Tangentially Related to Bikes

Despite the absence of snow on the ground, cold weather has arrived in the great inland empire.  Studs or not temperatures below 20F tend to send me inside for a few days.  I do not particularly enjoy the trainer so it just makes me more grateful when I can get back outside again.

To make matters worse, I got fed-up with paying Direct TV over $1,000 per year for the 3 or 4 channels that I actually watched.  Now we get about 8 or 9 channels with an HD antenna.  I am forced to watch infomercials on the benefits of a 12 day cleanse program while riding the bike on the trainer.

I have tried reading books on the bike, but the pages never stayed open and I got sweat on them when I tried to hold them open or turn to another page.  Also, in most cases the print was too small and made my eyes hurt.  Fortunately, my wife got a Kindle for Christmas and it helps overcome some of the aforementioned challenges.  

I am not a paid reviewer but have a few observations after a few days of Kindling on the bike.  The Kindle overcomes many of the shortcomings of books.  It is much thinner and always stays on the page you are reading until you tap the screen which takes you to the next page.  The screen is glare-free so you can read in a variety of lighting conditions.  It also does not seem to mind a little sweat which only causes problems if you don't wipe it off before returning it to your wife. 

I really like the fact that it let's the user customize the font size which makes it easier to read when your head is bobbing on the bike.  The public library has thousands of titles that can be downloaded over WIFI connections.  When the checkout period is up the book automatically times-out on the reader.  What we save in past due charges alone will more than pay for the new device.