How to turbo train - step one

... get on it and pedal.

This is a brief observation about my turbo training. Some benefits and some of my difficulties with getting on the road.

Strange, but I'm a bit surprised that it's January and I've only just started on the turbo. Previously I had been quite quick onto it. Maybe because I wasn't unemployed then though.
I've been a while out of work and although busy at home I have been trying to get out on the bike most days. But I just couldn't do it consitently. I've wrapped up warm against the gloom and cold of winter and usually, really enjoyed it. I found it hard to get started but once going I loved it. Another problem was that I would do a max of 2 hours and I would go flat out. I couldn't ride at an endurance pace, or at a tempo pace.
Quite soon though I found that I fell into a pattern of going for a ride and loving it. Next day, buoyed with the satisfaction of the previous charge, I would go out again. And then again the next. Then it might rain, or I'd convince myself that I should have an easy day, or perhaps I'd leave it too late to get out. Then I wouldn't ride. And the same the next day too. I seemed to be riding, riding, riding, then a week or 5 days off.
After 5 days off my legs begin to feel a bit achy. They need some action. But with my history of pathetic knees I didn't want to rush out and blast away with a hard ride. So I'd take it easy for a bit, and before I knew it I was pushing it hard again. Recently though I had another idea. The faithful turbo.
The beauty of it seems to be the speed with which I can get riding. From idea, to on the bike is 15 mins. If I want to get out on the road, it seems that from idea to on the bike is an hour or more. Why is that? Is it just me? Bottles, food, clothes, loo, pump, mixing drink, change the shirt, additional layer, which gloves, how cold is it, what's the wind like, different layer...
What has been good with the turbo trainer this time is that I have have been doing it daily. In previous winters I have used it every other day because it wrecked my legs so much. This time though I have drunk plenty of energy drink, eaten well after the session and during the day, and ensured I have had reasonable protein input. I've been doing the CTS sessions every day, plus some of my own now for over a week. It's been excellent.
I am convinced I am improving. I think in another post I'll write about the CTS DVDs, but suffice to say that they are a very good motivational tool and practical aid. Get the power ranges sorted out, then they go through a bit of leg strengthening and muscular endurance sessions. Id did these a few times and the legs soon felt stronger. Then it's onto the sessions that seem to work on the Tempo range and Steady State range. That's the top end of the aerobic range. Training the body to work, still using fats as energy, for longer periods. Usually the pedal cadence is low-ish at around 70rpm. This helps ensure that the load is taken by the muscles rather than the heart and lungs. That's where I am at the moment. I might go back to some leg strengthening and pedal efficiency sessions and work more on the aerobic threshold more.
One very interesting observation. If I look at the charts of my 1 hour or 2 hour on the road there is never a period where my riding has power or heart rate at a constant Tempo or Steady State for 10 or 20 mins. On the turbo I can do this. This is where the big gains will come.

Bought an Isla 700

In the end I didn't buy a second hand bike for my son. We went for new.
It arrived quickly in a big cardboard box and seems good. Screw the pedals in, straighten the handlebars and away.
It's a bit of an extravagance really because my son (aged 11) has only just started Cyclocross at a very fun level.

It was a success on the first competition as the course was longer than the first course he competed on. His little Trek mountain bike wouldn't have got up to speed I don't think and he was reluctant to change gear on the Trek as it was a bit clunky.

It's not the lightest of bikes but it's ok. I feel a bit guilty that he has to have a bike that is twice as heavy as mine, but it'll do him good I'm sure.
The cantilever brakes are good and strong with lot's of clearance for the muck. I put on a pair of magic pro wheels that I had made with Shimano 105 hubs. They're a bit lighter and better than the wheels that came with the bike, but not too much lighter. I did splash out on some nice cross tyres though from Chain Reaction.