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Need advice on making trainer sessions tolerable

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Need advice on making trainer sessions tolerable

Old 11-01-18, 04:10 AM
  #26  
jppe
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Originally Posted by Wileyrat
Can't help you with the trainer dilemma, but I like the black Solara.

​​​​​​My wife drives a silver 06 convertible.
Mine is an ‘06 as well. We bought it for my wife but the seat was too low for her when she had her hip replaced so I drive it now. I leave the top down as much as I can even on cooler days. It’s the vehicle I use going back and forth to the golf course. I tried carrying a bike in it but didn’t have much luck without a rack. Plus I can roll bikes in and out of our Sienna so it’s the bike mobile.

I bet the top top stays up on your wife’s Solara in the summers in Tucson!!
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Old 11-01-18, 04:16 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Monoborracho
Mount a TV in the garage, low enough to be comfortable looking at it from the bike. The bigger the better. TV's are cheap. You might just get a small table.
Use an Apple TV setup with your home wi-fi.
Go to YouTube and find a training ride. (Wife and I train on cold Texas days with a bunch of Australians)

Also, Joe, I didn't chime in earlier about clipless pedals. I have had both knees replaced. A bit different than hip, but I highly recommend going to SPD type with MULTI-DIRECTIONAL RELEASE cleats. Much easier release than any of the road cleats. You can get nice road pedals for SPD. I have Shimano PD-A520's on my road, tandem, and tri-bike. While some road shoes can accommodate three screw cleats, a good set of MTB shoes (I use Sidi Magnum Dominators because they come in wide) will put your feet near normal when you walk. Shimano also makes an RT (Road-Touring) shoe that is very, very stable. The risk of a slip and fall just isn't worth it to me anymore.
Well, I have smart tv’s spread out all over the house so I might look into that.

Thanks for the pedal suggestions. I use MTB shoes with SPDs on my gravel bike and they do seem a little easier to clip out of than my Look cleats and pedals.
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Old 11-01-18, 09:03 AM
  #28  
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Spinervals...we have dozens. Great workouts ranging from thirty minutes to several hours. My wife is also using the Peloton app; iphone connector to HDMI on the television. Subscription is pretty cheap and the workouts outstanding.
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Old 11-02-18, 08:22 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by nesdog
Spinervals...we have dozens. Great workouts ranging from thirty minutes to several hours. My wife is also using the Peloton app; iphone connector to HDMI on the television. Subscription is pretty cheap and the workouts outstanding.
I need to check on the Peloton app.
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Old 11-02-18, 08:57 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Monoborracho
I need to check on the Peloton app.
You don't need the full blown membership; you can download the app from Apple. I think monthly charge is around $19 now. When we joined it was $13.
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Old 11-04-18, 08:33 PM
  #31  
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You have all gotten old in my absence. The correct answer is Mrs jppe on a trainer in front of you!
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Old 11-09-18, 05:40 PM
  #32  
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DvD’s
i own many great old school VHS video like marco pantoni climbs TDF Lance era converted to dvd and ride my cyclops trainer
got fan , water , towel
suxs but no options here in great North East
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Old 11-10-18, 07:34 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by jdon
You have all gotten old in my absence. The correct answer is Mrs jppe on a trainer in front of you!
Quite right! My wife rides her trainer right in front of me when I'm on my resistance rollers. We face each other out in our shop, kept at 55° when possible. It feels really lonely out there without her.
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Old 11-10-18, 07:55 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by thehammerdog
DvD’s
i own many great old school VHS video like marco pantoni climbs TDF Lance era converted to dvd and ride my cyclops trainer
got fan , water , towel
suxs but no options here in great North East
i find riding to video quite boring quickly - i guess maybe i can't trick my body/mind as well as you can.....Zwift has been a game changer for indoor riding - game changer. I even often prefer to jump onto the kickr/Zwift rather than ride outdoors.

i've tried numerous trainer softwares.....trust me nothing comes close to Zwift for productive, fun (yes ! indoor can be fun) and addictive also.
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Old 11-15-18, 08:29 PM
  #35  
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Zwift, The Sufferfest, Rouvy, and others all provide something to keep you motivated. After years with a dumb trainer I bought a smart trainer a month or two ago and would never go back. It is so much more like road riding than a dumb trainer, even with a power meter and a dumb trainer. Put the big screen in front of you and "ride on".
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Old 11-15-18, 08:45 PM
  #36  
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Don't over-think it. If you have access to a television where you train, there are lots of cycling training and ride scenery videos on YouTube for free. Put in a good movie. Watch your favorite show and sprint hard during the commercials. Even ear buds and some heart pumping music can get you going. Do some HIIT to mix it up. Skype or video chat with a friend who is also training and get competitive. If you video your own rides, play back some of your favorites.

Sure the high tech stuff is fun, but you can still get excellent and interesting workouts without it. I've got a basic wind trainer and an old Schwinn World for winter training. The bike has the same saddle and pedals, as well as the same bar/saddle/bottom bracket measurements as my road bike. Cost very little as everything was used and the videos and music are free.

I've also got a wire rack that I can put in front of the handlebars so I can do work/homework while pedaling (not a great workout but keeps the blood flowing in cold winter months).
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Old 11-17-18, 12:04 PM
  #37  
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Trainer sessions are not supposed to be tolerable. At least that's my understanding of how it works.
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Old 11-17-18, 01:30 PM
  #38  
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While intolerable otherwise, I find unedited bike commute videos keep me occupied on the treadmill. I keep looking for cross traffic, and try to read traffic patterns up ahead. I guess since I mostly commute, that works for me.
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Old 11-18-18, 09:04 AM
  #39  
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I don't know.

Everything has to be exciting nowadays. It is a constant need to be bombarded with stimulus. Kids can't sit still in a car for 20 minutes without DVD's playing. People can't go 15 minutes without headphones. Nobody can sit still and silence scares the crap out of people.

Not trying to turn this into a philosophical or psychological thread but I wonder if just changing expectation is the answer. We can climb mountains until our legs scream but we don't have enough mental stamina to sit on a trainer for 90 minutes?

It is going to be boring. So what? @cccorlew has the right idea. Lower your expectations, put your head down and do it.

Last edited by TimothyH; 11-18-18 at 09:09 AM.
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Old 11-18-18, 09:47 AM
  #40  
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As an aside, I wouldn't put an R3 in a trainer for fear of cracking the frame.
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Old 11-18-18, 11:18 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
I don't know.

Everything has to be exciting nowadays. It is a constant need to be bombarded with stimulus. Kids can't sit still in a car for 20 minutes without DVD's playing. People can't go 15 minutes without headphones. Nobody can sit still and silence scares the crap out of people.

Not trying to turn this into a philosophical or psychological thread but I wonder if just changing expectation is the answer. We can climb mountains until our legs scream but we don't have enough mental stamina to sit on a trainer for 90 minutes?

It is going to be boring. So what? @cccorlew has the right idea. Lower your expectations, put your head down and do it.
I disagree. There is no reason why indoor training sessions have to be a mindnumbing slugfest. Anything that makes indoor training fun and interesting is a worthwhile thing. Before the advent of Zwift my indoor sessions were no more than 30 minutes. With Zwift I can last a lot longer.

Not everyone is into Zwift, some watch movies, some listen to music. Whatever you do to keep coming back to the trainer is a good thing.

I can climb all day long, even when my legs scream out in pain, because my senses are engaged; the sights, sounds and sensations of an outdoor ride propel me forward. Not so much with an indoor trainer.


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Old 11-18-18, 11:55 AM
  #42  
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The notion that we should just "HTFU" on the trainer and deal with it is absurd. Why not then put on your hairshirt and give yourself a couple of lashes beforehand.

Its cycling. If it's not enjoyable, what's the point? On rainy days, I just go walking. Burns 5x the amount of calories per mile, and wind doesn't matter. Beats a trainer.
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Old 11-18-18, 01:12 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
It is going to be boring. So what? @cccorlew has the right idea. Lower your expectations, put your head down and do it.

Lower expectations and put your head down and be bored, when there are easy ways to make the same task enjoyable and NOT boring? Do it? Why?

Sounds like the philosophy of the pain-IS-gain masochistic training clique.
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Old 11-18-18, 03:54 PM
  #44  
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Love the Wolfpack Club sticker on the monostay. The Cervelo would look great with Tuffy somewhere on the frame! BSME '87 here.
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Old 11-18-18, 04:08 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
Lower expectations and put your head down and be bored, when there are easy ways to make the same task enjoyable and NOT boring? Do it? Why?

Sounds like the philosophy of the pain-IS-gain masochistic training clique.
Agree. There is something to be said about suffering while on the bike; that’s the stuff that legends are made of.

But for us mere mortals, that kind of suffering is mostly pointless.

Last edited by eja_ bottecchia; 11-18-18 at 04:27 PM.
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Old 11-18-18, 05:12 PM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia


Agree. There is something to be said about suffering while on the bike; that’s the stuff that legends are made of.

But for us mere mortals, that kind of suffering is mostly pointless.
Agree.
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Old 11-18-18, 06:49 PM
  #47  
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Really, there is no need to be bored while riding a trainer. There are plenty of ways of being entertained, and being entertained will keep you riding longer. I'm finding Zwift to be more entertaining this year than the Sufferfest, so I'm doing that more. Last year it was the other way around. Maybe I'll do some Rouvy videos later this year when/if they come out with a Mac version, or at least an updated iOS version. It combines live footage with simulated riders.
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Old 11-18-18, 06:53 PM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by eja_ bottecchia
I disagree. There is no reason why indoor training sessions have to be a mindnumbing slugfest
Originally Posted by DrIsotope
The notion that we should just "HTFU" on the trainer and deal with it is absurd. Why not then put on your hairshirt and give yourself a couple of lashes beforehand.

Its cycling. If it's not enjoyable, what's the point?

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I never said a trainer session should be intentionally made more difficult than it needs to be. I sometimes crank music while I'm on the rollers.

What I meant was that many are addicted to stimulus and unable to tolerate sitting still and being alone with their own thoughts, that's all. People can't even stand quietly elevator with another person for 30 seconds.

I happen to enjoy silence and solitude. It has nothing to do with HTFU but with learning to be without constant audiovisual stimulus.

If TV or music or Zwift makes trainers more enoyable then great. I'm all for it but spending 1.5 hours without music or TV shouldn't be a big deal for anyone.
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Old 11-18-18, 08:57 PM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
What I meant was that many are addicted to stimulus and unable to tolerate sitting still and being alone with their own thoughts, that's all. People can't even stand quietly elevator with another person for 30 seconds.

I happen to enjoy silence and solitude. It has nothing to do with HTFU but with learning to be without constant audiovisual stimulus.
So what?
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Old 11-18-18, 09:51 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
If TV or music or Zwift makes trainers more enoyable then great. I'm all for it but spending 1.5 hours without music or TV shouldn't be a big deal for anyone.
You sound like the old school coaches who used to make their young riders sit on a trainer starting at a brick wall for 4-5 hrs. Helps prepare them for the drudgery of tour cycling

I don't mind riding alone outdoors but indoors is a different matter. I'm good for 60-80 min with music indoors but it's never as pleasant as riding outside.
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