Cycling in Hawaii (sort of)

Sherry and I both took this week off for a little "stacation" (basically, a vacation spent at home). My only real plan was to ride. A lot. However, mother nature seemed to have other plans as an unusual series of late rain moved into California. So as I sat inside on June 4th watching it rain out yet another day of riding I had a thought. I could be on the bike in my garage enjoying the beautiful sites of Hawaii.

A few months ago, I received a comment on my blog inviting me to review a new type of indoor trainer DVD from Global Ride Productions. In essence, they would send me their 3-DVD set of virtual cycling in Hawaii if I would be willing to write a review. So I went to their website and was very intrigued by this introduction.

"Global Ride's Virtual Cycling DVDs give indoor cyclists a unique first-person riding experience. Each DVD was carefully created by road cyclists to provide the best possible training for indoor cyclists, outdoor cyclists and group Spinning® classes. Upbeat music, multiple selectable coaching tracks and high-quality video shot from the rider's perspective take you on a global journey unlike any other cycling / Spinning® DVD on the market."

This really did sound interesting, so I agreed to check them out. A few days later the 3-DVD set Hawaii Rides arrived and I was ready to go.

Before I begin my review, I would like to set the stage. First of all, I would almost always prefer to be on the road and not the trainer. Although I understand, and enjoy, the benefits of trainer workouts, I would just rather be outside. I do have almost the entire collection of Chris Carmichael DVDs, which I use regularly. And I must admit that I have not seen any of the Spinervals® DVDs. With that said, on to the review.

Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed all 3 of the DVDs. They have a beauty and flexibility to them. And while I did not truly believe I was in Hawaii, I did enjoy the scenery and found myself getting "lost" in the moment. Now let's talk about what I particularly liked and what I would change.

What I liked:

• The most important thing for me was that these DVDs psychologically engaged me in the ride. For instance, because the video is shot from the riders perspective you can see you are on a hill. At times when I wanted to ease back on the pace I found myself saying "You can make it to the top" and I would keep pushing. This is the exact kind of self-talk that would occur on the road.
• The music was excellent! It all comes from real artists and doesn't have that canned studio sound you get with other workout DVDs.
• I also enjoyed the coaching aspect. While there were significant differences between coaches, these differences added to the variety and did not distract from the quality of the workout.
• The flexibility provided by these DVDs is also outstanding. You might be coached to hold a certain heart rate but it was up to me to determine if that heart rate would be 120 bpm or 160 bpm. Or, you can turn off the coaching and do your own thing while still enjoying the sites and music.
• The video quality was excellent. I am not sure how they got it so still. I enjoyed watching the road from the rider's viewpoint. There was also video of a "fellow rider" so it felt like you were riding with someone.

What I would change:

• I started with the DVD Maui Rollers. It starts with a series of still photographs and music but no other guidance. After about 2 minutes I realized I was supposed to be warming up. I think more instruction at the beginning would be beneficial.
• I watched the DVDs with and without coaching, but always with music, and I sometimes had trouble hearing the coach over the music. I would to see them make the coaches voices a little stronger.
• Each one of the DVDs has a bonus workout. For example, Maui Rollers has a yoga session, the Oceanside Ride has pilates, and the StrenDurance in Hawaii has strength training. I am wondering why each DVD can't offer all three.

In an effort to be thorough, I also completed a garage ride with Coach Tim where we completed 2 of the DVDs back-to-back. He was highly impressed and plans on recommending them to a few of his clients.

So what's the bottom line? I thought these DVDs were extraordinary and I would definitely buy them. If I am going to ride the trainer, I feel these give me the greatest flexibility in designing the workout of my choice.

I understand the next series will be on Italy. I can hardly wait.

Ciao!