I did a short summary, that Nate confirmed, and a link to Ray’s early post.
1 Like
After around a 15 year break from riding, in 2012 I decided to get a MTB to ride again and just have fun. After a few weeks te red mist came down as I realised I couldn’t ride without racing. Got a road bike to train on, and a couple of months later got a Garmin 310XT. My pal then persuaded my to go round to his and take a power test as he had just got hold of a power meter which I did. My first test gave a FTP at 3.07 W/Kg. In Jan 2013, that was my first ride on TR.
I had to sign up for my own account to do the test and decided to continue with it. I was initally using virtual power, and it was cool to have an FTP of 458 “watts”!!! I became a convery to training with power and wanted to use it on the road so in 2014 the same pal effectively contributed a chunk of money for a Stages powermeter. There was no looking back. I was using power to help pace on climbs and in TT’s.
I’ll always ride outside when I can, and use TR to compliment my training schedule rather than follwoing a specific TR plan. I’m fortunate in that within our club we have the knowledge and experience of ex-international cyclists that can guide us with our training. I’ve figured out what my limiters are, and used TR to target them, making me a better rider. I was in the best form I’ve ever been in around August this year when injury struck, bringing my season to an end early. I’m now on week 9 into winter training, and am well ahead of schedule. The time off the bike has been a huge motivator this winter. Early winter and I’ve FTP of 309W at 72kg. I can afford to lose another 2-3kg before being at my optimal weight. I’m not far off my 1 and 5 min power PB’s and last week smashed my peak power. Hopefully next season will be a good one!
1 Like
Nate, i would love to hear this story in super detail on a special podcast episode sometime as this is a super company with outstanding product.
1 Like
I felt that I’d got as far as I was ever going to get by simply bumbling around at the weekend, with a few early morning rides thrown in, if the weather/light suited.
So I joined a local group of riders and racers who go from a cycle shop in town. MY GOD! Near death experience. I got spanked but something told me that this was for me. I rode with them every weekend and gradually the rides got easier. After about a year, I noticed that I’d stopped progressing so I asked what type of training they were doing through the winter months. TrainerRoad was the default answer. No faff, just quality training. So I purchased a Cyclops Fluid 2, moved the contents of my garage, grabbed the iPad and off I went. Not looked back since.
I haven’t tried any other structured training so I can’t compare apples with apples but I can tell you one thing for certain. I’m faster, strong and more efficient and I’m regularly on the front of our group rides, especially if there’s a head wind.
1 Like
Friend at work used it and sold me on it. I had MTB CC marathon race on my bucket list and knew I needed a structured training plan. I discovered the podcast shortly thereafter and became a full fledged Trainerroad evangelist.