Scott Martin

I just returned from a business trip to a conference in Boston. When normal people go away on business, they think about things like: a) making a huge sale that leads to a big promotion; b) increasing knowledge and widening professional contacts; and c) ordering steak, lobster and appletinis on the company’s nickel.

But roadies aren’t normal people. When we go away on business, we think about only one thing: How do I get my workouts in?

On past work trips, I brought my folding travel bike. That works if you don’t mind pre-dawn rides dodging crazy cabbies in unfamiliar cities and bumping into your industry peers on the hotel elevator while wearing a Lycra clown suit and maneuvering a 20-inch-wheel circus bike.

Or you could – gulp – pack running shoes instead. Let’s see: a couple of 3-mile jogs followed by 2 weeks of shin splints. Maybe not.

Then there’s the hotel fitness center, which will have 2 exercise bikes, one a recumbent and the other an upright featuring a sofa cushion for a saddle. But you won’t have to choose, because both will be occupied by guests pedaling 30 rpm while reading Cigar Aficionado magazine.

I’d planned to go the fitness-center route this trip, till a big fire and subsequent power outage in downtown Boston left my hotel without electricity. I did work up a sweat walking down 38 flights of stairs with my luggage, but I’m not sure that counts.

My conference was cancelled, so I called an old friend living nearby to come pick me up. He loaned me his daughter’s mountain bike and shoes, which were a half-size too small. Toes curled, I headed out into a 40-degree rainstorm for some intervals. Best part of the whole trip.

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