Trainerroad during the week. Long rides outside early Saturday mornings. Too many people cussing, honking, revving motors to blow exhaust on me and driving in front of me into the bike lane to try and prove a point. I am not so much afraid of dying as I am getting hit or constantly pissed off from idiots so I ride indoors often. Also power output is better. Outside it’s all over the place, inside its higher and sustained. No red lights, stop signs, group drafting, cold numbing temperatures. Inside the kids and wife can see me and chat. Lots of positives. Negatives are that I really enjoy being outside, sometimes it’s tough to stay motivated on the trainer, learning to hold consistent power outside can be tough over rolling terrain and over doing it up the hills is a real thing if you’re not prepared.
Edit to answer race goals; to qualify for Worlds this year.
I’m recovering from shoulder surgery, based on a cycling crash, last August. Surgery was 12/14. I’m good on the trainer…but don’t care to risk any damage while it’s still healing.
On top of that…I keep noticing how many people are on their phones (talking or texting) as I drive. It’s scary.
+1 This
Keep in mind that all those crazy people texting on their phones that you see while driving you car are also a hazard to you when in your car. You might think that you won’t die because you are in your car, but that is a false sense of comfort. Chance of dying in the car from the other texting guy is non zero. Would you take your driving indoors to your basement because of the other idiot drivers?
I def had my best HIM race from basically all-indoors riding, including most outdoor long rides.
I def wouldn’t say I enjoyed it more than outdoors - that would be flat out lying - outdoor riding where I am in Norcal is one of the greatest joys of athletic life!
But between a young kid <5 yrs old, busy job, family, I did a lot of riding before 7AM, and was finishing all weekday rides before the sun was even out. And on the weekends, it’s was a lot easier logistically to ride for 2-2.5hrs on a trainer than to go for a 3-4 hour outdoor ride that involved 45-60 minute of downhills.
But again, I’ll def say that I would NOT look forward to doing it again that way. No joy in the indoor method other than the sporadic, small FTP victories you get after improving. But it def gets the job done, no compromise.
Keep in mind that all those crazy people texting on their phones that you see while driving you car are also a hazard to you when in your car. You might think that you won’t die because you are in your car, but that is a false sense of comfort. Chance of dying in the car from the other texting guy is non zero. Would you take your driving indoors to your basement because of the other idiot drivers?
I have no idea why this is controversial.
I was involved in a bike crash on 8/13/16. I have shoulder surgery on 12/14, due to injuries sustained from said bike crash. I’m also a recovering Harley rider. Never even came close to going down, but lost 5 friends (in motorcycle crashes) in a single calendar year. I sold mine, shortly after that. I’ll take my chances in my truck over a motorcycle or bicycle in a second. This isn’t even close.
I won’t ride outside right now…because I’m afraid if I go down I’ll rip my shoulder to shreds. There’s basically a 0% chance of that happening - if I’m on a trainer. I really like cycling outdoors, but it’s not something I have to have. If I “loved” it as much as some of you seem to, I’d probably feel different. I won’t trivialize your love for cycling. I’m not sure why people reducing their risks for an arguably superior training method draws ire from anyone. I mean this with 100% sincerity…and no malice…
I don’t care in the least how you train. It doesn’t affect me.
I do 95% of my riding on the trainer even though I have a bike trail right next to my house and countless miles of quiet, paved, rural roads right out my back door. For me, it’s not as much about safety as it is about convenience. Most of my riding is done before the kids wake up or after they’ve gone to sleep, when it’s dark outside. I’ve never been hit by a car or gone down on the road. Of course, the trainer is not without it’s own risks. One night last fall, I put the kids to bed and started what I thought was going to be a solid interval session. All was well during the ten minute warm-up. I was staring mindlessly at the laptop on the small table in front of me as I had done so many times before. Five seconds into the first interval, it happened. I thought to myself, “That’s weird, the table seems to be tipping over to the right.” About a millisecond later, I realized it was actually me tipping over to the left. I don’t know if it was the crash that woke the kids in the next room or the sound of me screaming like a little school girl, but they came running in to find me on my back with the bike above me. Still clipped in with the rear wheel spinning away like a buzz saw. I guess my instincts told me to tuck and roll. Fortunately, nothing other than my pride took a hit. I had always just left the bike on the trainer between rides, and apparently my six-year-old still likes to twist, turn, and rotate anything that moves. I now know that includes the trainer’s clamping mechanism. In the end, we all had a good laugh that night; the boys learned a few new words; and I learned to check the setup before each and every ride.
Working stiffs just don’t have the daylight hours most of the year to ride “on the roads” during the week. Weekends? Maybe. It is so much easier and time efficient to hop onto the bike that is mounted on the trainer. As an older fart, too much intensity on the trainer bike is counter productive.
I did 99% of my training indoors last year. (87km outside lol)
Sometimes I started at 4am and be done by 8am and with the family theme park by 10am on a Saturday.
Safety. Drinking and driving, texting and driving. Just cant risk it. Where I normally ride my bike outside is where somebody got hit by drunk driver in 2014 (i believe you had an article of him in slowtwtich. Cant remember his name but he was a fast athlete. )
Time effeciency. I can time my kids nap time to my bike ride. One hour ride is one hour long in the basement. Didnt need to travel anywhere.
Quality. I could just put my head down and focus on my power without having to worry about my surroundings. 5hrs long ride sucked but totally worth it on race day.
-I have 2 kids. If my wife REALLY needs me she can just yell/call me in the basement and upstairs within a few seconds. Doesnt burn out your support system.
Result
2:24 Half Ironman bike split
I didnt really find needing to learn how to ride my bike again on race day. When I got to my bike I just totally forgot about “biking”.
If you get hit by a car doing a 60kph while on a bike you definitely will get hurt or possibly die.
If you get hit by a car doing the same speed while on a car you could get a fender bender or damage to your car etc etc.
This is like comparing throwing a rock at you vs throwing a snowball at you.
Time effeciency. I can time my kids nap time to my bike ride. One hour ride is one hour long in the basement. Didnt need to travel anywhere.
Quality. I could just put my head down and focus on my power without having to worry about my surroundings. 5hrs long ride sucked but totally worth it on race day.
-I have 2 kids. If my wife REALLY needs me she can just yell/call me in the basement and upstairs within a few seconds. Doesnt burn out your support system.
Result
2:24 Half Ironman bike split
THIS ^^^^ While I’m not a parent, it seems like common sense to do all your cycling inside if you are one. Anything happens, you are home with the kids/wife/husband.
Do most of my rides during the week on the rollers inside or stationary trainer mainly due to time constraints and having run out of daylight, especially during this time of year. Weekends I typically do my long ride early Saturday or Sunday morning as I try to be aware of traffic patterns on the roads I ride. I figure early morning rides will reduce the drunk driver chances, just have to worry mostly about distracted drivers.
As for why this discussion has not come up about treadmills I think most people do not run with traffic on the roads. Even when I run on main or secondary roads running against traffic gives you another layer of defense to take evasive action, just my opinion.
Short Course racer here. I’m on TrainerRoad’s High Volume Sprint plan which is a lot of sweet spot and VO2 max work during the week which I do indoors on my computrainer. On the weekend I head out the West Orange Trail (great bike trail here in central florida) and get in a 2 hour Z2 ride.
Keep in mind that all those crazy people texting on their phones that you see while driving you car are also a hazard to you when in your car. ** You might think that you won’t die because you are in your car, but that is a false sense of comfort.** Chance of dying in the car from the other texting guy is non zero. Would you take your driving indoors to your basement because of the other idiot drivers?
I have a little comfort as I drive a big truck. My chances of dying on a bike by getting hit by a car is much higher than getting hit by the same car while in my truck.
That said (and to the OP) I ride inside because I enjoy it. I also run on the treadmill because i enjoy it.
Outside is fun, but inside is better in my opinion.
Part of that could be all the allergy inducing “things” in the outside air that I don’t have in my air-conditioned house.
I train almost completely indoors on a smart trainer. I have a 7-month old, 2 year old, and 4 year old, and a wife who is putting up with my 70.3 goal. Once the weather warms up I will be doing some of my long rides outdoors.
Random reasons why I choose indoor training:
Personal safety
I work and get home at rush hour. By the time rush hour is over it is dark.No shoulders / unsafe roads around my house.I see distracted drivers every day on my drive home from work. Balance family life
If my wife needs me I can stop and not be 10 miles away. ← HUGE for herKids see their dad more.A lot of my rides are after 8pm when family is in bed. Better training
I can see my power on my smart trainer and train using power.Zwift and Trainer Road workouts are a far better use of my limited time than the roads around here.I can do group rides without planning a week in advance and no one showing.I can do a race if I want to and there is no fee. I can climb a mountain in my basement that is 6 times higher than the mountain behind my house. Comfort
I can watch or listen to whatever I want to pass the time.
Working stiffs just don’t have the daylight hours most of the year to ride “on the roads” during the week. Weekends? Maybe. It is so much easier and time efficient to hop onto the bike that is mounted on the trainer. As an older fart, too much intensity on the trainer bike is counter productive.
I now ride Monday-Friday all indoors. I put about 6 hours a week on my trainer, then about 6-7 hours on the roads on Saturdays/Sundays.
My workouts are structured to fit into a 1 hour and 12 minute timeframe that I have to train in the mornings before my long-ass commute. That puts me up at 4:00AM, on the trainer by 4:25AM, and on the road by 6:10AM. I get home at 6:00PM. A little family time, dinner, get ready to do it over again.
I envy the folks who have a better work/life balance with a more flexible work schedule. We work in such a connected world; I struggle to figure out why I need to commute to an office to sit and do what I could do . . . anywhere.
ETA: I’m a roadie only. Cat 3. Focusing on road races and time trials.
I am also a 9 to 5 er-ish, so m-f I also ride the CT,weekends outside.
Doesn’t bother me a bit, the hour I spend on the CT is much more enjoyable as I do not have to deal with traffic, weather, as well as being more productive as I am available to the family if needed and the workout is way more intense. Can get caught up on TV/sports as well. Between terrain, traffic, and stoplights getting the kinds of intervals done outside that I can get done inside would be very difficult if not impossible without riding for :45 to get somewhere safe enough to do them
Been doing this for several years, including training for IM Canada and Coz and tons of halfs. Granted, for the fulls I do have a few weekends of 80 + mile rides
As someone who is working toward base training for the first time, i am currently deep in base training based on TTB. In that, he has you doing a lot of zone 1-2, with some zone 3 thrown in. How does the Trainerroad/Zwift workouts align with this type of training plan, which I have to imagine a lot of people are following?
Back when I was doing half training, I did it almost exclusively on my trainer+TR. Even my long rides. Not only did I not regret it, I’m glad I did. It helped me face my weaknesses and address them. It meant I could train more late at night (when I had free time). I could measure my progress and see how nutrition/hydration/rest affected performance. In the end, I was dialed in, confident, and ready; even if it was a bit mentally brutal.
**Personal safety **
Less things to worry about when riding the TT bike which has a more compromised position than the road bike
**Balance family life **
A lot of my rides are after 8pm when family is in bed.
Trainer time is way more efficient, just add ~30mins to the duration of the workout to account for pre-ride prep and post-ride shower and that is all the time it takes.
**Better training **
Kickr and TrainerRoad make it so that there’s no cheating on the intervals, only perfect efficiency
Allows to focus on TT position adaptation, and easing in to it over time.
Ex-triathlete, now Cat3 roadie aiming for early-season (end of Feb) stage race w/ flat TT to seal my upgrade. So far, with 3 months of focused trainer time over the winter I’ve managed in the past 3 weeks to equal or outperform my best 2016 power numbers for almost everything from 5s to 1h.