I’m in a fortunate position to be moving into a new role at work which will take me travelling (up to 50%) globally. Naturally, this will have an impact on me being able to train at home but I do hope to continue utilising spin/watt bikes in the hotel gyms (chosen carefully before every trip of course!).
Wattbike is easy, depending on the age of the head unit (BT enabled) you can connect directly to your phone for power. However, spin bikes are clearly a different challenge. I’m not sure if I will be able to install my PowerTap P1 pedals consistently.
I’m wondering if there are other people in my position and hoping for some advice on how you record your training sessions to ensure you capture the effort (TSS mainly). I have a fairly good hold on what my heart rate to watts are so I’m comfortable with say 15 min SS at 170bpm is around 90% FTP.
This is more a recording activity question, but keen to get your thoughts.
I think mounting your pedals is the best answer.
With that said, On occasion, I have just run the app with my HRM on and used HR in combination with RPE to do SS workouts in hotel gyms. Of course, this doesn’t give you a TSS #, but it does give you average HR and I think there is an equation to convert that to TSS (admittedly less than ideal). Then you could always do a manual entry into strava that I think would sink with TR and show up in the calendar.
My bigger problem with hotel gyms is the complete lack of cooling.
The quality of hotel gym bikes is, in my experience at least, very spotty. A pedal-based power meter is your best bet, and I think you just have to be willing to do it (and ask for forgiveness if necessary). As others have mentioned, cooling is also a serious problem, some of the “higher-end” bikes might have a fan that feels like a an asthmatic mouse is coughing at you. So you better keep your sessions short if you can’t manage. In case the gym is quite bad, I prefer to do some core work and do a little for the legs and arms instead. You can do plenty with a gym mat alone.
I travel a lot. Often with my Assioma pedals, but only got to use them once or twice. I use heart rate to gauge Z2 and SS rides and then hrTSS in TP to keep record. Lack of cooling in hotel gyms will probably through anyone’s HR off though.
I travel alot too and look for hotels with peloton bikes. I use a HRM and RPE to adjust resistance. The bikes vary WIDELY in terms of calibration - there is a bike that reads 2x my FTP next to a bike that reads .5x my FTP (I like the first one better! ) . It has a “just ride” feature if you don’t want to watch anything on the screen. And it uploads to strava/TR (though in TR the power numbers are not right). I wish the front end could lower a bit more, but I can get relatively close to my position and the seat isn’t a couch cushion like many hotel bikes.
As others have said - cooling is the biggest issue and I usually limit to 30-60 min. Even with Pettit I am drenched at the end.
I’ve done the pedal change thing too. Be sure to bring a pedal wrench and also a few Alan wrenches as different bikes have different setups. Also, some are seized solid and won’t budge.
Another thing to remember is that a lot of these bikes have monster saddles.
It really helps to scour hotel photos and pick where you stay wisely, but this might be a good time to consider adding running/strength/yoga/meditation into your routine. Be flexible. You’ll be a lot more successful and it will reduce your stress load. Travel is already stressful enough!
) . It has a “just ride” feature if you don’t want to watch anything on the screen. And it uploads to strava/TR (though in TR the power numbers are not right). I wish the front end could lower a bit more, but I can get relatively close to my position and the seat isn’t a couch cushion like many hotel bikes.