What to Watch When Stuck on an Indoor Trainer
A little bit of living vicariously goes a long way.
Indoor training is not my favorite way to ride. I’m betting it’s not yours, either. But if you live anywhere that gets cold in the winter, there’s a good chance it becomes a necessary part of life during the offseason.
So what do you do when you’re stuck in one place for hours and hours? Well, maybe you’re into Zwift. Maybe you can close your eyes and listen to podcasts.
My strategy, though, is to mix TV with vicarious cycling adventures, usually delivered via YouTube.
Trainers Feel Better with FPV
Only a handful of the cycling videos I watch are actually in first person video, but that’s sort of beside the point. When I am stuck inside, motivation waning, it’s helpful to have videos of other peoples’ adventures to inspire me. They remind me why I’m on the trainer, what I’m training for. The concurrent acts of pedaling my bike and watching the road go by on the screen make videos like these feel immersive, even on the little ten inch tablet screen I usually use when I’m riding indoors.
I’ve actually gotten in the (admittedly rather strange) habit of saving videos to my “Watch Later” playlist on YouTube for the express purpose of keeping me entertained while I’m on the trainer.
I also think the length of the average YouTube video is an important factor here. While there are certainly some longer videos out there (including many that I’ll reference below), YouTube is often delivered in 15-ish minute chunks, which is great for indoor riding. For me, it helps me feel like I’m always making progress. On the trainer, I’ll sometimes catch myself in looking down at my cycling computer too often, feeling like it must have been ten or more minutes already and discovering it’s actually been, at best, two. Having a short(er) video reminds me that I shouldn’t look down until its over; and when it is over, I’ll be rewarded by seeing that a larger portion of my planned indoor ride is ticked off.
On To the Recommendations!
That’s plenty of why; let’s get onto the what. I’m going to recommend a number of YouTube channels here, and more specifically playlists on those channels. But let’s get things started with a wider-reaching playlist I’ve curated myself.
Ultra Inspiration
If you’re reading this, there’s a decent chance you’re here because you like bikepacking, ultra racing, and/or randonneuring. That’s what this playlist is all about. Use it to find a new race to sign up for, or just to fuel some wanderlust.
There’s heavy representation from the Transcontinental Race, of course, plus a number of other marquee ultra events. This isn’t a comprehensive playlist of ultra videos, but rather a curation of some of my favorites, including a couple that are just bikepacking.
It’s also a playlist I’m continually adding to; perhaps I’ll discuss any notable additions here in the future.
Roving Cyclist - Ultra Inspiration Playlist
Channels Worth Following
Ok, let’s get into some of my favorite channels, and especially playlists within those channels, for watching while on the indoor trainer. Many of these recommendations will stray from a strict “Bikepacking and Ultra” theme, but they’re nonetheless fantastic for making trainer time enjoyable.
Syd & Macky
This might be my all-around favorite cycling channel on YouTube, even though it’s a channel about mountain biking rather than bikepacking or ultra distance. Syd and Macky are relentlessly positive without pushing rose covered glasses on the world and are great storytellers. The mix of commentary and POV footage is great for the trainer.
They’ve done a number of stage races over the years, with videos for each day’s stage. Their 2023 BC Bike Race series is a great place to start.
Cade Media
While overall not among my very favorite cycling channels, the bikepacking (using the term somewhat loosely) playlists are worth your eye. At least a couple times a year, channel owner Francis Cade will collect a couple friends and head out on an adventure somewhere in the world.
2024 saw excursions in India and Thailand, but I’d recommend starting with this lengthy (53 video long!) journey coast-to-coast across the USA.
Ed Pratt
If you’re into bikepacking, what about unicycle packing? No, I’m not kidding.
However impractical it might be, it sure seems like a lot of fun in its own way. Ed sort of specializes in “challenge” adventures, whether on a unicycle or not, but it’s the unicycle videos that are most worth your time.
To get a taste of Ed as a mature creator, his Unicycling Across Latvia playlist is a good option; or, to see what he’s really famous for, you can jump straight into his earlier Unicycling The World playlist, although leaping forward all the way to video 27 will skip you past some of the growing pains of a new channel/creator without missing much of the story.
Impossible Route
Technically this is a playlist on Tyler Pearce/VC Adventures’ channel, although I believe these videos are now technically owned by Jeremiah Bishop. That said, they were made to stand along as high production value cycling adventure films. (And they do.)
These are crazy - and crazy fun - adventures, slickly told and engagingly captured.
Consider the VC Adventures channel as an honorable mention here, although your mileage may vary on the “bro”-y tone. He just did a lengthy series on a Pacific route from Canada to Mexico that’s a pretty good time.
Life Time Grand Prix
Yes, this is a corporate channel for a race promoter. Yes, this is primarily a channel about a gravel/MTB race series.
It doesn’t matter. The “Call of a Life Time” and series race recaps are expertly produced high drama. If the goal is to inspire you to keep pedaling through the winter, these videos will do exactly that.
In 2022 and 2023 we had to wait for all episodes at the end of the season; in 2024, Life Time turned them around about 2-3 days after each race. (Perhaps for this reason, the 2024 playlist is chronologically backwards, so it might take a little more engagement to play through all of those recaps.)
BuzzAlong
It may seem strange to have a channel explicitly about randonneuring and ultra racing so low down this list. That isn’t a reflection of the best videos on this channel, but rather the “content” filler (that is by no means unique to this channel, but in my opinion unnecessary given the quality of the best work). I just don’t enjoy the podcast and gear review videos on this channel as much as I do on other channels.
All that aside, the race and brevet videos are pretty great! The TransIberica video is on my Ultra Inspiration playlist, and there are several others from the likes of TCR, Badlands, and more. The best place to start, though, might be this series leading up to the 2023 Paris-Brest-Paris.
NorCal Cycling
Here’s another recommendation that makes this list not because it has anything to do with randonneuring or bikepacking, but because it makes for engaging riding on an indoor trainer.
This channel is all about crit racing, but the POV video and detailed commentary keep race recaps exciting. That’s most of what this channel is about, so this playlist could keep you occupied for quite a while. Or, for a more curated option, maybe try this playlist covering the 2023 Intelligentsia Cup.
Ryan Van Duzer
Want something with a little slower pace? A non-race approach to bicycle adventures? Here’s your guy. He’s a little goofy, but genuine and friendly, and one of the best voices for more people doing more things on bikes.
I found Ryan with the LoveCycles Cross-USA adventure, but Ryan’s 2020 solo adventure on the GDMBR is also a good place to start.
Honorable Mentions
These channels aren’t consistently my cup of tea, especially for passing time on the trainer, but they are consistently about long-distance cycling, and you might find that they speak to you!
Josh Ibbett
*Note - I love Josh for Ultra race commentary, which doesn’t fit the “keep me engaged on an indoor trainer” bill quite so well. I do also enjoy many of his bikepacking videos, which are more on-theme.Rausgefahren
*If you’re ok with German language and/or reading subtitles.
Cool Down
I’ve left off a number of other channels I do follow avidly just because they aren’t as much a fit with the theme of this list. Dylan Johnson, Ted King, Dani Shrosbree, Singletrack Sampler, Berm Peak - these and more are fantastic cycling channels on YouTube and are well worth your time. Maybe they’ll be the magic bullet against indoor trainer boredom for you!
And if I’ve failed to mention your favorite creator, channel, or video series, please let me know. I am forever on the lookout for great new inspiration and would love to check them out. Drop me a comment and let’s get into it!