Mark: Okay, folks, we've got a question for you here. When you've got ride plans,
do you instinctively head out of the door into the fresh air of the great outdoors? Well,
surely the answer has got to be yes. Now, I don't get me wrong. Obviously there's
many positives to riding indoors as I'm sure Heather's going to remind us today, but come on.
Riding outdoors is how it's meant to be done, and today I'm going to be explaining why.
Heather: Yes, Mark. I hear where you're coming from and I do understand, however, indoor training
has a huge amount of benefits, which I am going to convince you of today. By the end of this video,
you guys watching can decide whether you prefer riding outdoors or joining me and riding indoors.
[music] Mark:
Right. What are these reasons for heading outdoors and out into open roads, I hear you say.
Well, for starters, and probably my clear favorite, has to be the environment. Once you're
out onto the quiet lanes, the country roads, nothing beats that relaxing feeling, being able to
enjoy the scenery, breathe in the fresh air. Maybe if you're lucky, have the sun beating
down on your back. Surely that has to beat staring at a wall within your garage or your living room.
Now, the outdoors, not only is the view constantly changing as is a terrain,
providing a good source of natural training,
but also helping to keep you alert and helps to pass the time more quickly. Then of course,
we've also got this social aspect of riding outdoors. You can meet up with a friend or two,
you could catch up, perhaps even join in on a larger group ride, maybe a club ride, and you can
explore the area in some new routes. Then, in my opinion, probably the best bit of riding outdoors,
the cafe stop. You can't deny this one, Heather. I know you love to stop for a good coffee and cake.
[music] Heather:
Okay, Mark. You do know me too well. However, that can end up making a ride rather long.
When you're short for time an indoor ride is perfect. Sometimes
if you've only got 45 to 60 minutes, you can still get a really decent benefit from training
indoors. That amount of time outdoors often just doesn't feel like it's worth the effort
of getting kitted up. Mark, you did mention the beauty of riding outside in the countryside,
but not all of us have that on our doorstep. If you've got to battle through traffic, and
stop lights in the start and the beginning of your ride, it becomes a little less motivating.
Also it takes up quite a lot of time. Whereas you can simply jump on your bike at home and you're
good to go. You might be worried about location of where you can to have your indoor bike set up.
Well, you don't need very much space, literally this the size of your bike
and enough room for your shoulders. It can be anywhere. Out in your shed, in your garage,
a basement, maybe a spare room, it could even be in your bathroom or your kitchen.
I mean, we've all seen Mark working out in his kitchen. If you do have a space that
can be designated, that is ideal because then you can leave your bike set up and you really
have no excuses. You can just jump on and get going. Maybe you are missing the social element
of riding outdoors. Well you can still bring that inside as well. You could simply go on
Zwift with a few friends. You could even use your imagination, make up your own session, get friends
to join you on say a zoom call, or maybe just pop down to your gym and join a spin class.
[music] Mark:
Okay, Heather. All very good points. What about the training benefits of riding outside? Because
I have got a few for you. Firstly, for those longer rides, particularly those that don't
have any efforts or anything to focus on. If you're aiming to do a longer distance event,
maybe a 70.3 or an Ironman, these are going to form the backbone of your training,
as you need to spend more time in the saddle. If you've got anything in your training plan,
maybe over a couple of hours, and as I say without any efforts in, then I would
seriously urge you head outdoors to save you from the boredom of just staring at the wall.
Let's not forget your bike handling and skills. You can't practice that
on an indoor trainer. When it comes to a race, you need to be able to brake. You need to be
able to corner, you need to be able to descend, all of which has to be practiced outside. Then,
of course, you've even got the smaller things like your balance and your core stability. If you're
not riding outside then when it comes to race, you might find yourself fighting a bike and wasting
energy, particularly if you using the aero bars. Just the small things like the road surface or
a little bit of crosswind, and you might find yourself spending more time trying to get
comfortable than actually racing hard. [music]
Heather: I do hear you on that one, but what happens if you have a structured workout that
you need to stick to, maybe you've got to hold a constant power or a constant heart rate. When
it comes to riding outdoors, that can be really tricky as you're going up or downhill. You have
traffic in the way. You know what it's like when you're riding indoors, you can simply focus on
those numbers in front of you and hold that effort exactly getting what you want from that session.
Then, on top of that, you've got the dependability of riding indoors,
you know, the environment. You're not going to get put off by a being really cold and wet,
like it is heading into our winter here in the UK, or maybe you live somewhere that it's just
too hot to ride outside. Riding indoors, you can pretty much control your environment.
I'm on a roll here. Another benefit of riding indoors, you're not risking your equipment.
You're not going to have any potholes that you could damage your wheel on, and you're unlikely
to get a puncture or mechanical. Then it comes to the cleaning. I really dislike having to clean
my bike from all the mud and the grease at the end of an outdoor ride. On top of that, you've
got a huge amount of layers you've got to stick in the washing machine. Indoor riding you might
need to give your bike a wipe, and stick a sweaty towel in the wash, but that's pretty much it.
[music] Mark:
Okay. Sure. Let's not forget one of the beauties of outdoor riding
is the simplicity of it. Whether you've got a road bike, a mountain bike or a TT bike,
that's all you need. Jump on your bike and get going. There's no need to faff with gear,
getting it set up, making sure it's connected, it's calibrated right,
so on and so forth. Then also, you've got the expense of a turbo trainer subscription,
making sure you have a computer available to run it all through. It can all start to add up.
[music] Heather:
I think that was a pretty comprehensive debate. We've given you both sides of
that argument and detail. It's up to you guys to go away and decide. That said,
I know I've been on the indoor battle here, but I would say a combination of both is the
perfect recipe. If you can go outside when the weather's nice or you've got an easy session.
Perfect. If you've got something more structured or it's horrible outside,
go indoors, if you've got that luxury. Let us know where you guys prefer. Do that in the
comments section below. If you've enjoyed it, do give us a like. You can follow us on social media,
and you can also subscribe here on YouTube. [00:07:01] [END OF AUDIO]