I'll
be the first to admit that training indoors is not as much fun as
riding my bike outside, there are 10 reasons why you need to consider
it. In fact there are times when you can get a better workout indoors
than outside. While the purists will say the only riding that counts is
riding outside, I'm talking mostly about getting in quality workouts.
Sure, you may be accused by your cycling buddies of not being tough if
you opt for an indoor workout, but you willl likely get a much better
workout indoors where you can concentrate on your training than if you
ride outside where you are mainly fighting to survive. Plus, how many
times do you need to prove you are tough by riding in the rain or
sub-freezing temperatures?
1. Winter: Most people equate indoor training with
cold, snow, ice and wind of winter. Riding outside can expose you to
wind chill, frostbite and falls. Training indoors is often the only
safe alternative. You can often get a higher quality workout indoors
than you can trying to survive riding outdoors.
2. Darkness: While some people ride outside at
night, again it is usually safer to train indoors when it's dark. This
obviously occurs during the winter when it's dark before and after
work, but can also occur during the summer if for one reason or another
you cannot get outside during daylight.
3. Heat and Humidity: During the summer, when you
expect to ride outside, it may be too hot and/or too humid to get a
quality workout done outdoors. In the desert southwest where it
frequently gets above 100 degrees F, it is hard and uncomfortable just
to get out and ride. In the humid southest and midwest, the combination
of temperature and high humidity makes it difficult to exert hard.
Now, it is important to train in the heat and humidity if you are going
to ride and race in those conditions, but if you want a hard, high
quality workout, you might consider doing it indoors during the most
extreme conditions, or if you can only train in the middle of the day.
Riding in extreme heat and humidity can also be dangerous, exposing you
to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
4. Rain: Training in the rain is possible and useful
if you plan to do rides and races in the rain. But you don't need to
always go out in the rain, especially if you don't have time to clean
and lube your bike afterwards. Again, you can often get a high quality
workout accomplished indoors where outside you have distractions of the
rain, slick roads and debris on your tires.
5. Thunderstorms: Unlike riding in the rain, riding
in a thunderstorm is downright dangerous. You have the risk of
lightning, whether you are out in the open or under trees, and don't
think you are protected because you are riding on rubber tires. You
are in contact with the ground due to water. You also have the issue
of high winds associated with thunderstorms which can blow you off the
road and blow down tree limbs.
6. Unable to Leave the House: There are times, even
when there is good weather, where you have to be at home. This could
be due to a number of reasons, such as staying home with young children
or waiting for a repairman to show up. While it's hard to get on a
trainer on a beautiful day, it may be your only opportunity to fit a
training session in. A not-so-good reason for staying home and
training indoors is to watch your favorite football team play, but if
you are going to stay home and watch, you might as well be training.
Try sprinting while the clock is running. On the other hand, if you
are staying home to watch a live stage of the Tour de France, that is
totally acceptable!
7. Lack of Time: If you only have a half hour to
ride, you may be better off training indoors. This especially true if
you need to ride through traffic to get out to roads where you can
start training in earnest. You might just hop on a trainer, get a 5
minute warmup, 20 minute workout and 5 minute cool down. If you live
in the city you may not be able to get any quality miles in before you
have to turn around and head home.
8. Fog: Riding in the fog is very dangerous. You
have trouble seeing what's in front of you and motorists have a real
problem seeing you, even with a taillight. It's best to train indoors
if it is foggy.
9. Smog/Air Pollution: In some places, there may be
smog or air quality alerts on summer days when air pollution is high.
This often occurs late in the afternoon, right when you are likely to
be training after work. In days with smog or air pollution alerts, you
can save your health and train indoors. Training involves breathing in
large amounts of air and can compound the air pollution risk.
10. Controlled environment for Training: There
are some workouts where training in a controlled environment is
preferable to riding outdoors. These workouts include interval
workouts being done at specific power levels, and carefully timed
intervals where it's important to look at your watch closely. When
training on the road, it's obviously important to watch the road ahead
and traffic around you and may be difficult to pay attention to that
and your bike computer. When there are frequent stop signs or lights,
hills or strong winds, conducting an interval session is difficult to
accomplish. Also, when conducting fitness tests on your bike, it is
preferable to do these under similar conditions to be able to compare
with previous results and chart progress. It's unusual to have
identical situations outside at the times you want to conduct your
tests.
