Answer to Question of the Week

"How do you keep indoor cycling interesting?"

How much indoor cycling do you do?
A lot - I still do a lot of riding indoors throughout the year
A good amount - but most of it during the winter/off-season months
Some - only as an alternative to riding in bad weather, or when it's too dark to ride outdoors
None - I hardly ever ride indoors

How do you avoid mind-numbing boredom?

Crank up the music - particular favorite(s):

Watch TV/videos - particular favorite(s):

Make it social by riding with others indoors

Concentrate/focus on the workout (i.e. ride at a specific HR, a specific gear, for a specific duration, then move to the next phase, etc.)

Other things I do to keep indoor cycling interesting (any recommended workouts, mental games, etc):

What do you use when riding indoors?
Rollers
Stationary Trainer
CompuTrainer
Indoor bike thing at my gym/health club
Other:

Your Name or Email (always optional)

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The answer . . .

Summary:

While most riding is during the winter/off-season months (that would be now),one of you indicated doing "a lot of indoor riding throughout the year as well".

Music, videos, social group sessions, and focusing on the workouts were all indicated as effective ways to pass the time and keep things interesting. (see below in "Details" for specific recommendations on tunes, videos, and workouts).

As far as equipment: we use either stationary trainers, rollers, CompuTrainers, and the stationary cycles at Health Clubs for indoor cycling.

So, how dedicated can indoor riding become? Serious enough that riding a CompuTrainer elicits enthusiasm like the following:
"COMPUTRAINER --- I LOVE THIS DAM THING!!! My wife is going to divorce me because of this... It's a good trade (Computrainer for wife)....".
[Friendly note to Julie: this quote is not, repeat is not from Chuck. It wasn't anonymous, but I've opted to protect the source in case the wife logs on]

Thanks to those responding: Rory, Don, Joe, Paul, James, the anonymous folks, and perhaps those that should have been anonymous.

Details and additional notes...

What tunes to listen to? What videos to watch? What workouts to focus on?

Tunes:

"Bush (the band, not the President-elect), The Who, The Doors, Greenday, Billy Joel. . . . Put in 3 cds that include a lot of piano and/or guitar solos.Shuffle the choices. Use the fast songs for speed work, the slowsongs for recovery and the medium rate songs for pacing on your1 legged drills. This will not only give you variety, but someform of spontaneity since you don't know what song is coming next."
[Note: In addition to racing well - Don may also have some decent skills as a deejay?]
A personal favorite is a CD called "Mondo Beat: Masters of Percussion". As decribed inthe liner notes, the CD is "...a vast landscape in which rhythm is foremost, performed by artists as diverse as the cultures from which they come." With this playing, you can always find a rhythm to cycle with -- and there's enough variety within andacross tracks to keep things interesting. Only problem is that any particular CD can become "played out".
[Note: Linda has humorously noted that it does seem to induce a trance-like state in me]

Videos:

At least 3 of you ride indoors while watching videos. But other than Rory suggesting "running and tri videos", no specific recommendations were indicated. Inquiring minds want to know.Ironman tapes? Tour de France stages? Hollywood blockbusters? Tae Bo routines? (just kidding on the last one). But TV does have lots of possibilities for distraction, entertainment, and workout games as in the following...
When watching a football game, spin easily when there's a play in progress, and ride hard between plays when there's noaction (during time-outs, when they move the chains, when they make substitutions, etc). Amazing how much "inaction" there isduring a football game...I barely lasted the first quarter.

Work-outs:

"Mike Llerandi workouts -- highly structured, with variable gear sets,isolated leg drills, spinning at set RPMs, intervals at specifiedHRs (% of max), etc... Makes them go by very fast."
[Note: Contact Rory, or perhaps Mike Llerandi for specific details]
Wanna keep indoor cycling fun! Make tapes of your favorite music starting with a few warm up tunes followed by slow and fast paced beats for intervals and hill climbs. Whatever music you can't help wailing to in your car usually works. Also combine 15 - 20 minutes on the bike with 10 - 15 minutes on the treadmill - the time just flies by! If you don't have a treadmill than you'll have to come and see me.
[Note: the "me" in question would be James at Omni Fitness]
How timely was this question? The folks at active.com posted a set of indoor cyclingworkouts this week describing ladder sessions, pyramid routines, and workouts to develop skillsin surging and recovering, riding at your AT, and climbing. See "Beat the indoor training doldrums with these killer workouts"
[Note: I recommend you visit this link soon, no telling when it may expire from their pages].

Crank up the music - particular favorite(s):
Watch TV/videos - particular favorite(s):