It’s because of adaptive training (I’m assuming). People will bump up the rides to whatever they can ride at comfortably, and then TR will make the next weeks adapt to whatever you’ve done. Please correct me if I’m wrong. I just feel bad for the people who do this ride at 50% of ftp, as it’s a waste of time.
IMHO I wouldn’t stress out about this too much- it’s less of a response to physiological output and not necessarily reflective of you being outside of z2 (assuming that’s the reason for the HR cap.)
I have some existing anxiety issues which can make riding on the road a challenge sometimes, and often I’m well into v02 heart rate before I leave the city. Exam weeks give me some hilarious average heart rates. It doesn’t carry anywhere near that level of fatigue/impact though. If It did I suppose I would have to factor in all the other daily heebie-jeebies I get, and also I would be able to hold v02max-level effort for hours at a time…multiple times a day. Actually, that might be handy. 
Obviously I don’t think it’s quite as severe for most people, but my point is HR is just a proxy for effort which in this case may not be particularly accurate. So I just ride those parts to feel, and laugh at the giant HR drop I get when I finally hit a quiet road.
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I’m not at all worried about riding in heavy traffic have done it all my life. It was an observation about riding endurance intensity outdoors vs indoors, that was unbeknown to me. Sub consciously, my internal intensity rises. Something that is useful to know and manage, and hence to stay in Zone.
Do whatever gets you on the bike. Whether it’s nature and exploration or satisfying, steady indoor training. Time on the bike is the key.
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Make sure to check for coasting and Z1 time. I’m much happier to do a 2hr endurance ride on the trainer when I know it equates to a 3hr ride outside (at least for me). This also aligns with how my legs feel after each. I always laugh when pro riders say they ride 25-30hr weeks when 5hrs of that is coasting down hour-long descents or sitting at a coffee shop for 30mins.
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I think this is a big reason why people find indoor aerobic endurance rides more difficult than outdoor aerobic endurance rides. Take a look at z1 / coasting time for outdoor rides if you never do and it will blow your mind. On group rides that might be 40%+ for me and even on solo rides on rolling terrain I find it difficult to get below 15% (probably includes bio breaks and lights.). When people tell me their 3.5+hr aerobic endurance rides are easy I either think I’m a wimp / they are a beast or they aren’t looking at z1/coasting time and trying to minimize it.
I’ve done indoor zwift group rides and had 2-3min of z1/coasting in 4hrs. And a TR workout in erg won’t let you go there at all. These rides are unrelenting and I was destroyed the first time I finished Longfellow (?) or whatever the 4hr ride is.
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I mean…that’s still 20-25hr of riding. And those descents aren’t just rest, they’re skills practice. It’s like saying you can’t believe people say they work 40hr/wk when 3-5 hours of that is lunch, bathroom, getting coffee, talking about your kids, walking to your next meeting, etc. Being 100% specific and regimented becomes a bit less important when you are doing such crazy hours.
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Thats good that intensity increases into zone 2 / endurance. But 3hrs in zone 1 / active recovery??? I hate the term ‘Junk Miles’ but 3hrs in zone 1 is one of the few things that fits into that category for me. Not short enough for active recovery, not intense enough for aerobic endurance (yeah, I know its a spectrum, not discretely delineated zones, yada yada.) That is why I was curious about the ride description and how they explained the purpose of the ride and any instructions regarding intensity. Maybe I was missing something…
It’s not just the very first week. Every week there is a 3hr ride at 40-50% FTP.
