Summer time training

Good afternoon. I know this has been asked a few times but I can’t find a good answer for my situation. I want to do the SS base, but still ride outdoors a couple days a week. I don’t want to do interval training outdoors yet as I don’t have a power meter. My local rides are typically 1,000ft elevation per 10 miles on average. Most rides are 15 miles/1500 ft to 30 miles/3000 feet.

What is the best way to incorporate these rides with SSB 1? I know I’ll substitute my endurance ride with an outdoor ride, but that’s only 1 ride per week. Is it okay to replace a moderate interval ride with a local climbing ride? Thanks!

You can do them outdoors based on RPE(Rate of Perceived Exertion).

when you select ‘Do Outside’ you can toggle from Power to RPE.

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Your body really isn’t that picky, it doesn’t know what 200w is. Just do the SS based on feel outside (you should have a good idea what SS feels like from the trainer) and try to accumulate the amount of time in SS that was in that workout.

What volume of riding are you currently used to? That will dictate my answer to some extent.

My approach, based on around 600 TSS per week:

I often do Sweet Spot Based Low Volume, completing all 3 workouts on the trainer as prescribed, and then commute to and from work 4 or 5 days a week. I keep these commutes strictly zone 2. I also live in a hilly area so this can sometimes mean really crawling up the climbs in my lowest gear.

I typically ride 5-6 times a week, 6-8 hours, around 100 miles.

i was thinking of going mid volume, then replacing the endurance ride and maybe one of the other rides with an outdoor ride.

Since this is the first time using TrainerRoad, I may just plan on staying indoors for the majority of the 6 week Sweet spot base to get the full effect.

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One thing to keep in mind as you begin TR is that sometimes I find that though the outdoor rides might not be 100% as effective from a training stimulus point of view they do wonders to boost my mood and motivation. Especially if the weather is nice. Don’t just stick yourself in your basement on the trainer for weeks on end when the weather is begging you to ride outside. I find that I usually crack at some point and ditch the plan to just ride outside for fun.