I see interesting things while riding...

... but this one has me perplexed.

This morning, as I was starting out on a short bike ride, I passed a woman on her triathlon bike. Now, I'm not a very fast rider, more of a "gosh, look at the pretty scenery" sorta guy, so I don't often pass people who are all decked out for speed on a tri bike. In this case though, I flew past her as if she were standing still.

The simple reason being that she WAS standing still! Yes, you can see in the picture, she was riding her tri bike on a stationary trainer, about five feet off the edge of the trail. I was surprised... and puzzled. All I could figure was that she was performing some sort of warmup ritual before heading out on the trail.

But no... when I returned 45 minutes or so later, there she was still, deep in concentration, still spinning away in the same spot.

Me, I really don't enjoy stationary bike riding. I like being outside, in the elements, seeing the world go by. I'll even ride in weather most folk stay home in... I have studded tires on one bike for snow and ice. So the thought of spinning my pedals 'round and 'round while going nowhere is anathema to me. I hate being cooped up inside and staring at a wall while I pedal.

Maybe this was her way of avoiding the monotony. I can understand not wanting to be stuck in a room while riding. But if you're going to take the step of transporting your bike (and trainer) to a spot by the bike trail... um... why not skip the trainer and just ride on the trail? I could understand wanting to avoid coping with cars, perhaps, but this is a long (35 miles from here to the end), smooth, pleasant multi-use trail.

I guess to each their own, but I'm stumped.