Oh Baby, it's Cold Outside!

Note the photo, a publicity still for "The Return of the King" from http://www.filmwellington.com. Either that, or it shows what I feel like after weeks of not being able to ride ...

But, I rode a bike Sunday--naturally, it was at a gym. "The Return of the King" was on TNT, and after a session on an elliptical machine and a jog on a treadmill, I wasted half an hour on a bike basically just to watch part of that movie.

Sam, Sam. My Sammy Sam Sam. Sam the brave. You were a more interesting character in the book, too. Sam the brave, Frodo the dull.

Favorite change between the book and the movie? Having Gandolph bop Denathor on the head with his staff to take over the defense of Minas Tirith. Ha ha!

OK, well too nerdy, even for a biking blog. Not that bikers are nerdy. No. We're just cool challenged.

Anyway, I was watching random Hobbits try to break into Mordor while I was going up and down a hill on a stationary bike.

Biking in a gym is a bit like running on a treadmill. I'm sure it uses some of the same muscles as the outdoor activity, but there key differences, too. For one thing, when I'm in the "real world" rather than the fake world of an exercise club, I can go longer and do more. I am contemplating running the Bix with my son-in-law--if he can stand moving that slowly in training--and probably can start my "real" training runs outdoors at around 4 miles, around 50 minutes (yes, as noted, a very slow pace). But I can't run for 50 minutes on a treadmill, nor go 4 miles. Treadmill miles, for some reason, are so much longer.

30 minutes on a bike outdoors is a short jaunt--not much more than my regular commute, less if I want to waste some time and use the Cedar Valley trail. True, I can ride almost as long indoors as I could outdoors--but outdoor time seems so much more interesting and to go so much faster.

Not sure what it is. A gym is a slightly mind-numbing environment, while God's green earth seems like a stimulating, invigorating environment.

Even when, in the gym, Gimli and Legolas are keeping score during a titanic battle ...