Obviously depends where you live. In the east of England there are 1000’s of miles of empty lanes.
I would say I prefer to train (in the structured workout sense) inside as trying to hit power numbers while minding traffic, potholes etc isn’t much fun.
However for just riding along I would always pick outside. I’ve dropped down to a low volume plan now it’s sunny just to allow for unstructured rides
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Must have built a lot of roads since I lived there. Sorry I wasn’t specific enough for you.
Not really there’s plenty of minor roads in Great Britain. All pretty empty even in East of England.
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Same “problem” with ride in and outdoor at the season change
Once accustomed to one or the other of the activities it is difficult to switch!
But once you get used to it, everything goes!
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OK, you win, your stats trump my personal experience. I was just trying to empathise with the OP but thanks for reminding me of the joy of internet forums.
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I was just reminding you that Great Britain has a ton of empty lanes to ride in. It’s not all built up and rammed with traffic.
We had some great weather in early April(UK) and whilst I was enjoying good gains the warm weather enticed me outside. I’ve joined the local club, chaingang Tuesday and Thursday and a longer ride on Sundays.
However you can’t beat structured training for fitness gains which is a substantial trade off for me as I don’t have the physical capacity to ride hard outside 3 times a week and TrainerRoad.
So I’ve reconciled to enjoy the summer with outside rides and return to indoor training October 1st.
It’s also the perfect time for me to loose excess weight so when the next tranche of indoor training comes I can focus solely on building my FTP rather than managing weight loss and FTP build.
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If you’re really silly then do what I do. Get up at 4am weekdays and enjoy 2hrs of virtually empty roads. 2 cars an hour is often possible. These are quiet country lanes but even they get relatively busy during normal hours.
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I didn’t know people had this problem, I always thought it was just the opposite. 
Both the kids are quarantined this week so not sure I’ll be able to get out for a ride where I could easily ride indoors but I’m just choosing not to ride, or sneaking in one in the evening when the wife is home. Just can’t get motivated to ride indoors once I get outside for a couple rides to kick off the season.
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Don’t worry about it honestly if that is what you want to do. I ride inside 95% of the time on Z but have been making a point to get out this year for a few group rides. Still have TR but been a while since I have used it. The people and groups are cool, I have always liked the convenience of walking downstairs and getting my my trainer instead of wasting 40 minutes in the car round trip.
I did however buy a mtb this year and it has been good fun except a few minor crashes. I might even end up selling my road and mtb at some point and just get a gravel and have 2 wheel sets. As fun as mtb is the jarring going down single track even with my full suspension is a little nerve racking.
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I tell myself I’m spoiled that I can ride inside and train anytime year round. It’s definitely easier mentally to just hop on the trainer. Less worry about what to wear, cars on the road or dealing with crap weather. If I have a lot going on in life having the ability to train inside keeps my stress down because I know I can still get a solid workout in.
Like others have stated don’t worry about it
I personally have to get out and ride and make sure my handling skills are up to par.
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Ive experienced the same - for me, it had a lot to do with getting out of my comfort zone. Ive finally reached the point that I nearly always ride outdoors, weather permitting. At 6:30, its light enough and not much traffick where I live. If you want to ride outside, you need to stop making excuses. And as others said, it’s perfectly fine to train indoors 95% of the time is that’s what you enjoy.
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New routes, new riding partners? I find that setting up rides with others makes me accountable. I’ve gone through short phases in the winter where I only ride indoors, but I lose something with 100% indoor training. If safety is a concern, I think that small groups are the safest and it’s much easier to get a small group on the same page as far as lane control and route selections.
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Thanks for the replies.
There’s a bit of a safety concern about busy roads, which is why I try and get out early on a Sunday. I do feel that it’s a window of opportunity, I wouldn’t feel as happy riding later on in the day. I know some of the country lanes will have drivers returning from the pub later on…
I think it’s just more of a mental block. I’m fully prepared to ride outside, kit ready, bottles made, and then, and then, I suddenly convinced myself to stay indoors.
I can see there’s a completion factor, ticking off another workout. And 1.5 hours indoors feels like a success. I would have to ride outdoors for twice as long to make it feel successful/worthwhile.
I don’t have any fellow riders, and I don’t belong to a club. Partly because I know I’d feel bad about letting other people down. The rides I see people doing seem to be quite a few hours with a coffee stop or a pub, and I really don’t have the time for that so that doesn’t really appeal.
Like I said, I’ve got a long ride planned, I want to build up my outdoor confidence, but I seem to be stopping myself. Maybe I’m setting myself up to fail?
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You could set a goal of time or TSS to motivate going out. There’s no 1.5 hours equivalent of a solid 4 hour ride. But in general it doesn’t seem you enjoy riding outside that much, to make you go out of your ways. Are you super introvert or risk averse in general?
Do you ride with the Judson guys?
I can imagine being both introvert and risk adverse.
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I completely understand you. I was in the same place a while back. As you I’m a solo rider (by choice in my case)
I did a few things to change my behaviour:
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I live in Dalston (London). I have spent quite a bit of time on Komoot to find the best way out of London and I leave early in the morning to avoid traffic.
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komoot again to fine tune my route. I do mainly deserted roads in Essex
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I found a platform that accounts for my outside rides. This is very important because when I go out I don’t feel I’m being sloppy and not following the prescribed training. No guilty feelings.
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I do a mix. On weekdays I do intervals indoors. On weekends I go out.
OTOH you should do what you like, and if you enjoy ride your bike indoors… do it.
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I asked because perhaps it is not a cycling issue, but more of a general pattern and other strategies might be necessary if you think is something you want to address.
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