I failed a security clearance and lost the job I was biking to, so took up climbing. Then I got a new job twice as far away, so got a new bike; but I never biked in. Then I bought a house.

I've since spent more of my time rewriting wetware than anything else. I've upgraded my visual system substantially, and used that to upgrade my memory substantially. I haven't gotten around to building a proper PAO system; but I can now work comfortably with images in my head and, in low delta-theta states, can occasionally activate all senses in an internal locus (the first time I did this, I went back to a dream I was having earlier, and ate a piece of cake that was there; it was delicious and satisfying, and involved the odd sensation of physically being in two different places at the same time). I don't store everything in my mind palace for that purpose; I'm aware of how memory works, and will intentionally entangle related concepts so as to greatly improve learning and retention. Strongly semantic information gets stored in my mind palace as an indexing system--notably temporary information and grouped facts-and-figures, such as performance numbers and goals and assessments.

The machine would work better on the whole were I in good shape.

The primary advantage of trainers is interval training: they can adjust resistance up and down while riding, rather than getting off and making adjustments; as such, they can simulate climbing hills. This plus measurements and feedback gives the ability to rapidly improve by targeting effort at those things which require more training, although that does require some understanding of physiology and how exercise works (i.e. technical goals).