I just got a new bike. No, not in videogame land, in the real world where all the plants and trees live. A shiny 2011 Ridgeback Element, to be exact. I've spent a good few months looking around, and this is the bike that finally fits all my requirements.

The only problem was that I didn't expect to be buying it right when I saw it so I had nowhere to keep my new baby. For the first night, I lovingly propped it against my sofa. Over the next couple of days, it moved around my kitchen, with stints against the back door, in front of the sink, against the washing machine - well, you get the point.

As you can imagine, I got bored of trying to get things done with a bike plonked in the middle of my house and managed to dedicate some time to rearranging my shed and making some space.

My shed was already pretty packed but luckily I had my organising hat on and after a half hour of faffing managed to get a reasonable arrangement. While I worked I thought about what I might play that evening, and my brain made a strange connection.

All this stacking and organising in such a restricted space was just like playing Tetris, with bike wheels fitting on top of bike carriers, fitting in boxes with garden tools to keep them in place. If I ever actually need anything out of my shed, I could be there an awfully long time.

One of the main reasons for buying this fantabulous new bike (yet to be named) is that I am riding the C2C for the Carlisle and North Lakeland branch of Hospice at Home next summer. I will be part of a group of 50 women, and we are each hoping to raise GBP500.

As you can imagine, a bike ride that is 140 miles over 3 days is quite a feat, and so I'm making sure I start my training in plenty of time. I've spent the last couple of days not only getting some time in on my new bike, but trying to work out the best ways to train for the C2C: not only do I have to ride every week, I have to be generally fighting fit.

This means I've got to do strength training and everything else to make sure I'm ready in time. Luckily for me, game consoles have come to the rescue on these cold winter nights. I've been taking full advantage of my Wii, getting some time in on Wii Sports-Resort and EA Sports Active 2. I'm going to be using exercise games like these as a core part of my training over the next couple of months, when the weather doesn't always allow for the more outdoorsy activities I like. Who knows, I might even get myself a Wii Fit board and have a go on some of the other exercise-oriented games out there.

So, over the coming months I'm sure you'll be hearing all about my training adventures and mishaps, I'll maybe even get some reviews up of any fun exercise games I try out. In the meantime, if you'd like to show some support, please head over to my JustGiving page.

Written by Tim Pestridge

You can support Tim by buying Tetris Shed



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Tim Pestridge writes the Bike Gamer column.

"I like bikes and video games because they both spark my imagination and provide seemingly infinite possibilities and just generally make me smile."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:

• Rift
• Costume Quest
• Winterbottom
• Braid
• Home