A Reason To Greet The Dawn (under cover of darkness)

I love my gym. My new gym.

I recently moved downtown, and had been trekking out to the South City YMCA, which was decent - has a great lap pool, okay cardio, early spinning classes, friendly folks. Pretty quiet in the morning, not a lot of chatting, in & out is a breeze. Which is one wants at 5:00 in the morning, right?

I recently found out that there was more I could want.

And needed.

And desired.

I went to the Downtown YMCA one cold winters morning, and got the grand tour. Rooms and rooms of spanking new equipment, spacious and well-lit rooms, a lap pool, a sauna, two steam rooms, a highly-equipped spinning room (mama like), and........

.....wait for it.......

...a row of Expresso Bikes.

Hold on, I need to grab a towel. I always salivate a little when I think about my new best friend.

The Expresso Bike is amazing. Truly. It's interactive in the best sense of the word. You can choose between different levels and rides, some are more hilly/level than others, so your workout varies. It challenges. It thrills. And what I absolutely love about these bikes is, in a word, the videogame element.

You have the ability to steer the bike in whatever scenario you choose - you could be dodging/passing other riders, attempting to stay on the curve of the trail, or escape certain death down a steep and snowy slope.

It's loads of fun.

AND (it just keeps getting better) there's an element of competition, as you log in and can track your rides, miles, performance, etc., while competing against other riders all across the country for prizes.

It's good fun. And great motivation for getting up at 5:00 a.m. - I think alternating these rides with spinning classes will add some flavor to my triathlon training. Or at the very least, get me ready for some summer centuries.

Ride on.