My new challenge is riding my bike on the trainer. Believe it or not, it’s something I’ve never done before. I’ve ridden rollers. I’ve ridden my track bike at the velodrome. I’ve ridden in the cold and the snow. But using a trainer to get winter kms in is new to me. And it’s official. Winter is here.
I’m good doing hard intervals on the trainer, it turns out. That requires concentration and effort. But the warm up and cool down and bits in between are well, boring. I’m in my house and there’s laundry to do, and dinners to make, and It’s just a bit too easy to stop.
“Mom, can you drive me to the Y?”
“Can you help me look for my climbing shoes?”
“Someone needs to pick up milk and dog food.”
You get the idea. There’s a reason I don’t work at home generally, though lots of professors do.
In the group class I’m doing Tuesday, it’s fun. There’s conversation. There’s a coach reminding me to to pedal. And we’re all in together.
But at home? More will power required.
I’ve started watching Netflix on the trainer. And I laughed when the next episode started automatically. When I’m watching with my partner on weeknights that’s our cue to exercise self restraint and remind ourselves that we need to be out and early. Sleep is valuable and it’s a bit too easy to binge watch.
But what to watch?
I needed an orphan show, something that I’m not watching with anyone else in the family.
Right I’m watching The Hundred with a teenage son. Jeff, my spouse, and I are watching The Bletchley Circle. We’re eagerly awaiting more House of Cards. I watched Once with my daughter but now we’re out of episodes so we’re back to rewatching old episodes of Dr Who.
I’ve settled on Orange is the New Black. Lots of my friends like it and I haven’t seen it before. I also want to finish Stargate and I think there might be a season of Red Dwarf I haven’t watched yet.
Recommendations welcome.
My favourite shows? Buffy, Angel, Veronica Mars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Firefly, Eureka, Torchwood….
I can’t watch very much violence and some really great shows just depress me. The Wire and Mad Men both fall into that category. Truth be told, House of Cards, is on the edge for me but it’s so good I’m sticking with it.
