Originally Posted by
DeadGrandpa
All you folks riding indoor trainers have my respect, because I consider them to be psychological torture mechanisms. But since I live where the winter allows riding in fair weather 40+ degrees on at least three or four days of the week, I ride outdoors only. Still, since you're training, don't you want the added resistance of a stiff headwind? At least on the first part of your route, before you turn and head for home, I mean. A tailwind heading home is good for morale.
It all depends on why you're on the trainer in the first place. I've done some two-hour trainer sessions that left me far more roasted, used up, tired and weak than some strenuous outdoor 4+ hour rides ever did. Why? You don't ever, ever, ever stop pedaling, coast or get a really good recovery break on a hard trainer workout. You're working toward a goal. It's the journey and the destination all mixed into one activity, with no stop signs, turns, loose dirt/sand/debris from the latest storm, no flats, no mechanicals, no dogs, no dropped water bottles to have to stop and turn around to retrieve, no cleanup of filthy winter road grime on bike, or any of the millions of other things that people whine and complain about here on BF about riding outside. If I were just spinning along on a set of rollers or a wheel-on trainer with nothing to look at except a clock then I'd probably agree with your first sentence. But, fortunately, that's not even close to what indoor training is about when you're riding a smart trainer. Shoot- even a wheel-on trainer with GCN videos can put some serious work into your legs if you do it like you mean it! No power meter required. Some people just love riding bikes, and they'll train for it no matter what.