Originally Posted by
contango
Perhaps because they don't enjoy riding in the rain, the snow, or searing heat?
Generally speaking I'd rather ride outdoors than on a stationary machine but given the choice between braving twisting mountain roads in the ice or jumping on a machine indoors I'll take the machine. Given the choice between going outdoors in torrential rain and gale force winds or the machine I'll take the machine.
Whether the machine is a custom machine or a turbo trainer makes little difference from there. Some might think it's silly to drop $2000 on an indoor machine but then you get down to subjective opinions of what to spend and where.
See I agree with everything you said and practice a lot of it, but why not ride the road bike indoors. ? That's my point, the idiocy of spending such a large chunk of change on a machine that can't approximate in any way, the beauty of riding ones own bike, indoors or out. And no set of rollers or fluid trainer should cost more than 300 to 500 dollars, far less than the 2000 dollar TDF nonsense.