will be time to spend a good number of hours training indoors in the gym or the gloom of a basement corner. If the end of the season isn’t depressing enough, being relegated to an hour spinning and going nowhere can seal the deal.

For now, the Hawks are concentrating on keeping Eric and Tiffany in top shape to race at nationals next week. When they return, however, our focus will turn to preparing for the 27-mile Iceman Cometh in Michigan. With the Iceman a month away, you can bet that the Hawks will be spending some time riding the trainers that Saris Cycling Group was so kind to donate to us last year.

Now, riding inside on a trainer doesn’t have to be torture. There are lots of ways to make it fun and interesting. Selecting different movies and music and playing different games can make the time fly by. And of course there are any number of DVDs designed specifically for training indoors. I’ve found one series that recently came across my desk to be particularly interesting and enjoyable.

Global Ride LLC has produced a couple of virtual cycling DVDs that follow cyclists through scenic and challenging landscapes. Rather than watch a group of sweaty individuals riding trainers while you’re riding a trainer (kind of hard to pretend you’re doing something enjoyable when you’re constantly reminded that you’re not by the group in the DVD … watching yourself in a mirror may be more effective), the Global Ride concept (and it’s not a new one) helps you imagine your riding along the coast of a Hawaiian island or through the Dolomites of Italy by providing a first-person perspective.

I recently spent a raining morning with StrenDurance in Hawaii, one of three DVDs in the Hawaii box set. The DVD has U.S. coach and triathlon hall of famer Sally Edwards providing instructions and inspiration while we follow a cyclist on a four-mile climb on the island of Oahu and along the shore on Maui followed by more climbing up the Maui cliffs.

The scenery is magnificent and the accompanying music selections work well. I did, however, find the instructional audio a bit hard to hear and understand (If you’re riding solo, you may want to use headphones.). I also found myself wishing the DVD included a visual dashboard to highlight the target exertion levels, cadence, heartrate and gearing, especially given the difficulty I experienced in understanding the coach’s instruction.

Global Ride founder Gene Nacey, a certified spinning instructor and heart zones cycling coach, says they’ve improved the audio quality for the forthcoming Italy series. He also said the whole point of the Global Ride DVDs is to help the rider get lost in the scene before them on the screen, therefore they decided not to include any visual cues on screen.

In additon to the training offered on the bike, each DVD comes with a 30-minute off-the-bike exercise session to strengthen your core and improve flexibility. The Maui Rollers DVD includes a yoga; the StrenDurance DVD includes strength-training; and the Oceanside Ride DVD includes Pilates. Each is a perfect cool down to compliment your training ride while also working as an effective workout on its own when time is short.

If you’re going to be spending some time locked away going nowhere, give the Global Ride DVDs a try. You can at least pretend you’re exploring new, beautiful locations. But be prepared to make a financial investment. The Hawaii boxed set sells for $75 while the individual discs run $30 each. This is comparable to most other DVDs on the market, plus you get the added 30-minute off-the-bike training.

Visit the Global Rides Web site for more info.
Posted by Ric Damm at 6:45 AM

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

Aloha folks! I’m back from a weekend of biking in Hawaii, in the islands of Oahu and Maui…

…I was in Virtual Hawaii, of course. The only plane seat that took me to Hawaii was a seat of a trusty old exercise bike. I never really left Sweden. Actually, I was trying out Global Ride’s Hawaii Rides DVD set:

The DVD Set, with CD 1 “StrenDurance in Hawaii”, CD 2 “Oceanside Ride” and CD3 “Maui Rollers”

Bicycle not included.

In contrast to my previous product reviews – of things ranging from hiking boots to a yoga mat, this one is the real thing. About 3 months ago, Global Ride Productions contacted me and other bloggers to review a 3-DVD set called Hawaii Rides, a coached cycling program for indoor- and road bikers. Since I love biking – we go often do bike tours and I volunteer as a functionary for group cycling classes indoors – I didn’t want to turn down the offer to write a review. Not even the fact that I don’t actually own an indoor bike hindered me. At any case, I thought, it could be something interesting for the guys at our gym, or for that day I get myself a stationary bike.

Until then, I watched the contents of the DVDs and eventually called someone I knew had an exercise bike. To make things more interesting, I biked all the way there for three hours to try the DVDs out for the weekend. In contrast to the “real” biking, doing the DVD program didn’t move me one inch, of course. I couldn’t help feeling a bit ridiculous at first knowing that I might as well have been biking outside in real hills. And although I’ve also been in stationary bikes in group spinning classes, “cycling” on my own in front of the TV was admittedly a new experience. I felt a bit self-conscious when the introduction was rolling and I was supposed to find myself “magically” transported to the Hawaiian islands.

That’s only half of the story, though. Eventually, I concentrated on my own biking and on the audio coaching, and I started to realize that there was really more to these DVDs than just being mere visual aids: they were bike lessons on how to become a better cyclist.

This is about six minutes into “Oceanside Ride”.
I’ll put up my hair soon!

The goal is endurance.

You’ll understand when the audio coach introduces you to the task at hand: throughout the “climbs”, straights and even downhill pedaling, the goal is to keep the pulse at a constant level throughout the 50-minute rides. To do this, you’ll have to adjust your cadence (the speed you pedal in) depending on what bike resistance (or bike gear) you have on. The ultimate goal is to bike on this “steady state”, on the highest sustainable pulse rate where you still feel that you could go on biking forever without fatigue. For beginners, this is at 70-80% of one’s maximum pulse, for professionals, 75-80% or even 80-90%. To keep working effectively at this pulse the whole time and not allowing yourself to cheat to a lower pulse is what builds endurance. It’s also about not burning yourself out too early on uphills when you know you still have many kilometers ahead and – when it matters in a race – not letting yourself get too much rest on downhill- and straight stretches so you can pedal instead at a higher cadence, make your ride faster and your overall work more efficient.

The hills go up and the hills go down. Your pulse shouldn’t do the same.

This training program also makes great sense when you realize how bike gears can work for your advantage in cycling. This was a mystery which I only began to learn recently, and which I still feel I need to crack. In spinning, you change resistance to simulate terrain; in real bikes, you change gears depending on terrain. The logic behind this is that the human body can only work efficiently in a narrow range of pedaling speeds (i.e. cadence) and the right gears optimize your work. In an ideal situation where the bike and the rider are one, the rider can make the whole ride efficient by changing gears often and varying cadence while still maintaining the highest sustainable pulse, not more.

Fulfill your own goals and find your own road.

That said, the DVDs are adaptable for any cycling goal and not just useful if you’re racing. The coaching tracks, with American, Australian and Italian coaches to choose from, can be turned off if you prefer to ride your own ride. The audio track, which consists of original techno music scores, can also be deactivated if you prefer your own music or if you’re using the DVDs as a visual aid for your own spinning or cycling classes. There’s also nothing hindering you from using the videos for exercise on other machines, for example a treadmill. Indeed, they make convincing visual aids, it’s almost like a bike simulation program. When you take the resistance up when you see the road ahead going uphill, the mind is somewhat tricked. Seeing the view “below” is also a good psychological reward for any exercise, even if the view is virtual. In that way, it’s a good motivation for serious cyclists to reconsider cycling indoors, and indoor spinners to consider going out and experience the real thing.

The suitability to personal goals is partly the point of the DVDs. While they’re useful and strategic training to serious cyclists who might think cycling indoors has little charm, they are also made to be accessible to the amateur recreational cyclist like me or even riders that have never biked outside the spinning hall, encouraging us all “to find our road”. Don’t be intimated by the cycling elite, in other words. The images during the cool down, where they show actual pictures from people’s cycling vacations around the world, are particularly inspiring to get out there and just try biking outdoors.

Don’t forget!

Don’t miss the 30-minute strength, Pilates and yoga sessions for bikers at the end of each CD – they’re definitely something we can imagine doing regularly. The strength-training session is particularly attractive for me because I would love to have stronger legs for biking. I like it that the session alternates between explosive movements and slow, controlled movements (for example, in alternating between fast and slow squats), and believe me, my muscles felt the work even without dumbbells. Pilates is another thing I’ve discovered lately thanks to a friend. Since I’m sold on the idea that strong core muscles makes one a better runner and cyclist and improve endurance, the Pilates session was also really a bonus. I would have probably bought the DVDs if just for the strength and Pilates sessions, which is to say that I do believe they’re a good complement to “just” biking.

A round-up of what I thought:

1. The music tracks are louder than the coaching tracks (which has its own background “noise” of the coach using a stationary bike), making the coaching hard to understand. I had to turn the music off (alternatively, set the volume really high) to hear the coaching clearly. In my DVD player, the coaching track in CD 1 also had worse quality halfway into the video, but it thankfully returned to normal after a while.

2. The difference between “real” biking and spinning are that hills are always, always so much harder in real life, for me anyway. Of course, the mental toughness and “will-I-make-it? feeling” is one thing an exercise program can’t simulate. On the other hand, doesn’t it feel good to have conquered that virtual hill so easily?

3. The best thing would be to do all three programs in the set for continuity and variation, but if you are only considering one or two, I can recommend CD 1, “StrenDurance in Hawaii” for its more comprehensive coaching and explanations compared to the other two CDs. The coach explains the basic of cadence and heart rate, and offers alternatives if you don’t have a pulse clock. On the visual aid side, CD 3 “Maui Rollers” has some of the best Hawaiian scenes in the CD set, but the coach here dosn’t explain the “target heart rate” that thoroughly, which can be confusing for a recreational biker watching CDs 2 or 3 by themselves.

4. There’s a positive psychological effect of the coaches “talking you” into the ride as you go along. Their words push, encourage, and give a pat on the back. In CD 3 “Maui Rollers”, there’s also this long bit I really like where you (the first person rider) and another cyclist alternate at overtaking one another. All these make cycling by oneself suddenly seem less solitary!

5. The DVD set is probably more interesting and useful if your goal is to improve your biking, get better at spinning or to increase your endurance in general. If your goal is to lose weight or to just get moving for daily well-being, I can imagine that most would say they’d rather be on the exercise bike watching regular telly – and I’d understand that. If you’re up to the challenge though or want to begin to bike for a hobby, this might be a good start if you’re too shy to bike in a class.

6. Lastly, although virtual reality is all well, I don’t think the DVDs should be seen as a replacement for biking outdoors. Spinning will remain an indoor exercise form, with the ups and downs that that entails. So, there will be no fresh air in your face, smell of ocean spray and no “nature experience” that has its own rewards. In winters and bad weather though, I think anyone can appreciate the possibility of taking “the ride, outside” in the comfort of your one’s own living room. Also, for people who’ve never tried to ride outdoors, I do think it can create a positive longing to get better at spinning and, eventually, ride outside.

With that, aloha! (means both hello and goodbye in Hawaiian)

Watch the commercial for the boxed set in YouTube (click here), or click on the titles below to see the ads for “StrenDurance in Hawaii“, “Oceanside Ride” and “Maui Rollers“.

The set costs $75.00 and is available from Global Rides website: http://www.globalride.net/

A few months ago I got contacted by Global Ride to see if I can do review of their training videos from Hawaii.I agree to do it. This training series contains 3 videos.Stren Durance, Oceanside ride and Maui Rollers. Each one have a different type of training purpose. Let see how their look.

Each video begins with a screen like this

It ask you music or no music or the bonus section of each video (more on this later) What ever you decide brings you this

If you decide coaching is up to you but if you decide it this are your options

You decide which language you want.
The only nos so good about this is that at least on my tv is hard to understand coaching with the music but again I don’t have a surround system or a home theater to play with it. one or the other is better and you understand it perfectly.

The first video is stren endurance and is coach by pro Matt Reed who I met a few weeks ago. The video show different type of terrains and basicalay you have to hold your cadence in all of them the views of different parts like Lahaina and the Maui cliff climbs are awesome. This is a great video for off season training or a rainy day that you want to do a solid workout.

The Second Oceanside Ride the footage of the beach are so great that honestly at least for me is hard to concentrate on the coaching. It is coach by Australian Nicci Heath who is a level 1 coach in Aussie land a Grade A Elite division racer. Just to say this is my favorite video of the 3 beacuse on the footage.

The Third one is Maui rollers well I call big hills this a good one in terms of a good hill workout trust me you pay the price. Is coached by Gene Nacey who is the founder of global ride and a spinning coach. The footage take on a nice Tropical Rain Forrest with some rain and a lot of vegetation. really nice.

All this videos end with some nice photos shot that the global ride have taken during they adventures is worth of seeing them while you cool down.

Each of this 3 videos contains a bonus section that include pilates, yoga and strength training for cyclist. Honestly I love the Pilates and Yoga section because I am a lacy to do this. This 2 bonus section have helped me a lot in term of flexibility and core strength they have become part of my weekly training. As for the strength training I wait for the off season to do it and let you know how its work.

Other uses that you can do with this videos if you ever have a cold winter party with friends over your house you can put them as part of the decoration while you host, it will remind everyone to take a vacation soon and forget about the winter

Over all the 3 videos are great they will help you improve over the offseaon at least for me the bonus sections are a plus and they do work in matter of weeks.

I highly recommend this product if you want to improve and forget about the winter in the offseason.

During the summer season, most cyclists hit the road to put in a good ride. Obviously, the days are longer, group rides are in full swing and it becomes easier to motivate yourself to get outside.

However, when you live down South and the temperature starts hitting triple digits consistently, the last thing a cyclist should do is ride outside. Not only are you more susceptible to dehydration but also more prone to heat stroke and other serious health problems.

So, what does a southern boy do?

Believe it or not, he moves the trainer inside for a more comfortable ride. But not for just any old training ride! If he’s going to be inside grinding out the mileage while the skies are blue outside, he’s going to need some strong motivation and inspiration to stay focused.

Enter Global Ride’s DVD series.

Now I’ll be the first to admit, when I first received my boxed set of Hawaii rides I didn’t expect much but panoramic video footage of lightly clad islanders pedaling along with lays wrapped around their torsos. Boy was I surprised!

Yes, the panoramic views are included but the rides are anything but a leisure stroll!

Upon unwrapping the Hawaii boxed set, I was greeted with three professionally packaged and produced DVDs — Maui Rollers, Oceanside Ride and StrenDurance in Hawaii.

The first one I chose was Maui Rollers.

“What could possibly be difficult about Maui Rollers?”, I thought.

I dropped the DVD into its player, mounted my Roubaix and stared at the 90″ screen neatly hanging from my home theater room’s wall. Yes, I know — a little excessive, but my kiddos like to watch Mickey Mouse in life-sized proportion.

Before the ride began, the intro warmup started with some nice upbeat music juxtaposed with a panoramic slideshow of the beautiful countryside of Maui. Ample time was given for the warmup and I felt ready to tackle whatever was next.

Surprisingly, the DVD transitioned into a calmer mood and started preparing me for a wet ride. It was obvious that rain had moved in during the initial filming and the producers did a good job of preparing you for the slightly distorted video footage. However, once the rain subsided, the camera lens was cleaned and the majestic Maui Rollers were clearly seen.

This is where things became even more interesting. I’ve used many different training DVDs in the past but none that even came close to what Global Ride provides with their realistic feel from the excellent video footage.

From every pedal stroke to hill climb, the workout was solid and exceeded my expectations. You will not be disappointed with this boxed set!

Another benefit is that each workout allows you to choose between a certified cycling coach from the US, Australia or Italy. Or, you can choose the bonus training workout which focuses on strength training, pilates and yoga.

All-in-all, an INCREDIBLE value for the cycling enthusiast. You want to make sure you add this to your list of “things to buy” in the near future.

In closing, I’ve embedded all three commercials for this particular boxed set. Enjoy!

Maui Rollers:

Oceanside Ride:

StrenDurance in Hawaii:

** FYI: I was not paid to endorse this product. I was simply asked and sent a complimentary copy of Global Ride’s Hawaii Rides for review and honest opinion. I believe their product is exceptional and well worth your investment to take the monotony out of indoor training sessions. **