Combing my hair….

Nesh (adj) Dialect
1. sensitive to the cold
2. timid or cowardly
(from Old English hnesce; related to Gothic hnasqus tender, soft; of obscure origin)

The snow is going from Sheffield, slowly but surely. The CTC club run to Hathersage was going to go ahead this morning. Without me unfortunately. It could have been the cold but it could equally have been the red wine last night. This was worrying because all of that hard earned fitness from the summer is ebbing away. Nothing for it but to brave the turbo trainer. 60 minutes of mindless torture should preserve a little fitness without the risk of falling off.

I have five tips for turbo training:

1. Start with an easy cadence – you still have to warm up and at least ten minutes is needed to get your mind used to the idea that it has been parked for the next hour.

2. Put a towel over the front of the bike. You are going to sweat like crazy and if you don’t then you are not doing it right.

3.  Drink plenty of water

4. Have a good soundtrack. Here’s mine:

A pretty standard fast transatlantic mix, it finishes with the distinctly odd ‘Thank You, Lord’ by Hellwood which is a Johnny Dowd/Jim White occasional pairing. I like it because by the time I hear Dowd’s dulcet tones I know the suffering is nearly over.

5. Finally, if the turbo unit is anything other than a fan (now pretty rare), don’t touch it after you have finished. All the energy you have expended has to go somewhere. A bit will have been sloughed off as noise, but the bulk will be heat retained in the unit. That’s why some designs have fins to cool them down.