Indoors Vs. Outdoors - Perceived effort

I agree. Indoors it is all I can do to get over 175 and I get so bored and uncomfortable. Outisde.....I look down and am at 180 and having a great time.

Had the same experience yesterday. First ride outside (although not as warm in Montreal as in Jersey right now) but I found that I hit the 170's BPM real quick on the first climb where indoors I hang it out there at 150 - 160's. Moreover I did the Carmichael test indoor on the trainer establishing my zones. My max HR is 187 BPM so getting in those 170's puts me already in the 90%+Zone.

Guess the outside world really is harder than the indoor simulated stuff...

Seriously, although I average nearly 2 hours a day indoors, the outdoor experience is a different league altogether. Carmichael's climbing video is nice... But go outside and do a 10-15% and gravity takes over. That, plus the rolling resistance of the tires, wind resistance, and everything associated with the real thing make the difference.

Cycling, so many facets to a simple activity 😄

This makes me appreciate the 40 degree C temps we've been getting here in Aust. It might get bloody hot down under but at least we can enjoy out doors virtually all year round. I do some training in door but only when it's raining and I probably only go for about an hour. I sit in front of the TV with the music channels and movie channels on. I've got an old water bottle with the top cut off to keep the remote controls in so they're never too far away.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by sunman
I just returned from my first outdoor ride of the season, sunny and 60+ degrees in February (in NJ) - I'm lovin' it! I rode consistently during the winter about 5 hrs/week, 2 easy rides and 3 interval rides using either Spinervals or CTC training videos. Riding indoors I would associate a long hard effort with a heart rate around 165 bpm, however, outdoors I regularly ride at 165 bpm with a hard effort being more like 174 bpm. Does anyone out there have a similar experience? Maybe it's just spring fever. SM

I have exactly the same experience, indoors just feels more difficult for the same heart rate. It also difficult to push the high HR's.

Leon