I’m a huge fan of how efficient indoor training is. +1 to all of the points in the original post, too.
Out of about 450 hours on the bike this year, only 13.5 were outside, and 5.5 of those were on a single ride. I’d like to get outside more, but feel like I’d need at least a Varia radar (safety) and power meter (outside workouts (1)). Even if I doubled or tripled the amount of time I rode outside, it’s tough to justify those costs.
(1) Yes, I could do outside workouts by RPE but I’m fairly OCD about my data and would want to ensure I was hitting my targets.
If I have time I love to do my recovery rides outside because then I can just enjoy your experience. But even then an hour long recovery ride costs quite a bit more real time for me vs just hopping on the trainer. As for getting outside I also do a lot of running which is exclusively outdoors so maybe that’s why I can handle 95% indoor bike training?
If they see themselves as cyclists, why not? Is it that different than doing a TR workout on a Wattbike? Or ‘riding’ in Zwift on a direct drive trainer? There’s room in the cycling tent for roadies, MTBers, triathletes, bike commuters, cargo bikers, city bikers, gravel riders, Zwift racers, kids on balance bikes. We treat our “own” differently, on the roads or trails or anywhere else. Why wouldn’t you want a bigger tent, and more cyclists?
With the standard or driving here in the U.K I prefer to train indoors. I won’t be putting my health and life at risk because someone is looking their phone while driving.
That’s just me but I have a huge level of respect to all riders out on the roads.
Couldn’t disagree more. Indoor is for training, and misses all the things i enjoy about cycling such as socialization, seeing cool places, competing against others etc.
Each to their own.
In saying that, i still spend about 250 hours on a trainer this year
Its definitely not good but folk tend not to post the footage of their majority of rides which don’t have incidents or other folk who have near zero incidents dont post videos. It paints a biased picture.
With local knowledge you can generally avoid too much confrontation with cars.
I usually mix off road into my road routes wherever possible to enjoy the peace and quiet.
I also ride in the dark and foul weather. The worse it is the happier I am! It keeps everyone else away from my favourite trails and has this sheer, wild magic about it.
I’ll always say I prefer outdoor riding over inside, and I see inside riding as simply a ‘tool’ or ‘mechanic’, BUT this winter I’ve really embraced the rollers and right now I don’t even consider outdoor rides during the week and simply get in the garage and onto the rollers.
Having trained indoors for 10 years I’m not quite sure what has changed for me this year, especially after being Covid jobless since summer and riding more miles outdoor than ever before? Part of it might be goals for next year creating more focus and better quality motivation to ‘train’? Another part might be that I’ve put a lot of work into researching and creating a training plan this year and have seen good results already, so maybe that is helping my motivation and enjoyment?
Currently its only weekend rides with a training buddy that even makes me think of kitting up and riding outdoors. I know that will change soon enough so am making the most of quality time and fitness gains!
I pretty much agree with you. In a number of threads you can see that people have their own, rigid definition of cycling based off of the things they enjoy and are not empathizing with others and understanding that they enjoy different aspects of cycling and thus their personal definition of ‘cycling’ is different. But they both ride bikes, so aren’t they both cyclists?
I am not a very social or competitive person and thus am not too excited by the social and racing scenes. Does that mean I’m not a ‘cyclist’? I’m not interested in super long epic rides. Does that mean I’m not a ‘cyclist’? I enjoy training and improving myself and currently am riding 15-16hrs / week. Does that mean I am a ‘cyclist’? I’m x w/kg at threshold. Does that mean I am a cyclist?
To the op, I enjoy indoor and outdoor cycling equally, but in different ways. Right now I am enjoying the constructive side of cycling. I enjoy it as a process to improve my body and my mind and become the kind of person and cyclist I want to be. I can do that inside or outside. I noticed my stress levels have really decreased since I switched to indoors during the week as I live in a high density area and would be riding during the evening rush hour, so many fewer altercations with cars. I appreciate the efficiency, the control you have over the environment, etc. I enjoy the occasional competition in zwift races and have gone much deeper than I have ever gone outside. There is also less prep / cleanup time and it is easier to balance with other obligations.
I ride mostly solo outside and enjoy the peace and solitude, the speed, the feeling of doing work. When I join the occasional group ride I enjoy the little taste of competition, the social aspects, the scenery, etc. One of my best cycling memories was joining a group ride and only 2 other people showed up. We hardly talked the entire 3 hours but all knew the route and had a good rotation going.
Everyone knew what to do and when to do it and we didn’t have to say a word. I felt a profound feeling of connection with others on that day. My favorite part of outdoor riding is climbing and some of my favorite days have been heading to the mountains and getting in a good 4 hour ride.
Prefer outdoors for: 1) gravel, 2) soul rides and 3) social rides.
I probably do 80% indoors now. Safety is becoming more and more of an issue for me in Atlanta, GA. It can be pretty dicey getting out of town far enough for low traffic roads.
TR has made it tolerable to train indoors, sometimes it’s even borderline enjoyable, but don’t tell my friends.
But prefer it? Not a chance. I’m super interested in the science of training but the notion that it need to be done indoors exclusively or that it’s a higher quality experience is very questionable to me.
You’ve definitely hit upon a topic I’ve been thinking about more and more. Got a Tacx Neo 2T for Christmas 2019. Wasn’t terribly impressed initially. Had some connectivity issues with my computer but once I got it sorted, I fell in love with indoor riding. I love structured training (and seeing clear improvement) with Trainerroad but also love virtual video rides with the Tacx app and Fulgaz or re-riding previous outdoor rides using my GPX file with the Tacx app. Some of the big benefits for me…
Consistent structure training
Convenience (bike is set up and ready to go)
No worries about wet or cold weather.
No worries whether it’s bright enough out (I prefer very early morning rides which are problematic in the Fall and Winter),
No worries about traffic
I enjoy it so much I got a second Tacx for my wife and she loves it for all of the above plus I don’t worry about dropping her on long rides or steep climbs. We start the ride together and end the ride together and we each get the workout appropriate for our level.
Still love riding outside but now my outdoor rides are more about scenic fun rides and less about working out.
Why not ask your grandma if she’s a cyclist. If she says yes, I’d say let her into the club. Likewise, ask the people doing Peloton if they’re cyclists. I bet you most will say no, and that’s fine too.
lol, no, Grandma. Cyclists race bikes, outside otherwise what’s the point? Also your socks aren’t regulation.
Are triathletes cyclists? When I raced triathlon, I didn’t consider myself a cyclist. “Should” I have been?
It all seems needlessly complicated. If someone wants to be considered a cyclist, I say let them. If they don’t, that’s fine too. Reasonable people can disagree of course, and that’s just my take.
Speaking purely personally, indoor work is about fitness, or for the closest thing I can get to what I enjoy when the weather is terrible. What cycling is about for me is something very meditative, and very important psychologically; there is something positive and vital, I think, about being in the open air, doing exercise, with (sometimes) great scenery. It’s the only time I get what Wordworth was on about.
This is to say nothing of the adrenaline rush of a fast descent or the feeling of conquering a really nasty hill. Nailing an interval just isn’t the same for me.
Most of the time, I prefer cycling alone; I can go at the pace I choose, and decide whether to stop for a coffee or take a photo, or alternatively push on and go for a personal best. I think indoor training has little of that richness.
I am fully aware that trainer work is almost undoubtedly the best and most time-efficient way to get fitter. That said, in the summer when I have a lot of time on my hands, I will be doing very little trainer work. I may lose fitness and I am totally fine with that, for the reasons above. I don’t race; this is something I do for pleasure and to decompress.
That said, to each their own, and if people have their reasons for preferring indoor riding, that is cool by me. The world would be very dull if we all liked the same stuff.
I prefer indoors since it’s faster to just get going. I also enjoy outside but most of all I enjoy training.
If i go outside i usually only go when i know i have open road and can get intervals in without having to stop in the middle. I personally don’t think riding outside for long hours to just ride is a good use of my time so I don’t do that.
