I started using a regular old style terry cloth headband a couple years ago. Next to a Lasko fan, some sort of headband is probably the next biggest comfort upgrade there is, especially if you have no hair to trap your head sweat 
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Zwift is a virtual world. Youāre riding along roads along with other people. Many people use it for for training or racing, but many also just use it for a distraction from the reality of sitting on a trainer. In Zwift, you get ādrops every second while riding. Get enough drops and you level up, which means access to new clothing, bikes, wheels, routes, etc. You CAN do workouts, but you donāt have to. You can be just riding around and still get points. I think thatās what they meant.
Night before mix 60-90g Malto:Fructose per hour and put in fridge
Freeze about 6 ounces of water in insulated 24 oz bottles lying flat so the whole bottle has ice (about 1 per 45 minutes on trainer)
Day of coffee and news/social media/word games for 90 mins or so before the workout. Take bottles out of freezer, and the sugar mix and a SIS tab for electrolytes and flavor
Trainer bike
Tacx Neo OG
Rocker plate
Lasko fan with remote
Microfiber towel
Mesh base layer for sweat capture and cooling
Clear sunglasses for wind from fan
Wahoo table
Laptop running TR
Apple TV and a monitor (I watch shows while I ride)
AirPods Pro
Single biggest improvement: lots of ice in my water bottles. We are renting while we do a major house renovation project, and the frig has an ice maker. Iāve been filling my bottles full of ice before adding water, and drinking cold / ice cold water really helps
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Day of any bike ride/workout.
Oatmeal for breakfast. It ensures less chance to take a bio break. Crohns disease is fun.
No coffee
Outside rides start at 8-9am
Inside workouts start at 3pm-supposedly more power late afternoonā¦sometimes I read too much.
On the bike:
- Music w/ Playlist depends on intensity but have multiple listsā¦
*Earbuds that block outside noiseā¦I really only hear my music. - Basement. Ensure dehumidifier is not on so it is a bit cooler
- 2 fans, one aimed at chest, one aimed at legs/bike seatā¦yeah seems odd but for some reason it works
- Drink mix depends on intensity but always something in the bottle. 1 bottle only.
- Ipad- Watch bike race on you tube. Again intensity drives what I watch.
- Rocker plate
- 1 kleenexā¦nose is the only thing that runs on meā¦I really dont sweat. Fans keep me dry. Same outside the wind is enough to stay dry.
- Extended cooldown
A fairly short simple list for me:
- Fans (2 x Cleva and 2 x regular)
- Small towel
- 2 x bottles (500ml) per hour for hard workouts with electrolyte tabs
- bananas and a couple of gels in a musette close to hand
- Laptop set up for TR and YouTube
Sweatband
Snacks stocked in toolbox within reach
New bibshorts- I save my newest ones for trainer and wear older ones outside
Trainer table
100%. This is an important thing many donāt think of.
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Agree, I have trainer specific bibs. I like for them all to be the same, so Iāll buy 4 new ones at at time to reflect my typical 4 weekly indoor rides.
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Music, a singular sh*tty stand fan, and a frankly uncalled-for amount of caffeine.
Iād say āminimalistā but really Iām just disorganized. I do swear by foam rolling my ass before test days, which is obviously massively significant and not at all weird. 
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I am retiring my high end Assos bibs to trainer duty after three outside rides. The chamois doesnāt agree with me, even with cream, for longer riding for some reason, but it was pretty comfy for the hour on the trainer.
Colossal waste of money, but hey, Iām learning what I like in terms of endurance bibs. I can wear anything for 2hrs.
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Listening to a podcast on massage guns the other day, they indicated that there was evidence a massage helped stimulate blood flow to an area and was useful as a pre ride warm up. I guess itād be the same with a foam roller. Routine even for the placebo effect is significant anyway
I rotate between cheap decathlon bibs I got for 50p years back and I donāt know how but despite being washed more frequently than other bibs theyāve never went thread bare (or whatever the term is) and the pads look as fresh as day one. Also their pads are as comfortable as any else I have (albeit theyāve not been used for centuries, tours and 12/14hour rides etc). I wish Iād bought more of them now.
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High speed foam rolling will do the same for blood flow. I use a Tiger Tail and hit my quads, IT bands, and Soleus, and then foam roll my thoracic before rides and strength work for just that reason.
Good part of prehab routines, IMO. Definitely wouldnāt buy a massage gun for that tho.
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Iām intrigued by all the multiple fan /airmover users. Iām definitely a sweater (just removed the bar tape on my winter bike to find aluminium oxideā¦
) but when I turbo I use one Vacmaster on the lowest setting and it makes my chest cold.
But then, I find riding inside sooo much harder than riding outside.
Those of you with 2+ Vacmasters/Clevas etc, do you run them above the lowest setting?? Or is it just about getting more coverage at a low setting?
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I run all three on the highest setting, but I train in my garage which can be anywhere from 55 to 90F. When itās cooler, Iāll run the fans on low settings on easy rides, but usually if Iām going hard, itās the high setting no matter the ambient temperatureā¦ itās all about the airflow!
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I started using it right after the Giro dāItalia, as that was my visual entertainment. Now Iām just gathering achievement badges for the courses and gear from the sweat shop as I ride TR workouts in my plan.
I also use it to race once a week and add it to my calendar as B & C events.
Zwift is fun. Iāve been in it a little under 3 years and use it as my primary indoor training platform where I run my workouts from TrainingPeaks.
Biggest benefit of Zwift is the events. Several of my all time power PRs come from races up Alpe dāZwift, and I like the TTs and other races. A lot more intense start to finish that a crit, so you get a heck of a workout and I generally find the events much less surge-y.
Nothing to take seriously IMO but the races are way more fun that most indoor training.
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My 18 inch gym fan I usually run on high setting (some times mid or when I was in Chemo low)
My 14 inch wall fans I usually run on maximum (during chemo I didnāt run them)
and
my 16 inch pedestal is ran on remote so its upped from silent (level 0) to 4 as the work out progresses (during chemo this was vital and still good now I have the all clear, especially when my pain corridor is cold).
I run 2 fans, a Lasko up front and a regular box fan in back aimed up at my saddle/behind. The Lasko is aimed at my torso and just high enough to catch my face but not blast it and I generally leave it on medium speed. The back one seems to keep my shorts a bit drier, or so it seems, and it has a lighter general airflow than the Lasko. Both fans are on wireless plug switches so I can mix and match, kind of a poor manās remote variable speed system.
If its winter cool in the basement, I generally start with no fan, turn on the box fan after 5 minutes or so then hit the Lasko when Iām fully warm. Its rarely much over 72F / 22C in my basement in the summer and cooler in the winter so this set up gives me enough options which I can control while on the bike so it works fine for me.
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