Long story short: got run over by a car (ow) so I’m trainer-bound, maybe forever. Except for races.
If I rode 8 hours/week before on hilly roads, can I expect those same 8 hours on a fluid trainer to produce more fitness? it sure kicks my butt more, what with no free-wheeling down the hills and all.
Thanks!
Baldy
In general, the trainer will be a tougher workout and deliver more bang for the time spent training, but nothing like riding in 40 mph winds on a hilly course to get you ready for the real world. Hope your injuries from the crash are coming along.
I think your body is telling you, as it does me, that the trainer is a legitimate workout. In some ways I think its a better way to use limited time. Hope you heal-up. I know it can take some time mentally to get back on the road. Good on ya for sticking with it!
Even though it feels more painful on the trainer, my power meter tells me that I can put out more wattage in a fast group on the open roads. I can push myself much harder in a groups and it feels much less painful for the equivalent watts.
No worries about the injuries and thanks for the kind words. I was good as new 7 weeks later, just meaner and uglier with stitches in my face.
My first day back on the roads a friend was hit, lifelined to Stanford like I had been 7 weeks previous, but died. So, I convinced myself to love the convenience and efficiency of the trainer and am wondering whether I even need to get on the roads before races.
(We were both hit on popular biking roads by distracted drivers.)
Man, I could not agree with you more. My crash on my bike in a race is still unknown to me what happened. I know on my trainer that my wife knows where I am all the time. Sure wished that Velotron had worked out. Talk about the ultimate indoor trainer!!
Dave
Baldy, we hear your pain and the loss of your friend.
While the trainer may be more convenient, we need more and more and more cyclists like you ON THE ROAD, so that motorists get used to seeing all of us around, so they are actually on the LOOKOUT for us cyclists and not just distracted and hitting us.
Aside from the above, I do not know about your friend, but if I were to die in a bike crash with a car, the last thing I would want is for my friends to retreat indoors and surrender the roads to cars only.
This summer I had a head on bike vs van collision. Long story, but the van pulled out to pass a car and came straight at me, and I had nowhere to go, but to try and vault straight up to save my head. The front of the van hit my front wheel as I was “jumping” the bike disengaged from my cleats and I rolled over the top of the van and miraculously landed on all fours and then bounced off the pavement with several gashes, blood and bruises, taken away in an ambulance. I was quite lucky as there were no damaged parts, just bruises and lots of cuts. Just like I am not about to let a terrorist take away my freedom, I won’t let a head on collision take me off the road. Back on the road the next day, riding to work.
In 1985, I had a different head on collision with a milk truck. Bike was wrecked, but 7 days later, I was riding my bike along the Cote d’Azur between Mareille and Monte Carlo. This is what biking is all about (at least for me). At the moment, I am averaging one head on collision per 20 years and several other hits and bumps and near misses per year.
Don’t let the cars take away the pleasure of pedalling under your own steam in the great outdoors. I hope you get back onto the road. Like a Pilot who has ditched his F-18 and returned to the ground with a chute, instead of the power of F404 turbofans, sometimes the best therapy is putting the pilot back in the cockpit 
All the best.
Wow, you are like Spiderman, incredible. Glad you are still with us.
Firstly, all condolences to you and all effected by the loss of your friend.
I am with you, I’m heading indoors for the majority of my training. Between the exercize efficiency of the workout and time-savings of having to get all geared up and then clean my bike afterwards it makes a ton of sense. Word is that Don Fink, a coach, author of a very good and sensible training book and AG winner at lots of long course tris trains exclusively indoors for that reason. I also get all of my business reading done on the trainer and can actually do some good thinking about work, so it makes even more sense.
At the same time, the roads are getting more and more dangerous. That sucks, but it is a fact of life. In my small, high-end suburban town there are two schools that kids aren’t even allowed to ride bikes to. At first I was angered that this "basic right of childhood’ was taken away. But then I realized that the roads are just too busy to be ridden on safely…no matter what you think your rights are. With all the stories we hear of fellow tri guys getting hit, it is pure common sense to stay off the roads more. I mean, how many drivers do you actually see stop at stop signs?
Unfortunately, the “take back the road” philosophy, while admirable, just isn’t smart.
Baldy, Sorry to hear about it! I must say with all the posts over the months about people getting hit, I’ve purposely sought out the most quiet roads i can find for my training rides, as well as some Class I bike trails (never cross traffic). It may get monotonous, but monotonous is better than plowing into 2 tons of metal! Hang in there!
Well, maybe you need to move out of your high end suburb ?. Fortunately, my medium end suburb has 6 foot wide biike lanes on every road and the kids can ride to school (or walk). Perhaps the difference is that I live in Canada, where there is actually some concession in cities for bicycling as a mode of transportation.
As for the following statemnt, "With all the stories we hear of fellow tri guys getting hit, it is pure common sense to stay off the roads more" it all depends on how common the sense is that we are talking about. In most cities there are more people getting murdered or dying in car crashes every day, so I guess we should consider taking cover and staying indoors to avoid murderers and not get in cars for fear of dying.
Seriously, you gotta die some time. Spending time not doing something that you might like doing, in fear of dying, is no way to live (in my book). Then again, I won’t argue with indoor riding being convenient. I guess to each their own
DP, I think you make a lot of sense on these issues. I also think that the more people there are on the roads, the safer we all are. That said, I can see how hard it would be for Baldy to bike on the road right now. Either thing - getting hit, having his friend killed - would be hard to deal with. Having the one happen, and then the other on the first ride back - you have my sypathy. Take some time off, if that’s what you think you need. The rest of us will be out on the road, trying to make it safer.
-charles
I agree!
There is a crosswalk near here where pedestrians have frequently been hit by cars. It’s not just cyclists who can fall victim to inattentive drivers. Where do you draw the line? For me cycling on most roads is an acceptable risk, but I wouldn’t allow my children to cycle on the roads here without me shepherding them.
Anecdote:A few weeks ago, before the Canadian winter descended upon us, four of us were cycling on the shoulder of Hwy 1, towards the traffic. We had a good pace, 2 abreast, and had our heads down. I was on the left at the front and the cyclist beside me suddenly swore and swerved towards me. I was able to respond and get out of his way and looked up. Coming towards us at about 100kph, on the shoulder was a car: the driver was a woman who was looking for something down by her side, and didn’t see us at all. If we had been going with the traffic, at least two of us would probably be dead now. The driver just missed us, and continued, with the driver doubtless oblivious of the fact she had almost committed manslaughter, which had been averted only by good fortune, and swift reflexes.
I’m very fond of my bike, and would really like to be able to ride outside right now (OK not right now, since it’s the middle of the night) despite these risks. At the moment it is clamped to my trainer, waiting. And that’s another quite different thread…
I know there is a risk in everything we do. I live in SO. Cal. 40 miles south of LA.( LA is called traffic capital for good reason). In this area cars and bikes don’t play well together. When I drive am more aware then the average driver about cyclists and I still have trouble at times. When you cross the street you do run a risk but riding in traffic is a different ball game. Add people driving with the cellphones, drunks/drugs, kids, shaving, pets, smoking, changing CD’s, my favorite looking in the mirror putting on makeup Etc. The odds are not in the cyclists favor. Most cyclists I know ride on the road but we have bike trails off road(paved and wide) in this area. I can ride 50 miles with out cars or lights. Talk about a good training ride! I am glad to read you guys were ok but you kind of prove my point. Sorry you can’t ride with winter weather.
PS: Train safe it’s dangerous out there.
Part of me misses the incredible roads we have through the redwoods and along the ocean that I have loved to ride so much (I live near Palo Alto). I’ve done it for years, rain or shine and loved every minute of it.
But I’m actually starting to love the trainer, something I never would have said or tried if I hadn’t been forced into it for a few weeks. No prep time, you can eat real food, watch movies, listen to audio books… And my wife doesn’t have to worry about getting another call saying I’m on a helicopter with head trauma.
One reason I started this thread is I was bothered by a statement by Coach Michael McCormack on another board:
“I find fluid trainers to be unwieldy with their disproportionate resistance curve and which will hammer the rider.”
I’m getting hammered all right but I hope it’s because I’m doing good workouts and not because of some disproportionate resistance curve I don’t understand.
"At the same time, the roads are getting more and more dangerous. That sucks, but it is a fact of life. In my small, high-end suburban town there are two schools that kids aren’t even allowed to ride bikes to. At first I was angered that this "basic right of childhood’ was taken away. But then I realized that the roads are just too busy to be ridden on safely…no matter what you think your rights are. With all the stories we hear of fellow tri guys getting hit, it is pure common sense to stay off the roads more. I mean, how many drivers do you actually see stop at stop signs?
Unfortunately, the “take back the road” philosophy, while admirable, just isn’t smart. "
Powerful stuff and I hear what you are saying, but I must say that this is one of the saddest and most depressing posts I have ever read here on ST at many different levels and I have been here almost since Day 1.
I agree with what Dev said in a later post - I would question WHERE I live if I felt that way. If your friends and neighbous have such a caviler attitude towards the health and well being of their fellow citizens, is that really the type of friends and neighbours that you want to have? “High-End” what does that mean exactly? I could really get going here, but I won’t. I feel sorry for your kids. I feel sorry for you!
Part of the drive for me over the years has been the opportunity to get outside and ride and run in cool places, to discover new, different cool places to ride and run. If I could not do that, if I was confined to doing it indoors all the time, I don’t think I would bother. I would rather read a good book.
Fleck
Seems the “take back the road” and “the main factor in deciding where to live is the bike riding” guys live in a hole. Get over it! Look around, the world is changing in many ways and (I definitely regret to say it) more crowded roads are one of them. Basic ST participation - despite the insensitivity/inablity to get the orginal poster’s message - has certainly given everyone the idea that there is an increase in injury-by-car related accidents/deaths. Get depressed all you want. Try to “take back the road” all you want. Gaze at your navel all you want. But also understand that common sense does make you recognize increased risk.
The risk of murder does not cause me to I stay at home. But it does reduce the amount of time I spend in areas of known, heightened criminal activity, which is where most murders occur. You don’t need a calculator to figure that if risk rises, it is common sense to reduce your exposure to it. Was the marine triathlete killed near the commonly regarded dangerous off-ramp in CA “taking back the road”? How about the well-regarded and accomplished masters triathlete in AZ (which has seen incredible population growth since that guy started biking there) who left behind wife and kids? How does the “bike free or (and) die philosphy stack up there?”…or the 30 other posts this years about “losing another one”. Biking roads are more hazardous in most every place, so common sense does says you are better off doing things differently.
No question it sucks. The quiet town that I grews up in - and still live in - where I can raise my kids in my hometown community (with great schools and access to lots of culture) doesn’t have as many roadside vegetable stands and independent bookstores as when I grews up here. No question it sucks, but that is life. And life has lots of trade-offs.
I’m a big fan of the bike trails. I know a lot of times you can’t get in your top speed consistently, but that’s a trade off I’m willing to make. I currently live just north of Chicago and there’s a nice long path I’ve never seen the end of that goes a good way north. I can go a bit west and there’s a 40 mile round trip trail. On the lakefront in Chicago, there’s almost 40 miles round trip. There’s other trails in the area I’ll probably never get to. Next year, we’re moving to Kent, Ohio which is south of Cleveland. There are trails all over the place here including one that’s about 60 miles long. In some cases, you do spend some time on the road, but it’s usually in nice safe areas and the trails bring you through what would have been dicey areas.
I have to agree with the posters mentioning what type of area you live in. I would never want to live some place where you can’t ride. I save my road riding for the most part for races and centuries, but getting out on the trails is a great feeling and one I couldn’t just give up for a “nice” neighborhood.
When you say bike trails are you referring to off-road dirt trails for a mountain bike or a paved trail (“rails to trails” type)?
If it is a paved trail, I find those to be dicier and more scary than riding on the roads with cars. The sheer number of oblivious inline skaters and kids has me worried that I could go down any second and end up with a broken collar bone or something similar.