a love letter to my dumb bike trainer.

We’re snow deep in winter right now, which means one thing: lots of time on the bike trainer. Teammates and friends are posting Zwift workouts, and I recently finished a 28-day bike block (my third go-round of it), which got me thinking: what is it about the trainer – specifically my “dumb” lime green Kurt Kinetic road machine trainer – that I love so much? Let’s have a look…

We’ve been together since 2013 and have seen a lot of miles – from easy 80w recovery rides to hard 5-hour interval rides. Most of those have been happy miles, but others have been tear-filled and soul-crushing (I’m looking at you, 2017 IM Canada training). But you know what? Even the crappy ones made me appreciate what my body, legs, and mind are capable of.

I love that you’ve taught me the power of focus. There’s nothing like staring at 3sec and lap power fields on my Garmin – Girl Talk blaring in my headphones – trying to maintain and hit target watts during a mind-numbing 45-minute interval x3. Or during a five minute set at well above my critical power (usually at the end of a long interval!) – my legs and the will to hit the watts the only things keeping me going.

I also love that my dumb trainer’s taught me that I can do hard things. Nowhere else have I learned this more than on my Kinetic (well, running has taught me this, too, but it’s mostly been biking). My coach has programmed some doozy workouts over the years. You know the ones – where your eyes get wide when you first see them in TrainingPeaks and wonder how on earth you’ll hit the watts. But then you do – thus learning that you’re capable of more than you thought possible – and while soft-pedaling during your cooldown you give yourself a high-five for crushing them and getting a little bit stronger.

And because triathlon is stupid expensive enough, I love that my dumb trainer’s saved me money. Sure, I could buy a fancy smart trainer and pre-program my workouts and maybe make room in my brain for other things because I wouldn’t have to think about the watts. But what fun is that?! Focusing on and manually controlling my watts is fun for me – my own little game to hit what coach’s programmed spot on or a few watts higher – and is a great way to build mental toughness. (And really, you don’t *need* a fancy trainer to build bike strength – just like you don’t need all the fancy gear to train for and race triathlon! What you do need, though: consistency, determination, and the drive to do it.)

I’ve purposely chosen to continue using my dumb trainer and basic Garmin 520 rather than “upgrade” to a smart trainer that controls my resistance and join Zwift workouts. I protect my trainer time fiercely because, like running without headphones, it’s usually the only time in my day when I’m not staring at a computer screen. It’s one small part of the day where I can put my head down and quiet all the chatter in my brain. Where I can work hard and sweat, uninterrupted.

I know, I know… never say never. Of course there’s a chance I upgrade when my trusty Kinetic bites the dust – but I’ll figure that out when it happens. 🤷🏽‍♀️ In the meantime: use whatever trainer works best for you – and make sure you’re having fun.

Now, leave me a comment trying to convince me why smart trainers are so good!