Training & Nutrition - Training on rollers... and/or trainer

just got my rollers, gave it one shot, fell off, another, 3 secs, then off, try #3, third times a charm, i got on and stopped paying attention and fell off.

I finally got to the point where i can ride on the rollers for 30 mines easily.

What should i do to train myself for endurance on this thing, just ride a really long time i guess? I also have a trainer too but i actually think the rollers are fun and like using them, the trainer gets really boring really fast.

I got the travel trac pro alloy rollers from performance and im really happy with them =)

Is it possible to raise the front up a little and act as if im climbing? or will i just slide right off the back =P

Thanks for the imput!!!
Also, if anyone has any good training for the trainer as well other than spinervals (i can't fathom paying $25 for these things when i can buy a real movie for the same price) i would appreciate it as well.

I don't mind the boring training if i know that it will pay off in the long run, so i'm looking to do it right.

Glad you are liking the rollers. I need to find the video of the guy showing how to do one leg work outs no handed on the rollers to make sure you are pedaling even. It was just linked on this forum somewhere.

i posted it in another thread...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wME5NTriTco

im working on no hands right now, but will rollers really smooth out my strokes that much to make me pedal more efficiently? then i think these babies were well worth it, i just like to smash n go

I don't like doing the no hand thing on the roller with my road bikes tiny tires, but I did try it with my hybrid with the wider tires and it was easy. The one legged no handed was not so easy.

Riding no handed on rollers isn't a problem, mind you I spend a lot of time on rollers. I haven't tried the no handed, one-legged thing yet, but I think I will soon.

The reason it helps with a smoother pedal stroke is simply because in order to stay straight on the rollers you must keep the force on the drivetrain pretty much even right through. It's similar to the way that a fixed gear improves your pedal stroke, you're forced to be round in order to stay up.

Things you can do that are fun in a self-abusive kind of way:

FastPedal - warm up in zone 1, then pedal as fast as you can in a low gear and still stay in zone 2. Try for 115-130 cadence. Have to have a computer with cadence like Cateye Astrale for this. Do it for 15-45 minutes continuously. I find that 42X25 is about as low as it is reasonable to go.

Endurance ride - A little harder than zone 2 for as long as you can stand it.

Recovery ride - just zone 1

Endurance recovery ride - just zone 2

Tempo - let some air out of your tires and pedal in your biggest gear at a cadence that puts you solidly in the upper part of zone 3. Cadence of 70-75 would be good. Do a couple of 20 minute intervals or even more as you like. Once a week.

One-legged pedaling - 2 minute intervals on each leg, then spin with both legs 2 minutes. Do some at 50 cadence and some at 85 cadence. Use enough gear so that you are really killing yourself for the last 15 seconds of each one-legged interval. 15-45 minutes of this. Because you only use one leg, your HR should stay in zone 2. Prop the lazy leg in the frame triangle.

Things you can do that are fun in a self-abusive kind of way:

FastPedal - warm up in zone 1, then pedal as fast as you can in a low gear and still stay in zone 2. Try for 115-130 cadence. Have to have a computer with cadence like Cateye Astrale for this. Do it for 15-45 minutes continuously. I find that 42X25 is about as low as it is reasonable to go.

Endurance ride - A little harder than zone 2 for as long as you can stand it.

Recovery ride - just zone 1

Endurance recovery ride - just zone 2

Tempo - let some air out of your tires and pedal in your biggest gear at a cadence that puts you solidly in the upper part of zone 3. Cadence of 70-75 would be good. Do a couple of 20 minute intervals or even more as you like. Once a week.

One-legged pedaling - 2 minute intervals on each leg, then spin with both legs 2 minutes. Do some at 50 cadence and some at 85 cadence. Use enough gear so that you are really killing yourself for the last 15 seconds of each one-legged interval. 15-45 minutes of this. Because you only use one leg, your HR should stay in zone 2. Prop the lazy leg in the frame triangle.

Thanks for the tips!!!

carbon fiber boy i saw that in another post you said you had a fluid resistance unit for your performance rollers, how long ago did you get that and how does it attach? is it like the kreitlers where it uses another pulley in the front? Could i possibly use kreitlers headwind system on my travel trac rollers?

Thanks!

What should i do to train myself for endurance on this thing, just ride a really long time i guess?

I dunno. I can't stomach much more than 1 hour at a time on the trainer or rollers, unless I've got a training DVD, in which case 1.5 hrs is about the limit. I mean, this is where I'm going to be spending the majority of my week-day riding until next March... why make it any worse than it already is.
I find that using rollers to do my off-season base conditioning gives me what I need for endurance. Basically, that's an hour every day that I can't get out. Since riding rollers isn't particularly difficult, no need for recovery days. I guess it's the consistancy and aerobic conditioning that yield the endurance pay-off. In February, when I start strength work, etc., the rollers are used for recovery days... still a mostly-aerobic hour.