It's Cycling Base Training Season so I've been down in my basement for the past few weeks on the bike trainer. I've got a pretty cool set up down there. Recently my neighbor got a new flat screen TV and he gave me his old giant Sony projection TV. The picture is a little fuzzy but the screen is HUGE!

So tonight I set up my bike and fired up one of the training DVDs from Opt Out Cycling. Opt Out Cycling is a company owned by David Kriegshauser. David lives in Woodland Park and created Opt Out as a cure for boredom during the long Woodland Park winters. David has created a library of 16 different DVDs that range from local mountain bike rides to popular road rides in the Pikes Peak Region.



The DVD I used tonight was "Ride 12 Race at Bear Creek". This DVD was recorded during the Ascent Cycling Series race from this past summer.

So I've used several brands of training DVDs over the years. I've used a few Spinerval Tapes by Coach Troy Jacobson, a few Pay Per View spin classes by Graeme Street of Cyclo-Club.com and most recently, I've been using the Climbing series by Carmichael Training Systems. The quality of workout that I got from this Opt Out Cycling DVD was equal to the workouts that I got from these other sources.

David has done an excellent job on this DVD. He explains the different effort levels that you will be at through-out the ride and guides you along the way with visual and audio instructions. One of the things David does is, he injects his own personality into his voice over of the DVD, cheering you on as you ride. You can also hear him as he talks to some of the riders along the way during the race. At some points you can even hear him breathing as he goes up some of the climbs.

The video quality of the DVD is excellent. Because it was filmed with a helmet cam, you really get the feel of being on the trail. I found myself ducking under branches, leaning into turns and even turning my wheel a little bit through some of the turns.

Another great thing about this DVD is the fact that I was familiar with the trails. I knew where the downhills were and when to expect the climbs. Also, instead of watching the clock to see when the next interval would be over I knew where each interval would start and end based on where I was during the climb. It felt more like an actual ride than a training DVD.

Side Note: If you have any experience with the Sandcreek Series, you'll know that Pikes Peak Sports Editor, Tim Bergsten and I were out at all the races this past summer. At two points during the DVD I actually saw myself in the video on the side of the trail shooting video and taking pictures. So that was unexpected but pretty cool too. But I don't expect anyone to buy this DVD because I'm in it.

In the end, I can't recommend this training DVD enough. The workout was great, the on screen graphics were very helpful and the video quality was excellent. Also, the helmet cam view made it feel more like a ride more so than a training DVD.

The only bad thing I can say about this DVD is, the audio quality is not great. It sounds a little muffled but you can still hear everything David is saying. So it's not bad at all. Also, I'd like to hear a bit more music through-out the ride.

Another great thing about this DVD is the cost. ONLY $8.00! What a deal!

I give this DVD a rating of 4.5 out of 5. If the audio quality was a little better, this DVD would get a 5 out of 5!!!

If you plan on riding your trainer this winter but still want to get the feel of some local rides and trails. Check out Opt Out Cycling.

You can find out more about this DVD and others at http://www.optoutcycling.com

You can buy the DVD HERE.