Endless Cycle

Posted Online: Posted online: January 13, 2007 7:36 PM
Print publication date: 01/15/2007
Moline man opens indoor cycling center


By Rita Pearson, rpearson@qconline.com

More photos from this shoot
Photo: Dan Videtich
Donnie Miller of Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience rides one of the 'spinners' at his gym in Moline Wednesday. Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience is one of only 12 dedicated indoor cycling gyms in the United States.

More photos from this shoot
Photo: Dan Videtich
Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience includes a CompuTrainer, which gives indoor stationary riders a more life-like outdoor riding experience through the use of video sequenced with the bikes.

A recent frosty morning in the Quad-Cities drove three bikers in from the cold.

One was a new distance biker seeking a climate-controlled workout; the others were a mother and daughter team wanting fitness and weight loss.

Although it's only an hour after dawn, Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience has been open for hours to provide a protected haven for bikers of all abilities in the former Harmon Autoglass building near SouthPark Mall in Moline.

The indoor cycling center is a dream-come-true for USA Cycling coach Donnie Miller, who also coaches the local DICE bike-racing team and is incoming race director for the Quad City Criterium.

Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience is the first of its kind in the Quad-Cities and Midwest, and one of only 12 dedicated indoor cycling centers in the nation, he said.

Someday, if a sponsor can be found, it may also be a training site for future U.S. cycling Olympians for the 2008 and 2012 cycling teams. But that's another dream.

Mr. Miller, a 42-year-old East Moline native, created the indoor cycling space for two-wheelers, runners and other athletes in cross-training, and to promote recreational biking for everyone else.

Cycling is Mr. Miller's passion and avocation.

Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience opened Oct. 21, and is Mr. Miller's first business. He is currently laid off from Carleton Life Support Systems, Davenport.

The indoor cycling center aims to promote a healthy lifestyle, help people lose weight and improve outdoor cycling on the road, he said.


"This whole place is geared toward beginners," he told two newcomers. "My main focus is to keep you healthy, safe and happy."

The center attracts able-bodied and injured athletes who want to continue training indoors during Midwest winters, he said. Cycling, or spinning, is an ideal non-load-bearing activity that helps people get in shape or maintain conditioning, Mr. Miller said.

Thirteen state-of-the-art stationary exercise bikes are a main feature of the Indoor Cycling Experience. The CycleOps bikes monitor a biker's speed, distance, cadence, heart rate and power for the best workout for the body, Mr. Miller said.

Dedicated bike racers also hold indoor races using a CompuTrainer, a computer-controlled trainer or precision bicycle ergometer that measures wattage, heart rate and cadence.

The personal data can be matched with data from USA Triathlon and Canadian Cycling Association athletes. The CompuTrainer has peak power ratings in excess of 1500 watts to simulate hills up to 15-degrees.

The CompuTrainer can be programmed with one of more than 350 virtual race courses Mr. Miller has in his library and displays on several large screen televisions during a biker's workout. A biker can work out alone or race against up to seven others on a multi-rider station.

People can bring their own bicycles or borrow from Donnie's. A rear smooth wheel is all that's needed to attach the bike to the CompuTrainer stand.

Donnie's offers 12 classes a day. Some classes teach children how to ride and be safe. Other classes for adults offer the rules of the road and other safety instruction for riding in traffic, touring, racing, health and commuting to work, school or the store.

Mr. Miller's cycling classes use any method the biker likes best, he said. He also offers pilates and yoga for flexibility and power aerobics for conditioning.

His non-traditional strength and conditioning equipment includes kettlebells, clubbells and sandbags with medicine balls and hand weights.

Although his music repertoire is a little shy on country selections, Donnie's has a variety of rock music and satellite television to keep you motivated.

At the end of the workout, there are individual showers and dressing areas, handicapped-accessible restrooms and free massage therapy with student masseurs from Alive Wellness Inc.

Mr. Miller's dog, Luke, greets people at the door, coming and going.

Memberships start at $12.50 a day or $65 a month for unlimited use of the equipment and classes for those up to 55, or $60 a month for high school and college students, and people older than 55.

Donnie's Indoor Cycling Experience


Owner: Donnie Miller, owner/operator

Where: 1554 52nd Ave., Moline

Hours: 4 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday-Friday

5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat. and Sun.

Phone: (309)743-0260; (877)743-0261.

Web site: www.DiceTraining.com


















Print version

Comments
3 comments on this article
Posted by Jim Hill from Orlando,Fl at 7:30AM on Monday, 1/15/07
Good job nephew. Uncle Jim
Posted by Kim Blomberg from Rock Island, Media Link at 11:48AM on Monday, 1/15/07
Hi Donnie,
Great article! Let me know if we can be of service.
Best wishes for the New Year!
Sincerely,
Kim
Posted by Grant Wendland from Tampico, Il at 7:22PM on Monday, 1/15/07
Keep up the good work Coach Miller.