Training indoors

Brendo said:

My wife and I just bought a magnetic gel roller trainer. Given that we are
newish riders (<150km)from a non riding background, how would we get the
most benefit from the trainer?

Throw it in the back corner of your garage (that's where most of these
things lie) and ride your bike to work. On the weekend or after work go for
ride in the great outdoors and enjoy the sunny/windy/rainy/calm weather of
your town's delightful autumn.

Quoted message said:

Do we just jump on and thrash about for 30min or an hour, and then go for
a 'real' ride on the weekend, or is there a better way to do it?

Despite some statements from a.b. riders about the spectacular miles and
speeds they put in on their trainers, most secretly know that these torture
devices were first invented by Baron von Drais de Sauerbrun to punish those
members of the nouveau riche who described his Draisene as "a machine whose
time has passed"

Punish yourself, if you so desire. Me, I'll ride my bike!

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

Peter Signorini said:

Brendo said:

My wife and I just bought a magnetic gel roller trainer. Given that we are
newish riders (<150km)from a non riding background, how would we get the
most benefit from the trainer?

Throw it in the back corner of your garage (that's where most of these
things lie) and ride your bike to work. On the weekend or after work go for
ride in the great outdoors and enjoy the sunny/windy/rainy/calm weather of
your town's delightful autumn.

Well and good, but I will have a bit of trouble pulling a dual
axle trailer full of mowing equipment along though... My wife
works 45km away as well, so 'ride to work' isn't really an
option. And 3 or 4 times a week it will be 7:00pm before we get
home. Hence the indoor trainer...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do we just jump on and thrash about for 30min or an hour, and then go for
a 'real' ride on the weekend, or is there a better way to do it?

Despite some statements from a.b. riders about the spectacular miles and
speeds they put in on their trainers, most secretly know that these torture
devices were first invented by Baron von Drais de Sauerbrun to punish those
members of the nouveau riche who described his Draisene as "a machine whose
time has passed"

We haven't got any kind of measuring device on it, we just ride
for as long and as constant as we can.

Quoted message said:

Punish yourself, if you so desire. Me, I'll ride my bike!

As will we, just that indoors is the most practical place to ride
it during the week 🙂

Quoted message said:

Peter Signorini said:

Brendo said:

My wife and I just bought a magnetic gel roller trainer. Given that we are
newish riders (<150km)from a non riding background, how would we get the
most benefit from the trainer?

Throw it in the back corner of your garage (that's where most of these
things lie) and ride your bike to work. On the weekend or after work go for
ride in the great outdoors and enjoy the sunny/windy/rainy/calm weather of
your town's delightful autumn.

Not today they wouldn't have! Urgh ... but yes, get out and ride your
bikes, spinners are really only useful as part of a structured training
program (IMO) - without some sort of plan you will very quickly lose
interest in riding. At least, that's my advice, others here may
disagree 🙂

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do we just jump on and thrash about for 30min or an hour, and then go for
a 'real' ride on the weekend, or is there a better way to do it?

Despite some statements from a.b. riders about the spectacular miles and
speeds they put in on their trainers, most secretly know that these torture
devices were first invented by Baron von Drais de Sauerbrun to punish those
members of the nouveau riche who described his Draisene as "a machine whose
time has passed"

Not that many people here would put in much time on a spinner - it's
the most boring thing in the world without a plan. And even with a plan
it can suck.

That's the key, have a plan.

If you want to do some racing, and some real miles (50km is a warmup 🙂
) then you need to work your way up to it. Join your local cycling
club, read some books on structured training. As lots of questions and
be skeptical about the advice you receive from everyone. I suggest one
of the better books is Joe Friel's "The Cyclists Training Bible", but
there's many of them. Consider coaching if you get keen - some clubs
will have club coaches that can help you for free, others will
recommend or suggest professional coaching which may be less expensive
than you think if you shop around - I have a conflict of interest, I
have a small cycle coaching business, so please take that last bit of
advice with a grain of salt.

Spin trainers are a necessary evil in very cold climates, and if you're
doing specific high intensity interval work, but as a subsitute for
real riding they're a long way from being ideal. I run a weekly spin
training session over "winter" with the club I'm a member and coach at,
so I feel a little qualified to make suggestions in this area 🙂

QUOTE'Brendo said:

Do we just jump on and thrash about for 30min or an hour, and then go for
a 'real' ride on the weekend, or is there a better way to do it?

QUOTE]

better to have some "entertainment" , and a "plan".

in lousy weather it will be invaluable, but if you just want to get some "spinning" into the legs at home, why not set it up in front of a TV, play a tape of a Bike race or buy some DVDs of the Tours or classics and ride along...or even challenge them...helps if you have both a cycling computer on your bike that shows cadence (rpms at the cranks)kph and elapsed distance.

Plus use a heart rate monitor so you can keep within training zones (fat burn, anaerobic threshold, etc- if you know these, other wise use perceived exertion is the fall back and bloody reliable...you'll know clearly when you are faking it or ready to collapse....

Set up with an MP3 player , some fluids in your bidons and a snack or two in a jersey pocket and ride away...stick a towel over the top bar as you will drip all over it and possibly start corroding the paint job.

If you aim to pedal at a cadence of 100rpm for an hour, at a medium resistance you will be well on the way to doing some club races at the lower grades which are usually 45 mins or so for a basic crit...

there is no substitute for road miles, and rest in your programme, but when the weather turns for the worst, or you want to supplement your rides without heading out, the trainer is easier and more fun than climbing up and down a staircase with the wet washing...

good luck, make it fun and enjoy the snacks and the tellie

cheers

Roo

Brendo said:

We haven't got any kind of measuring device on it, we just ride for as
long and as constant as we can.

On a more serious note, my limited experience with a trainer, during two
periods when I was injured and unable to ride, was that 15-20 mins on one
was as hard as the steeper hill climbs in the Dandenongs near Melbourne.
Lack of ventilation had me breaking out in a torrential sweat. After 30 mins
the sweat in my eyes and the shear breathlessness forced me off the beast.
And this was on the lowest setting on this mag trainer! I reckon putting in
short bursts of 15 mins a couple of times a day should see your fitness pick
up pretty quickly. But you don't get the practice with real roads - curves,
changing gear and cadence for hills, honking out of the saddle, sprinting
for the crest, etc.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Punish yourself, if you so desire. Me, I'll ride my bike!

As will we, just that indoors is the most practical place to ride it
during the week 🙂

And riding a trainer can get so mind-numbingly boring. The one I'd borrowed
first time was too noisy to allow me to watch TV. The second period when I
was using one I put it out under the back verandah for some fresh air, so no
TV, but the garden was nice to look at.

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

rooman said:

Quoted message said:

when the weather turns for the worst, or you want to supplement your
rides without heading out, the trainer is easier and more fun than
climbing up and down a staircase with the wet washing...

I'll go and get the washing now.
;-)

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

Brendo asks -

Quoted message said:

My wife and I just bought a magnetic gel roller trainer. Given that we are
newish riders (<150km)from a non riding background, how would we get the
most benefit from the trainer?

The real question is what will continue to motivate you to jointly pursue a
wonderful healthy sport, and a wind trainer does have a part in that.

As others have posted, the enjoyment comes from getting out there on a bike,
usually with agreeable company. Trainers can help with that by -

Giving you a stable easy platform to try changes in postion (seat height and
reach) and stem length and height - you need to make sure you are
comfortable and in the most efficient position for getting the effort to the
back wheel.

Letting you get used to cleats on your shoes where you are not under
pressure, if you are not already using them.

Letting you turn a wheel when pressure of time, injuries or weather would
otherwise stop you getting out at all.

And lastly by making you stronger, quickly - IF (a big if) you get and work
to a plan. Bleve is spot on in his comments about the worth of coaches -
especially if you want to go club riding or racing. If I had my time again
that is the one person I would have sought out sooner - otherwise your just
a part of the chorus to Paul Kelly's song, "I've done all the dumb things"

The advantage of trainers is that you can stay at a level of exertion
unaffected by the real world hassles such as traffic lights, traffic and
bunches who want to go at an inconsistent pace or a pace that's wrong for
you - but to take advantage of that precision in setting levels of exertion
you need to have a program or plan you are working to that is a series of
progressions from one level to another.

I have found they work best when combined with ordinary riding, which gives
you a reference point to see if you are getting stronger.

Oh, and get a fan (the bigger and stronger the better), a portable music
player and a sweat protector for the bike (aka a towell)

That just leaves the choice of music that does help to pass otherwise boring
time - if it starts you on your way one track I have found is My White
Bicycle by Tomorrow produced in 1967 by Pete Townsend of the Who - but I
think that dates me rather badly - any music download site will have it.
YMMV.

best, Andrew (who is contemplating a white track bike)

Use the trainer for intervals only ! you can do hill sprints, spin sprints,
Fartlek etc. Buy a Heart Rate monitor if you have not got one already, as
you can use the alarms at various heart rates or times to keep you
motivated, it is just like having a personal coach beside you as you listen
to your MP3 player quietly so you can here the alarms on the watch.
My tip is vary your training & you won't get board.

"Andrew Price" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brendo asks -

Quoted message said:

My wife and I just bought a magnetic gel roller trainer. Given that we

are

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

newish riders (<150km)from a non riding background, how would we get the
most benefit from the trainer?

The real question is what will continue to motivate you to jointly pursue

a

Quoted message said:

wonderful healthy sport, and a wind trainer does have a part in that.

As others have posted, the enjoyment comes from getting out there on a

bike,

Quoted message said:

usually with agreeable company. Trainers can help with that by -

Giving you a stable easy platform to try changes in postion (seat height

and

Quoted message said:

reach) and stem length and height - you need to make sure you are
comfortable and in the most efficient position for getting the effort to

the

Quoted message said:

back wheel.

Letting you get used to cleats on your shoes where you are not under
pressure, if you are not already using them.

Letting you turn a wheel when pressure of time, injuries or weather would
otherwise stop you getting out at all.

And lastly by making you stronger, quickly - IF (a big if) you get and

work

Quoted message said:

to a plan. Bleve is spot on in his comments about the worth of coaches -
especially if you want to go club riding or racing. If I had my time again
that is the one person I would have sought out sooner - otherwise your

just

Quoted message said:

a part of the chorus to Paul Kelly's song, "I've done all the dumb things"

The advantage of trainers is that you can stay at a level of exertion
unaffected by the real world hassles such as traffic lights, traffic and
bunches who want to go at an inconsistent pace or a pace that's wrong for
you - but to take advantage of that precision in setting levels of

exertion

Quoted message said:

you need to have a program or plan you are working to that is a series of
progressions from one level to another.

I have found they work best when combined with ordinary riding, which

gives

Quoted message said:

you a reference point to see if you are getting stronger.

Oh, and get a fan (the bigger and stronger the better), a portable music
player and a sweat protector for the bike (aka a towell)

That just leaves the choice of music that does help to pass otherwise

boring

Quoted message said:

time - if it starts you on your way one track I have found is My White
Bicycle by Tomorrow produced in 1967 by Pete Townsend of the Who - but I
think that dates me rather badly - any music download site will have it.
YMMV.

best, Andrew (who is contemplating a white track bike)