Many people struggle to hop on a trainer and sit and spin for long periods of time. One thing that I have had to get used to is being able to ride for long periods of time on a trainer. I would say I have gotten pretty good at it. There are a few tricks of being able to sit in one spot for such a long time.
This is how I do it. First of all I have a nice pair of noise canceling head phones, over ear are best, to listen to music, Youtube videos, live race feeds, etc... This helps me to blank out and forget about the time. Having a Powertap power meter helps to because then you can focus on always keeping in your zones. It also helps because then you know you are riding at the proper pace because thing always seem harder on a trainer. Next, I always have my computer off to the side of me, on top of my mini fridge and microwave in my dorm room, so I can easily see it and type on it. I try and plan my rides around when a live feed of a race is so I can watch and ride at the same time. Depending on the duration I need to ride, I may still have the computer connected to the charger. Then, I always have 1 towel on the top tube and 1 over my bars to wipe my face. Also a fan pointed right at me with the window cracked.
When it comes to nutrition, I always have 1 bottle in the bottle cage and a 32 oz Nalgene sitting next to the computer so I don't have to stop to fill up my bottle. Right behind the computer is a bag of Skratch Labs, so when I need a new bottle I can add in a scoop. I have some snacks near by, like a Honey Stinger gel or waffle, but if I need to eat more, I get off for a quick second, grab a bite and start again: this helps break up the time a bit. That is another tip, is to break up the time into small chunks to make it more manageable. Like after hr 1 your going to stop use the bathroom and grab a small bite of food, after hour 2, you'll start 1 load of laundry, like I did today, grab another bite of food and fill up bottles, at hour 3, think I am done or only have X amount of time left, typically a shorter period.
Lastly make sure that no matter what the ride calls for, always make sure to add in some standing efforts, hard or not, to help relieve the pressure on your sit bones. These things help me manage a long ride and will hopefully help you.
This is how I do it. First of all I have a nice pair of noise canceling head phones, over ear are best, to listen to music, Youtube videos, live race feeds, etc... This helps me to blank out and forget about the time. Having a Powertap power meter helps to because then you can focus on always keeping in your zones. It also helps because then you know you are riding at the proper pace because thing always seem harder on a trainer. Next, I always have my computer off to the side of me, on top of my mini fridge and microwave in my dorm room, so I can easily see it and type on it. I try and plan my rides around when a live feed of a race is so I can watch and ride at the same time. Depending on the duration I need to ride, I may still have the computer connected to the charger. Then, I always have 1 towel on the top tube and 1 over my bars to wipe my face. Also a fan pointed right at me with the window cracked.
When it comes to nutrition, I always have 1 bottle in the bottle cage and a 32 oz Nalgene sitting next to the computer so I don't have to stop to fill up my bottle. Right behind the computer is a bag of Skratch Labs, so when I need a new bottle I can add in a scoop. I have some snacks near by, like a Honey Stinger gel or waffle, but if I need to eat more, I get off for a quick second, grab a bite and start again: this helps break up the time a bit. That is another tip, is to break up the time into small chunks to make it more manageable. Like after hr 1 your going to stop use the bathroom and grab a small bite of food, after hour 2, you'll start 1 load of laundry, like I did today, grab another bite of food and fill up bottles, at hour 3, think I am done or only have X amount of time left, typically a shorter period.
Lastly make sure that no matter what the ride calls for, always make sure to add in some standing efforts, hard or not, to help relieve the pressure on your sit bones. These things help me manage a long ride and will hopefully help you.
