Originally Posted by
hls811
Thanks for this.. (And thanks to Robbie for starting the thread) - I'm also new to using a trainer, I picked one up a few weeks back from CL and the first few rides on it seem to wipe me out. I'm fairly new to road cycling - I just bought a bike late in the summer - my longest ride so far is 30 miles in 2.5h).. I've been doing 20-30 minutes on the trainer and I just can't seem to go anymore. I know a big difference is the constant peddling (trainer) vs coasting (road). I've been watching the MPH and distance and trying to best it each time but it looks like that may be the wrong approach. I've been riding as long as my legs would keep moving but I want to maximize the ride and get the most out of it. By the time the weather starts getting nicer and I can ride outside I'd like to be able to do 30-40 miles and maybe even get myself up to a nice 50 mile ride through the spring. I haven't been doing it consistent enough to get into a routine (hello, New Years Resolution...) but that is my plan.
I also have a Blackburn Trackstand Fluid Trainer so the resistance is automatically changing, I've been primarily keeping the bike on the big front ring and the rear 5th rings (I have a Caad8-6 Tiagra, 10 Spd), I've been shifting very little trying to keep it constant and let the trainer adjust to me. I have noticed during the ride my cadence increases. I'll start around 60-ish and when I really get going I'm around 78-82 comfortably. I tried one ride trying to keep the cadence above 90, I lasted just under 3 minutes before I was DONE.
Anyway - I appreciate a thread like this. I've been reading magazines and the forums and pretty much all of the training tips are for someone with a lot more experience and conditioning than I have - Hopefully one day I'll get to that point where I can follow those routines and keep up but the info here is really invaluable and encouraging to a starter.
Many folks start riding in too large a gear. Try riding a 90 cadence in what should be about zone 1 for you - 39T in front and middle or lower middle or even one of the lowest gears in the cassette in the back. Work on that. Don't wear yourself out. OTOH, don't worry, you'll get tired even in that gear. Work on that until you can do that for an hour, steady. You should be breathing deeply but slowly and sweating lightly. If it's harder than that, drop down a cog. When you can do that, move a couple or more cogs in the back to a harder gear until your legs seem to be pushing on the pedals more. Get so you can do that at 90 for an hour. You should be breathing deeply and moderately quickly, maybe 70/minute, and sweating profusely. If it's harder than that, drop down a cog or more. You'll need a box fan 6' in front of you. When you can do that for an hour, come back and read more. When you're on the trainer for that long, I stop and stand up until the blood comes back into my butt about every 15 or 20 minutes. Probably not even for a minute. Or you can just pedal slowly out of the saddle in a bigger gear for a minute or so, then go back at it. Endurance, cadence, and form come first. If you have those three, speed will come in its own good time.