Hello. The podcast is such a tremendous resource- the best.
I would love to sign up but I only ride outside. I don’t plan to buy a smart trainer. Does it make sense to sign up and only ride outside?
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Do you have a power meter on your bike?
If so, that data is useful in TR to review your riding and see how much stress you are getting.
Even without a true meter, you could use the estimated stress to track your riding. It will show trends in your work on the bike.
You can add planned rides and estimated stress to see how much stress you will have. Tracking old and planned rides can help you see your ride distribution and maybe prevent over-training.
What are your cycling goals? Have you tried indoor riding? If so, what didn’t you like about it?
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Just not a fan of indoor riding.
Yes I do have a power meter.
Thanks. Appreciate the helpful advice.
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It depends on your goals, of course, but with a power meter and heart rate monitor you could ride outside and just mentally aim for power goals as per a TS session. For me, the point of a power meter is to help me pace myself and keep in specific zones, so I could still see doing over/unders, or continuous threshold, sweet spot etc outdoors. Not such a controllable environment as indoors, but you could still use the strategies.
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For me it’s the massive controllability of indoors that makes it so attractive. You do get used to been on the trainer over time.
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The whole point of TR is about hitting specific power levels for specific amounts of time. This is very difficult to do outside, as you have to contend with traffic, lights and terrain.
However, as a small apartment dweller, I have no room for a pain cave, so I do my structured training (with a power meter) at an outdoor velodrome. It’s a pretty controlled environment, but I do have to keep a close eye on power and gearing, as the wind is changing directions every 10 seconds.
It’s also a bit of hassle replicating the interval targets and durations on my Garmin, but something I can live with.
One reason is for training. A coach for $15 a months a deal. Another reason - if the weather is such that you cannot ride outside and lastly access to proven programs that deliver performance improvement. Yeah it’s not the same as a sunny day but man you can get wicked fit using the stuff here. My two cents
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TR definitely works best if you train indoors… HOWEVER… If, like me, you listen to all the podcasts without fail then consider whether its worth giving them some of your $ as a thank you 
Even if its just for a month.
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Thank you for the helpful information.
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Thank you very much- helpful information!
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I will say that before TrainerRoad I was only an outdoor cyclist as well. I had a trainer and I would use it occasionally, very occasionally, in the winter while watching a cycling video or movie. I really got nothing from it and it was just something to make me feel like I did something. TrainerRoad changed all that and gave the trainer a purpose which changed the whole experience and made me looking forward to the next workout.
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Main benefits are for trainers - but as others have mentioned the training plans are great no matter where you execute them.
The biggest fitness benefits I’ve seen from trainer road are learning the benefits of rest days and rest weeks. If you can adhere to the plan and haven’t yet mastered the art of recovery you’ll get your money’s worth from that alone
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Thank you! Appreciate all the input!
I ride mainly outdoors and use TR workouts to replicate target intervals outside. If you select the right route for the workout you can replicate pretty closely. I have just completed a 105km race followed by an 82km the following week very comfortably (pushing hard but didn’t hit the wall) TR gets the kudos and 
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I definitely enjoy riding outdoors but with work and winter weather where I live the trainer is a good option. I started Trainnerroad about 8 weeks ago and was really surprised at how engaged it keeps you while training. Much less boring than I thought. I actually look forward to knocking out another TR workout on the trainer.
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I follow TR plans both inside and outside
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