Some tips to train indoors

As the weather gets colder and hopefully wetter (we could sure use the rain), it might be time to think about indoor training. I have used the winter months in the past to build better technique. It is also a good way to help you not lose so much of the conditioning you gained over the summer of outdoor riding. It doesn’t always have to be a chore, sometimes it can even be fun. Here are some tips I have used in the past to get through those tortuous trainer sessions.

1. Make sure your trainer is set up on a very solid surface, a hardwood or tile floor, or even better a garage floor. A solid surface better supports the trainer and will allow you to stand and really crank out those intervals. If you only have carpeted floors in your workout area, then get a half sheet of ¹/₂” plywood and use it as a base.
2. Use two towels. Place one on the top tube and drape it over both sides of the bike. When using a trainer you will sweat more and you don’t want that all over your bicycle. Place the second smaller one somewhere you can reach for it like you handlebars so you can occasionally wipe the sweat from your brow.
3. Use a fan. Remember you do not have the wind to keep you cool and riding indoors generates a lot of heat. A fan will also help evaporate some of the sweat.
4. Trainers, even the ones with an elastomer coating on the drive shaft, eat tires. go out and get the cheapest tires you can find. I know that Continental makes a specific training tire, and it’s orange, one of my favorite colors, but a cheap tire works just as well. Cheap clinchers are usually made with casings that have lower TPI (threads per inch) and a harder rubber compound, they will last longer than any of the more expensive road tires while using the trainer.
5. Since a trainer raises the rear wheel off the ground, raise the front wheel with one of those plastic riser blocks, a block of wood, or some copies of Websters Unabridged Dictionary. This will help you mimic your road position and will prevent you from sliding forward. To simulate hill climbing raise the front higher than the back wheel and push a bigger gear.
6. Minimize distractions. Turn off you cell phone if only for the hour you spend on the trainer. Nothing more needs to be said.
7. It’s hot and your sweating. Make sure that you hydrate yourself well. Drink more than you think you need. The trainer is also a great way to experiment with that new energy drink you want to try out. If that drink doesn’t work for you, then its better to be home than miles away with a very uncomfortable ride back.
8. Train with your partner or friends. Nothing is worse than being all by yourself on a trainer. In the past the local shop would have a trainer night. They would put in a tape of some Classic or Tour event, play it on the big screen and then a few of us would bring our trainers and we would train and watch together. Usually its good to turn the sound off so you can hear one another talking, over the sound of the already loud trainer.

Last winter my daughter and I tried out the Spinervals videos. The provide quite a workout, but they are not for everyone. Borrow one from someone before you decide if that money might be better spent on a box of Hammer Gel. Training in the winter months does not always have to be about riding wet or cold, you can make those indoor days more enjoyable. If you have any other suggestions on making good use of indoor trainer time pleas add your comment below.