We can draw our inspiration for indoor cycling from many sources, but for me watching the battles in the mountains of the Tour de France is the best inspiration there is for any type of cycling, indoor or outdoor!

Even when the route for the 2010 Tour was announced the Pyrenees were marked by many as likely to be pivotal in deciding who would ultimately win the overall in Paris.

One mountain in particular stood out, the Tourmalet; which would be climbed not once, but twice on different days.

This mountain may be the ultimate indoor cycling inspiration and has featured in the Tour many times and was included on Stage 16 when Lance Armstrong got in the break and again on Stage 17 with the finish on top of the mountain!

Stage 17 today did not disappoint, with the two strongest riders, Schleck and Contador going at it “mano a mano” through the mist on the historic Tourmalet!

By the end these two were alone and barring any major shocks Alberto Contador should seal the overall in the final time trial, despite the brave efforts of  Andy Schleck to drop him on the Tourmalet!

It was also nice to see the sportsmanship and respect of these two great riders, after the “chaingate” spat a few days back! Contador did not sprint for the stage win, after gaining time on Schleck, when he had lost his chain on an earlier stage.

Jumping back a few days it was great to see Lance Armstrong in the breakaway in his last Tour de France.

Lance has inspired millions to get on a bike or take an indoor cycling class and although his Tour has been dogged by bad luck, half of America seemed to be routing for him to get one last piece of glory, before hanging up his wheels! Twitter lit up while this stage was on and I would love to know how many people were on spinning bikes that evening or hitting the early morning spin class the next day!

So if you are looking for something to inspire you, something to motivate you to take a spin class or spend more time on the stationary bike, watch these epic stages through the mountains! You will see great riders rise to become champions and others just suffering to get through it. We can draw inspiration from both!

When you are in your next indoor cycling class and your legs are burning, your heart rate is maxed out and you are breathing through your ears, think of these guys and be inspired!

Today we have the start of one man’s journey to recovery after a serious knee injury. He will be using the RealRyder stationary bike as part of his physical therapy. We recently featured Spin Kicks Fitness Studio, a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio in Canada, which also offers top quality Taekwon-Do classes!

Sandro Scarsellone one of the co-owners of Spin Kicks Fitness Studio is changing gears!

Sandro has been using the RealRyder stationary bike since November 2008 to train for the O-Cup MTB Season. He was running 4th overall in the Ontario MTB Series and looking to move up in the standings. He was having a stellar season, proof that using the RealRyder stationary bike had really helped his training. Then suddenly on Sunday July 11th, 2010 he fractured his right patella and had to have surgery as it was split in two!! Now Sandro will take a new path as he has decided that the RealRyder stationary bike will be his tool to recovery!

Ouch! A split knee cap sounds like a lot of pain and we wish Sandro a full and speedy recovery.

We certainly wouldn’t wish an injury of this type on anyone, but it does give us the opportunity to share Sandro’s experience in using our stationary bike as part of his recovery program! Indoor cycling is low impact and offers the training and physical therapy benefits of cycling without the risk of further injury due to a fall while riding outside.

Spin Kicks offer Anaerobic Threshold testing to optimize your training and Sandro had already demonstrated that using the RealRyder stationary bike as part of his training program was very effective with his high position in the O-Cup series.

We look forward to hearing how Sandro gets on using our stationary bike as a recovery tool! Sandro will be updating us with his progress, so stay tuned!

Obviously it goes without saying that anyone who experiences ANY serious injury should seek medical advice BEFORE engaging in any physical activity of this nature.

Any stationary bike can give you a good workout! You will get a get a low impact cardio workout and develop some good leg muscles. Some of the better quality stationary bikes or spin bikes will allow you to really work your cardiovascular system and develop excellent aerobic fitness.

A stationary bike is also a good way to lose weight. Looking at the calories in, calories out equation is really the only successful way to achieve long term weight goals and a stationary bike is a great tool to burn calories.

The only problem with a typical stationary bike is that it won’t do much for your upper body! Great for legs and lungs, but you really need to do some other form of exercise to work on your arms or core. Some spin classes have even resorted to bringing in some very odd looking moves that are done on the spinning bike to try and increase the muscles being used! Some of these moves look dangerous and there is very little evidence that there is any training benefit. There is even a very strong lobby of experienced spinning class instructors who are totally against these moves and would like them banned!!

Now take a good look at all the pictures and videos of someone riding a RealRyder stationary bike and you will notice the bike is always moving and leaning. This is where the extra benefits come in!

With our stationary bike and its unique articulating frame your core is constantly engaged and as you tilt and lean the bike you are actively working your upper body, arms, shoulders and abs.

We have received reports from several RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studios that clients have noticed their arms getting more toned after only a few weeks! You will also feel your core getting stronger as you will automatically be stabilizing the bike, especially out of the saddle.

As a result of using more muscles you will also be burning approximately 20% more calories than you would on a traditional spinning bike!

So whether you are looking to buy your own fitness equipment or get the most from a spin class, do your indoor cycling on a RealRyder the stationary bike with benefits!

A few weeks back we mentioned that RealRyder was the fitness equipment choice of Rihanna and her trainer Ary Nunez. Alec Baldwin is also a regular on our stationary bike, hitting the indoor cycling classes at B-East.

Last week Viva Magazine ran an article about taking indoor cycling to a new level and added Adrian Grenier and Kevin Connolly of “Entourage” fame to the growing list of stars who are training on RealRyder as their fitness equipment of choice!

We are huge fans of Entourage here at RealRyder and flattered that “Vince” and “E” have chosen our stationary bike, especially as the Entourage guys are famous for choosing cool cars and products! I have to say I was a little disapponted that “Johnny Drama” isn’t using a RealRyder yet – the man is a fitness icon and deserves to have the best fitness equipment!

To read the article click on the Viva Magazine Website for full details.

So you meet the coolest people on RealRyder stationary bikes! On a more serious note if this is the fitness equipment choice of people who can choose whatever they want, maybe you should take a serious look at using our stationary bike? Fitness equipment of the stars!

With the Tour de France on, I was all fired up to ride today, but looking out on heavy rain, which looks like it’s set in for the day! Glad to have the indoor cycling option today, especially after seeing all the broken bones in this years Tour!

It’s funny I grew up in an area with a lot of rain, so got used to wet rides, but seeing the Tour riders going through the Alps in bright sunshine, doesn’t motivate me to go and get soaked in the middle of July! So today rain = indoor cycling!

Luckily I have a RealRyder Indoor Cycling studio nearby, so I got a good one hour workout at lunchtime, bumped into some like minded friends and picked up coffee on the way back. So I got my cycling and caffeine fix and all is good in my world again!

So if you’re faced with summer monsoons, don’t overlook indoor cycling as an alternative and hit the road another day. It certainly helps if you are near a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio, as your ride will be much more like the real thing than a spin class on a traditional non-tilting spinning bike.

Check the facilty search button on the right to see if there is a RealRyder studio near you – not all indoor cycling classes are the same!  The great thing about our stationary bike is the articulating frame makes indoor cycling a much more stimulating experience and will give you a better workout, by engaging your core muscles and upper body.

So if you get the chance (rain or shine!) try our moving stationary bike which is really revolutionizing indoor cycling!