Binghamton University students have trekked thousands of miles, through Mayan ruins and outer space, riding BU toward the top of a national cycling leader board — all without leaving the comfort of FitSpace.
Expresso Interactive Fitness is holding a competition to see which university can log the most miles on Expresso bikes in the month of February. As of Monday night, Binghamton was in second place with 1,401 points, behind only the University of Iowa with 1,771. The winning school receives an Expresso bike worth $7,000.
Expresso stationary bikes feature screens that take riders on exotic, interactive virtual tours, such as through a dinosaur-littered valley or through a backyard as a shrunken rider, while they use the handlebars to steer through the course.
Riders can also connect the bikes to their Facebook or Twitter accounts to share their rides and earn bonus points toward the competition.
Other schools in the competition include Northeastern, Brown, Florida State, University of Pittsburgh, William & Mary and Harvard Business School.
In addition to the nationwide cycling challenge, Campus Recreation is holding its own challenge.
“We will be giving prizes to our top two riders here at FitSpace,” said Jenna Domin, program coordinator at Campus Recreational Fitness. “We’ll be giving away massages and PT sessions. In order to win these prizes, you have to register your ID online so that we have your name in the Expresso system.”
The competition has encouraged both experienced and inexperienced gym-goers to use the bikes for their cardio workouts.
“For me it’s just one version of cardio to another,” said Dakota Gangi, a senior double-majoring in environmental science and English. “I’m going to do it anyway. So why not put it to good use and help us win.”
As of Saturday, Gangi was ranked sixth at BU with 11 points.
Jeremy Bernstein, an undeclared freshman, said the competition has helped him develop an interest in cycling.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really interested in the sport much at all before this,” he said. “But the competitive aspect of it is pretty cool. It’s good incentive to make me get on the bike and go a few miles.”
While Bernstein admits that cycling is one of the most difficult activities he has participated in, it has not kept him off the bike.
“I’m going to keep improving every day,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to make it onto the leader boards soon.”