Rollers aren't so hard

My friend and team mate, Mark, let me try out his rollers. I received plenty of advice on how to get started:

1. use a really easy gear (I was running a 49x16, or about 83 gear inches)
2. put yourself in a door jam so you can bounce from side to side, using the walls
3. look ahead not down
4. start by using a bench to step on
5. don't panic

So, here I am getting on

Here I am getting rolling

Proof that I am not just leaning against the wall

Can you tell I am having fun?

OK, now I need to get us a set of rollers. It wasn't too difficult to learn, except for the first 3 minutes or so when I thought I was going to kill myself. I put in a total of 8 minutes at a steady tempo, once I got rolling, which wasn't much time, but I could see that it wasn't going to be too hard after a little more practice. It is definitely a more interesting way to ride indoors than on a fixed trainer that holds the rear wheel.

Some helpful things I noticed:

1. don't be too close to the wall - you end up bouncing off of it too much, since your elbows stick out past your handlebars
2. start with one pedal down so that the first clip doesn't send you off the side
3. look at a spot about a meter in front of the wheel and steer ever so slightly to keep it in the same spot
4. don't panic!

Thanks, Mark! I feel like more of a trackie now.