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One sleepy Sunday morning during a mandated lockdown in Sydney, Australia, I decided to take a fanciful ride through Rome. It had been years since I visited the Italian capital and after months of being cooped up inside, the longing of being somewhere else – anywhere else – was palpable.
A ribbon of road which stretched beneath a series of ornate archways was difficult to navigate at first; a narrow pathway where tourists would gather around market stall owners trying to swindle a couple of dollars. A piazza in the distance gave me a little more room to pick up the pedalling pace, my legs omitting some serious heat.
The next day, before work, I rode through the heady lavender fields of Provence in France. GRAZIA’s Europe-based team had shot our latest cover there in September and I was sad that travel restrictions had meant I was unable to join them. After kilometres of hairpin bends and an uphill sprint, I was slumped over the handlebars of my bike and sweating profusely when my email pinged. “Here are my stories for this morning,” a note from one of my writers read. Snap. Back to reality. I got off my bike, switched off the virtual outdoor riding function, and walked the single metre to my desk.
My Technogym Bike, set up in the spare room of my home in Woollahra, became part of my daily routine – just like my morning almond latté, and wiping down the bike’s 22-inch screen post a workout. That sleek, black instrument made me feel good. Physically it was hard! But mentally, the virtual outdoor riding function was a saviour. There was something about riding toward the horizons of places far, far away that felt freeing.
The freedom of going for a ride on my bike, when the notion of freedom itself was indeed restricted, was elating.
The boom in virtual riding activity can be put down to two things: The pandemic and Mr. Big. (The latter of course is not at all true, and for the record was a different brand of bike. But, in a story about cycling, how could we not mention this zeitgeist pop culture moment?)
“With gyms closures all over the world due to the pandemic, we were able to assist our clients during the peak of the home-fitness boom and continue to build their home gyms today,” says Enrico Manaresi, the Media Relations Director at Technogym.
“Now, as the gyms are re-opening – and society is still very much living with the virus – access to fitness is now being undertaken in a completely new and hybrid way. Flexibility has been a rising trend with many people choosing to alternate between working in the office and from home, and that is being reflected in their fitness routines with lots mixing the gym and home workouts into their weekly schedules.”
The Technogym Outdoors function isn’t the only selling point. The bike comes with the Technogym trainers’ on-demand classes. I admittedly don’t frequent a spin class at the gym, so I found these 40-minute high-energy sessions really hard, but also incredibly exhilarating. You can be flywheel spinning in a live class with other people around the world, with the trainers encouraging all of you to up the resistance levels (there are 20).
If a live class isn’t your thing, however, you can take a pre-recorded session with a trainer which is just as effective. Also, there is Netflix, and YouTube, and Instagram! (I hit refresh on part one of Emily and Gabriel’s love story while pedalling. It’s worth noting here that the sound of the pedalling is almost silent – less than 70dB – so you can hear the character’s dialogue.)
The origin story of Technogym is a sweet one. Founded in a garage 38 years ago by a then-22-year-old Italian man named Nerio Alessandri, Technogym bridged the gap between technology (TECHNO) and exercise (GYM) with science and innovation.
“In the 80s we were innovative in our research and utilisation of biomechanics, then in electronics by introducing our cardio range,” explains Manaresi. “We have also entered the digital and design space thanks to collaborations with acclaimed designers.”
One of them is Dior. Technogym and the French Maison recently unveiled a global pop-up store featuring the limited edition collab range “Vibe Line”. (Read: Technogym equipment has been stamped with the Christian Dior name in a line for the monied clientele. It’s currently available in Dior pop-up stories in Shanghai, Sanya, Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, London, Beverly Hills, Soho, and Tokyo, as well as a selection of pop-in stores in Paris, Milan, Tokyo, New York and Seoul.
At AUD $4590, the Technogym Bike’s price point is higher than competitors at market. So why is it worth a bigger investment? What does it have that others don’t?
“Technogym offers unique products which feature the best technology developed in collaboration with top performing Olympic Champions and is the only product that offers a wide selection of classes featuring quality training from the best studios around the world,” says Manaresi in response.
The Technogym Bike can be experienced in some of the most desirable places; world class gyms, private members’ clubs, leading hotels, and in the homes of leading athletes (the brand has been the official gym equipment supplier of the Olympic Games since 2000). If you’re in Sydney and would like to trial the bike I rode, or any of the cutting-edge Technogym range, you can head into their new wellness experience space at 20 McLachlan Avenue in Rushcutters Bay.
Now, where shall I ride to next? Crete in the Greek Islands looks mighty tempting.
