So cycling indoors in warmth and comfort is the same as cycling outdoors ?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

shnjmsn

Über Member
Location
Somerset Levels
Each to their own, different people have different reasons to cycle inside, it doesn't worry me.......... For me cycling isn't about racking up the miles, being the fittest, fastest, K of the M........ Cycling for me is the adventure............ seeing different places, meeting people, fresh air and exercise..........

Though on the odd occasion like today riding up a mountain in mid Wales with sideways hailstones in the face and 70mph winds I almost........almost thought it might be nice to ride indoors......... But then again...............

In weather like today, when I'm cold, getting blown about, I can't feel my fingers or toes or barely see the road for the rain in my eyes......... I feel alive, more alive than at any other time..............

Die with memories, not dreams as they say 🥰
 
D

Deleted member 26715

Guest
Turbo training is gym excercise not cycling. Only actual riding on real surfaces is cycling. Claiming turbo time as cycling miles is cheating.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Show me where it's written down.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Assuming typing is writing & that is not cheating as well?
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
Well today I climbed, The Madone, 8 mile of uphill and 8 mile down.

Then I did a steady warm down over the Golden Gate bridge, I would have found it difficult to complete these two this morning.

And I will include them in my yearly total cycled, and if you don't approve all I can say is, get over it.
 
Last edited:

classic33

Leg End Member
You show me how many hours you can get from say, London to Brighton in, whilst riding your turbo trainer. I mean actually physically transporting yourself from one place to the other. You can spin the turbo from now until eternity and you still won't have left your garage. Turbo training is not, and never will be, real cycling.
Real cycling is outside, whatever the weather. Not deciding to take the car because it's colder than you like, then moaning about the traffic being slow.
 

Chislenko

Veteran
I don't have a turbo trainer!

I am 99% an outdoor rider, probably only snow or ice would entice me indoors.

I do have an old exercise bike and very occasionally use it. Most of the time though if the weather is not safe for cycling I will go for a jog / run / shuffle, call it what you will.

On the odd occasion I have used the exercise bike I just can't get over the tedium, boredom of sitting there pedalling and going nowhere, seeing nothing but the wall in front of me and quite frankly after half an hour I have more than had enough.

The only advantage I can see to cycling in the garage is that I can have a smoke whilst I'm doing it!
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
On the odd occasion I have used the exercise bike I just can't get over the tedium, boredom of sitting there pedalling and going nowhere, seeing nothing but the wall in front of me and quite frankly after half an hour I have more than had enough.

This was exactly my position pre 2015, but an accident in that year, prompted the purchase of a smart trainer in 2016 with the hope of getting fit again, its been a revelation, I have done up 3 hours on it, when as you say half an hour was torture previously, it did help me gain fitness as I would have had difficulty riding outdoors at first.
It's no substitute for an outdoor ride, but its a good alternative when the weathers bad, or if you don't enjoy riding in the dark.
I ride all over the world in the garage using real life videos or GPS files I ride with a large screen in front of me, I have done Zwift rides, its not my favourite, but is highly popular with turbo uses.
To relive bum numbness from sitting in one position, I have built a rocker plate, that helps a lot.
 

Chislenko

Veteran
This was exactly my position pre 2015, but an accident in that year, prompted the purchase of a smart trainer in 2016 with the hope of getting fit again, its been a revelation, I have done up 3 hours on it, when as you say half an hour was torture previously, it did help me gain fitness as I would have had difficulty riding outdoors at first.
It's no substitute for an outdoor ride, but its a good alternative when the weathers bad, or if you don't enjoy riding in the dark.
I ride all over the world in the garage using real life videos or GPS files I ride with a large screen in front of me, I have done Zwift rides, its not my favourite, but is highly popular with turbo uses.
To relive bum numbness from sitting in one position, I have built a rocker plate, that helps a lot.

Yes fair play to anybody that can do it.

I would never knock anybody for indoor cycling, it is just not me.

I would go as far to say that I have a great deal of admiration for people who can deal with the boredom of it and resist the temptation to just stop pedalling, go in the house and have a coffee or whatever!
 
If you stand on a treadmill and it starts up, you get moved backwards maybe a metre or two and deposited on the floor. So someone running at 8mph for an hour on a treadmill could say that they prevented themselves from moving 8 miles backwards, so some kind of negative credit of Cartesian displacement. Doesn't really trip off the tongue though, and as a bicycle is always locked onto the trainer the same doesn't really apply.

Any kind of stationary indoor cycling is like having sex with a blowup doll - no matter what fancy features the manufacturers add to make things more realistic, it's still a spiritually empty experience.
(sorry, I've been away, freezing to death, just caught up with this: )
What a beautiful post.

I shall strive (perhaps in vain) to find use for the phrase "some kind of negative credit of Cartesian displacement"
 
At one point I bought a turbo second hand off a friend and began using it during the winter months. Various forms of interval training followed. From there I graduated to a smart trainer and subscribed to Zwift and Rouvy. Both these things made the experience more immersive, but the bulk of what I did was outdoors. Covid came along and if that wasn't enough my wife was diagnosed with bowel cancer. Although she would sometimes push back at the very idea, I effectively became her carer. Indoor riding on Rouvy (I binned Zwift) had to became the norm as I was close by and in no danger, and was it was part of my coping mechanism also. Spurred on by her 'kick arse' courage I also raised money for Bowel Cancer UK in the process. I dedicated each ride to her, the idea being that however far I virtually travelled we'd go on holiday to somewhere close by. I managed over 4000 virtual miles, but we were unable to take the holiday as her condition worsened and palliative care became the only option.
As one poster says its either for you or not. Those who don't get it for whatever reason are likely to be naysayers. Fine you do your thing and let us do our thing and yes I do count distance. To me turning pedals over at a certain rpm on certain gradients at a particular power by a rider of a particular weight can be translated into a distance. Yes, there is no wind and no rolling resistance as such. It simply means that speeds are a tad higher on the trainer than on the road. but not much. The game-changer for me was getting a Kickr Core and Climb combo. Having the front end raise to simulate a max of 20% uphill and 10% downhill along with the increasing sophistication of the Apps has taken the immersion to another level. I will continue to count my miles, continue to raise money for cancer charities periodically, ride both inside and out, whatever takes my fancy. Its pissing down outside, roads are wet, no riding buddies are venturing out so it'll be a route around Geraardsbergen this arvo. Whatever your riding preference keep going.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom