To turbo or not to turbo.
So often this is the decision we are met with in the northern hemisphere as the nights draw in and the rain starts to fall. In the past, it was relatively simple – ride outside when you can and suffer in the garage when it’s really rough outside.
However, with modern technology, this is an outdated take. Indoor and outdoor training are different tools, but both of them have their strengths, especially in the winter.
Indoor riding for safety
The first and most obvious benefit of indoor training, especially in the darker months of the year, is safety. For many of us in the northern hemisphere, the combination of full-time employment mixed with far fewer daylight hours means that midweek rides outdoors will often be spent in the darkness.
With the right bike lights and sensible route choices, this isn’t necessarily ‘unsafe,’ per se, but riding indoors in the dark is most definitely more safe.
Indoors, the only real risks you face are excess perspiration and maybe some loss of pride if you lose the local Zwift race – traffic is taken completely out of the equation.
It’s not just the other road users either. Poor weather, mixed with commuter traffic can cause roads to become far slicker. Here in the UK, the potholes tend to be far worse too, which does increase the risk of being out on the road.
At the weekends, or while riding in the light, the gap most definitely narrows. I personally find that if it’s not too nasty outside, the preference remains riding outside for reasons I’ll come on to. But one thing is for sure, in 2025, riding indoors doesn’t have to be the boring chore it once was.
Enjoyment and motivation
Even with all the wondrous virtual roads on offer from the likes of Zwift, Rouvy and MyWhoosh, riding indoors still is – and probably never will be – as good as a sunny spin with your mates, and that’s worth remembering, particularly when it comes to training.
You tend to repeat what you enjoy, and consistency matters more than perfection. Sure, the turbo is perfect for those days where you just want to hop on, complete an interval session, and hop off again, but if the weather is nice and you just want to clear the head, you’ll struggle to beat a nice local route combined with some good old-fashioned fresh air.
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