Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I was asking if you went L, M, or H Volume (or the FasCat equivalent) on those plans?
8-12 hours per week, which other companies consider mid-volume.
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I stand corrected, sorry about the mistake.
I don’t disagree, but I think there is a little bit more to it than that, they (in my case) just enjoy cycling and get out and ride when even they can, challenge each other and encourage each other on longer rides
If you enjoy going to parties and dancing, you’ll become a good dancer, if you go to dance classes so you can dance at parties, your never going to be in the same league and are always going to be chasing
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I don‘t know about that. On outdoor rides you learn things that are equally important such as riding in a peloton, reading other riders and pacing. With pacing I mean pacing on the small scale by preserving momentum in certain situations rather than sticking to a power target, but also pacing over an entire ride.
But neither is a substitute for the other. Time on the indoor trainer is not going to teach you how to corner. But likewise, riding outdoors, especially with others, won‘t replace structured training. I‘d say time on the trainer will make you much faster, but what good is fitness if you don‘t use it on your group rides?
Just a question, looking through your strava feed / group rides, would you say that you are a lot faster than the people who don’t do structured training
I‘d say so, I usually have no issue hanging with the front group. For reference, I‘m at almost 4.7 W/kg and since I am heavier than most Japanese, especially fit Japanese, my total power is also higher than most. Certainly, there are people around here who are faster than me, but typically I am one of the fastest of the fast group. Most of my team mates train via Zwift if at all, but a few do more structured training. One has (had?) a coach. The fastest team in the city I live in does much more structured training, and they do things like motor pacing and mock races, too. That training specificity is next level and not necessary/possible for me.
If I were more focussed on racing and had more time, I would probably participate more regularly, too. There are things you can‘t learn on the trainer. Like I wrote earlier, group riding and pacing are essential skills you can‘t learn indoors. Plus, I love riding outdoors. I love riding with other people. It‘s the dessert I earned from training. 
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You’re in a league abovet, I’m fast (enough) but not that fast 3.75’ish watts per kg, just looking around the people at my level, virtually none of them do structured training, just enjoy riding their bikes and that passion alone drives them forward. The fastest I have ever been was before I found structured training, I’d cycle to work everyday (40 mile round trip) and then at the weekend I’d be out jump farming on the mtb with mates (which was basically interval training), and I loved every second of it and couldn’t wait for the weekend, right now I’m supposed to be on the turbo, instead I am typing a message to you … and it’s getting closer to lunch time, so I won’t have time … although I agree structured training will make you faster, so will other things (like jump farming and commuting)
Structured training has has warn me out, but I’m probably older than you, have more underlying health conditions, and it really is a case of there being many ways to skin a cat (in my opinion, not a expert or have strong views)
Of course not….I would never suggest that skipping structured intervals just to go group rides is the right training method. Intervals are hugely beneficial.
But riding with people faster than you will help Rosie your abilities to an even higher level. Whether it is racing or just fast group rides, it forces you to dig deeper. You don’t know when an effort is going to end in those situations, so you learn to suffer, which makes you faster in the the long run.
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I didn‘t mean to brag or anything, I just included it since you asked.
One thing I should add, though, is that personally I have ridden by myself for most of my life. That was not because I am not a sociable person, but simply because most of my friends weren‘t really into riding as much as I was. I completely get where @Power13 is coming from, but I don‘t need external motivation to ride hard. Plus, I come from the mountain biking side, so riding in a peloton isn‘t really a thing. When I rode with friends, we climbed at our own speed and just waited for the others in periodic intervals.
Do I ride harder when someone else is around whose fitness is close to or better than mine? Sure. But I love pushing myself during training, I love the process of training, it is like a meditation. Although now that I have found (road) riding buddies, I miss them, too.
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Oh no no no, It wasn’t taken anywhere near bragging, I asked, you answered, good on yu
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