Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Jeff Buchanan]

Cycling on an indoor Peleton product is THE THING these days. They are horribly expensive. Go to a spin class in a gym like LA Fitness to see if you actually like this.

Spinning is addictive.

It is by far the best cardio work out and fat burner there is. The only exception is if you actually cycle with an outdoor group and compete. The problem with that is that you have to train on the road, race on the road and all of that is, IMO, hugely dangerous these days. The cost of a bide (a decent one cost upwards of $1000 and can go as high as $12000) and all the gear is crazy expensive. It's unsafe these days IMO mostly due to drivers who are on their cell phones talking or worse, texting. Done with that.

I started indoor spinning 3 or 4 years ago. I used to cycle competitively in Arizona as a means of training for 10K runs. No more. There are plenty of phone apps that allow you to keep track of each indoor spin ride and the progress you are making if you are so inclined. I take a lot of pleasure in watching people 30 years younger than I am fade in a work out.

I don't do this but would probably like it ... there are spin studios where you actually race others as a measure of RPMs and watts. Let's say you do a hill climb at a resistance of 180 watts. There are some that can peddle at this resistance at 85 RPM and some who can do it at 110. You can see where you are on a big board on the front wall of the studio.

There are three ride instructors I like to ride with. They are good. I try to keep up with them and that's enough. They set the resistance and the RPMs. They give a range. I try to stay at the top of those ranges, e.g, a speed segment of 6 minutes at 80-100 watts and 150 - 170 RPM. In these classes there are 4 or 5 out of 33 who do keep up. The rest are just there and that's fine too.

Per my app, I burn 700+ calories in a 60 minute work out ...... then I go drink martinis.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Fuck that noise. Popov on the rocks will do just fine.

I do that when I'm lazy.

[Jeff Buchanan]

I have never had a martini with ice. Every barkeep I know strains the ice out. And is vodka and vermouth really a martini? I know some aficionados who say it's a variant, not an actual martini.

That is correct.

An actual "martini" is with gin.

The follow on to that was the "Capitol Martini" (also known under different names) where a shot of gin and a shot of vodka are combined.

I like Gin but it has a flavor that is less desirable to my pallet than a smooth potato vodka. There is a very distinctive flavor to these ... different from a grain vodka or gin. To me it's my favorite martini. YMMV.

Grey Goose is vastly over rated but very popular. There are a ton of very good Russian Vodkas. Stoly Elite, a grain vodka, is one of them. There are not a lot of potato vodkas out there. Luksusowa is one of them. It's 20 bucks cheaper than Belvedere by the liter. But Belevedere is king of retail Potato vodkas.

That says nothing though of the several vodkas that are distilled especially for the Kremlin elite. I had the good fortune of tasting one of these. An unmarked bottle, beautifully designed, like nothing I had ever tasted if you like Vodka and some don't. But like Bourbons and Whiskeys there are many variations with not so subtle differences in how they taste ..... iced cold or, as the Russians drink them, at room temperature.

[hack]

Yuengling Black & Tan.

[millenwasmyfavorite]

Cycling on an indoor Peleton product is THE THING these days. They are horribly expensive. Go to a spin class in a gym like LA Fitness to see if you actually like this.

Spinning is addictive.

It is by far the best cardio work out and fat burner there is. The only exception is if you actually cycle with an outdoor group and compete. The problem with that is that you have to train on the road, race on the road and all of that is, IMO, hugely dangerous these days. The cost of a bide (a decent one cost upwards of $1000 and can go as high as $12000) and all the gear is crazy expensive. It's unsafe these days IMO mostly due to drivers who are on their cell phones talking or worse, texting. Done with that.

I started indoor spinning 3 or 4 years ago. I used to cycle competitively in Arizona as a means of training for 10K runs. No more. There are plenty of phone apps that allow you to keep track of each indoor spin ride and the progress you are making if you are so inclined. I take a lot of pleasure in watching people 30 years younger than I am fade in a work out.

I don't do this but would probably like it ... there are spin studios where you actually race others as a measure of RPMs and watts. Let's say you do a hill climb at a resistance of 180 watts. There are some that can peddle at this resistance at 85 RPM and some who can do it at 110. You can see where you are on a big board on the front wall of the studio.

There are three ride instructors I like to ride with. They are good. I try to keep up with them and that's enough. They set the resistance and the RPMs. They give a range. I try to stay at the top of those ranges, e.g, a speed segment of 6 minutes at 80-100 watts and 150 - 170 RPM. In these classes there are 4 or 5 out of 33 who do keep up. The rest are just there and that's fine too.

Per my app, I burn 700+ calories in a 60 minute work out ...... then I go drink martinis.

[Kapture1]

whiskey, mostly bourbons. neat.

when im not looking to get the full experience of nosing and tasting the whiskey, i will throw two ice cubes in.

[iam416]

Peloton is great, but already diminished by the pretty unexpected success of apps like ZWIFT

Correct. Of course, some of us endure winter with a trainer, HR monitor and music.

but, those improvements are probably 60%-75% translation to the road.

Yeah, people who "count" indoor miles on Strava and the like -- no. For where I ride, if I go west I usually have to deal with a crushing wind which has to be experienced. And no matter what you do indoors, there's no way to prepare for 13-15% other than being on 13-15%.

Correct. And contrary to Buchanan's assertions, it's not hugely dangerous. But more importantly, Bend is a nice place to ride!

[iam416]

And, for the love of god, GIN for a martini. Perhaps a drop of vermouth.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Yeah, that chapter is closed. One of the spin instructors I ride with had me checking out buying a bike and riding with her group in Atlanta. My wife told me I was crazy. About a week after I had decided on a starter bike that cost just under $1000, she reported a friend of hers just starting out had been hit by a car. She was riding alone - a no-no actually - but still. She was not seriously injured just some scrapes and bruises and a swollen knee. That was it for me. I regained my senses. I'd love to do it because I still like to compete. But, no.

[froot loops]

Winter sucks but it's almost over.

[Jeff Buchanan]

No ...... my son lives in Saline. He says the worst part of living through a SE Michigan winter is that when you think it's over mid-march to early April, there is one or two more butt busting snow or worse ice storms and miserable stretches of cold weather. It sucks. It's why I spend most of my time In South FL. It will be in the mid 80s today.

[froot loops]

To me that means almost over, I can handle a bad storm or two. I politic all the time move to Florida but I won't be able to seal the deal. My wife is not a fan, although she is open to moving to New Orleans or Ireland.

[THE_WIZARD_]

MV5BYjcxNmEyZGYtMmMzNS00Njk3LWE2NjAtMzM5NzJkODNjZGQ3XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjUyNDk2ODc@._V1_UY317_CR85,0,214,317_AL_.jpgThe Spinners

[Jeff Buchanan]

To me that means almost over, I can handle a bad storm or two. I politic all the time move to Florida but I won't be able to seal the deal. My wife is not a fan, although she is open to moving to New Orleans or Ireland.

South Florida has it's pluses and minuses.

The weather is 90% great and 10% terrifying ...... you learn to live with the threat of Hurricanes. Preparedness is 99% of getting through them. We don't live on or even near the beach and we live in a low house with a roof line that isn't a risk of getting sucked off. We board up and head out. No sense in staying as the power goes off and remains off for days. Even if you have a generator, its a PITA.

In season - that's when part time residents are here - October through early June - traffic is as bad as Atlanta if not worse. You develop traffic patients or end up with stress related illnesses.

Overall, great place to retire to.

[THE_WIZARD_]

shaddup