There are many solutions to the boredom of riding an indoor exercise bike or jogging on a treadmill. If you go to a gym with high-end equipment, the aerobic machines are likely to be outfitted with individualized TV screens so you can watch Oprah or CNN—or you can bring your iPod or simply read a magazine.
These solutions alleviate the tediousness of burning off those calories but I wouldn’t call them “fun” because they merely provide an escape—while your legs are pumping your mind is elsewhere.
I recently heard about a “virtual reality enhanced” exercise bike that is supposedly changing all this. Produced by a Silicon Valley startup, Expresso Fitness, the “Spark” as it is called creates the illusion that your are riding through scenic mountains, along beautiful coastal waters or even through ancient, historical settings.
What is "Virtual Reality," Anyway?
I admit I was intrigued but skeptical. For one thing, virtual reality technology, since its invention by my old friend Jaron Lanier in the early 1980’s has been way over-hyped. And it has been misused to describe things which aren’t really virtual reality.
As defined by Lanier, virtual reality, which some people think of as being similar to an “LSD trip” is actually the opposite. Virtual reality is a way for users to engage more with the activity at hand, not escape from it.
So, when I headed for the Bay Club in San Francisco to test out the Spark, I decided if this thing wasn’t engaging and wasn’t hella fun, it was probably a scam that some foolish venture capital firm had invested in because they were duped by the company’s silver-tongued founders (this has been known to happen!).
Wow, was I in for a treat.
Riding a Spark is like, well, riding a bicycle, only in some ways it is even better. After booting up the screen and selecting to take a 3.4 mile coastal run “past a peaceful farm on your way to an ocean decent” the first thing I noticed wasn’t the splendid graphics on the screen, it was the feel of the moveable handlebars which provide you with a realistic sense that you are actually steering the bike.
Watch Where You are Going
You have to watch where you are going or you’ll find yourself off the road. (The software won’t let you actually crash, however. No matter how inept you are, you’ll end up back on the road.)
Even though the Spark is built around a standard Lifecycle brand exercise bike, the sensation you get from riding it is uncannily close to the real thing. The resistance of the pedals smoothly corresponds to the terrain you see on the video screen. Navigating curves is similar to what you would experience in the “real world” though the bike doesn’t lean to either side (a future enhancement?).
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Midway through my first ride, I discovered the shifter which resides below the handle bars. Using this correctly took some practice but by the end of my ride, I was fairly adapt at shifting and impressed by the fact there are 30 different gears.
What makes this so much fun, though, is not just the virtual feel of the machine, it is also the graphics which provide you with a number of interesting tours you can select from. Included are easy ones like the one I choose and more challenging ones with steep climbs—for example, “Oh, Mama!” a 7.8 mile series of short, steep climbs which promise to “punish” you. There are 20 or so of these tours and others on the way.
Follow the Yellow Jersey
After choosing one of the tours, you select the riding strength of your pacer, who is a virtual cyclist wearing a yellow jersey you’ll see on the screen riding in front of you. The idea is to keep pace with this fellow, but if you get ambitious you can pass him and other riders and try to race right out front.
Once I discovered I couldn’t actually crash while going down hill, I started riding as fast as I could on the descents (this was the “hella fun” part for me). I never made it to the front, however, as I simply came upon other cyclists and other pacers.
While riding, a small area on the upper-right corner of the screen keeps track of things like distance traveled, time eclipsed, calories burned, and most importantly, your heart rate.
When you finish a course, you get a nice set of data including your average speed, maximum speed, average heart rate, maximum heart rate, etc. According to the public relations person I talked to, the software will maintain a log of your tours for you if you want to keep track of your progress.
Sounds pretty good, right? Well, it can only get better.
A Virtual Reality Network
Driven by an Intel Pentium computer system, the Spark is actually networked to other Spark machines so that you can race against other riders in your gym. I wasn’t able to experience this but I can imagine it would be fun as you see the other rider on your screen and he or she sees you on their screen. In the not too distant future, this capability will be extended through the internet so that you can race people in remote locations.
Another advantage of being networked is software updates are downloaded directly into these bikes so each one always has the latest advances including new tours.
Looking ahead, there is no technological reason why you couldn’t someday virtually ride in the Le Tour de France or other famous bike races. Much depends, of course, on the ability of Expresso Fitness to gets its machines out in the world and to successfully build its business.
The downside right now, as I see it, is that there are less than 100 Sparks in existence and they can only be found at select, highend health clubs. Each machine costs about $5,000.
According to my information, though, the reaction to the Spark has been enthusiastic at the Clubs where they are installed and the company is working on new models and may even come out with a home version at a much reduced price. And, of course, there are other companies working on similar products.
The vision I get from this is a “virtually reality” gym where I can not only race in Le Tour de France but run in the Boston Marathon, swim the English Channel, play a round of golf at St. Andrew’s, take a turn at bat against Juan Marichal, hit a few balls with Venus Williams, and maybe even go a round or two with Mohammed Ali. If you hear of such a place, send me an email.
Meanwhile, if you want to know more about the Spark, you can click here:Expresso Fitness. [1]