In some ways, I was born to cycle. After all, my mother’s side of the family is full of German immigrants who adore the sport, with my own grandparents spending their twilight years together touring the world, cycling through the mountains and valleys of Europe and beyond. Some of my best memories with my family when I was nestled tightly in a line of bicycles as we all cruised down a mountainous hill in the American Northeast, when I was brave enough to look up from the road and peer out at the dazzling views we’d climbed to together.
It’s no wonder, then, that I’ve always found the stationary bike rather, well, pedestrian. It’s hard to stay motivated when my options are either staring down at a ratty gym carpet or staring up at a person shouting at me in what to some people counts as motivation. Not for me, I told myself, as I would walk out of those classes, never to return.
In the three months that I tested the Technogym Ride from my home in Dubai, something extraordinary happened—I actually managed to discover my love for cycling once again, all from the comfort of my living room. On its 22-inch screen—a first for stationary bikes—I had access immersive tracks like never before, climbing through the Alpe d’Huez, in the Dolomites for a 45 minute jaunt, followed by a quick shower and a binge of Succession on OSN.
Through a single-login, I was able to not only get access to the Technogym training programmes and experiences, but a bevy of the best cycling apps, , including Zwift, Strava, ROUVY, TrainingPeaks, Kinomap and Bkool and even entertainment apps such as Netflix and Eurosport. Personally I can’t watch Netflix in this state, but I’m sure someone out there can.
The Technogym Ride also has a real gearbox and realistic cycling feeling with a fast reaction time, with adjustable pedal cranks and buttons that allow you to jump into training modes with ease.
Someday I’ll make it to the spots my grandparents would tell me about—the idyllic hills of Europe that I’ve only seen in their fraying pictures. For now, there’s the Technogym Ride.
Technogym Ride by Technogym, AED26,230
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