Pain Cave and Winter Fitness

The Winter fitness season is upon us. You know the one where you realize you're not exercising, and then you step on the scale for that "uh-oh" moment? Where the Holidays loom large, as does your waistline. I seldom make that transition well. And this year's proving to be no exception.

In 2013, I put on a bunch more weight and burned any fitness I'd built over the Summer. I tried joining a gym. But it just didn't work. Crowded at peak times. Boring as hell. Just not my bag. Last Winter I did a bit better. Decided a combo of skiing (thank you to Vail for picking up local Mt. Brighton) and indoor cycling was my best bet. Picked up a CycleOps Fluid2 trainer. Mounted my bike up and I'm ready to go!

Only problem. Riding a trainer is boring as hell. The only place I think time passes more slowly is waiting at the Secretary of State to renew your driver's license. Even with a custom playlist on the iPod, a half hour feels like a month. But, it works. I kept the Winter Weight off, and by the time I arrived on Colorado to ski I was running the slopes from top to bottom without a stop to catch my breath. Awesome. My road cycling season starts off very strong. All good.

As my goal is to continually improve, this year I vowed to make the Pain Cave a more pleasant place. My first thought is to press a TV into service. Throw on some Family Guy or Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and I'm good for an hour. Fortunately, due to upsizing a TV elsewhere in the house, a 32" is looking for a home. This past week a little re-org of the basement results in a nice little home exercise spot! It's not the prettiest, but it's comfy, has a fan to keep cool a high-def TV with a gazillion channels, and a DVD player. 

Will it be the solution? We'll see, but I must admit I'm looking forward to finding out! Pain Cave 2.0 look out!

-Sean-

Technology Advances

Plenty to come on last week's ski trip in Colorado; but in the meantime a bit on gear. In the past decade or so the ski industry seems to have hit two major innovations that have really had a huge impact on even the everyday user. The first were shaped parabolic skis. From my first time on shaped skis the difference was astounding. I went from a 207cm Kastle to a 165cm Fischer RX9. I got better turn initiation without sacrificing high-speed stability.

In the past few years, "rockered" skis are all the rage. What started as a trend for powder during the Shane McConkey/Volant Spatula days became a widely adopted trend in nearly every new ski. Everyone I've talked to touts the advantages - easier turns, better manueverability, and great float in loose snow.

While in Colorado, my buddy Dan raved about his Volkl RTM 80's. Dan's a gear geek like me, so that endorsement carried a lot of weight. Another guy in our party rented some Volkl RTM 84's. Later I find out that another friend has been on the Volkl RTM series for a couple of years. The universal response has been, "These RIP!"

The quiver - trusty Line Prophet 100's
and new Volkl RM 84's.

I've been thinking about upgrading to a rockered ski for the past year or two. I've actually never owned any Volkls (strangely -- seems like I've owned nearly every other longstanding brand). But these endorsements, as well as some online research led me to the conclusion that these were the ski for me. But the price - in a word, OUCH! With the integral Marker bindings, a set of these goes out the door for just over $1,100. Yikes. Dan picked his up off-season for about half that.

On Saturday I'm bouncing around town running some miscellaneous errands. I love REI for its breadth of offerings, so I tend to just stop by regularly. If you don't check the Garage Sale area of your local REI, you're missing out. Lots of cool stuff at really good prices.

But, what is this? A pair of 171cm Volkl RTM 84's with the Marker binding? For $450? Are you freaking kidding me??? I'd originally been planning on a slightly longer pair (176) but I check in with Dan and find out he's on 171's. We're about the same height - he's a stronger skier, and I weight a bit more so the 171 sounds perfect. A quick chat with the REI ski guy and it's a done deal -- these are the ski for me! These should nicely replace my K2 Public Enemies with a ski that's better suited to both Michigan and Western conditions.

I doubt I'll be able to get out on these new boards this year (it was 65 degrees here yesterday -- goodbye snow), but look for a review very soon! I'm pretty excited.