Trainer Road question

Yes, they have several different plans that you can follow,  and as tri808 mentioned, all of their workouts are categorized and easily searchable.

The ever-popular Jorge plan is on there, too, so right off the bat you've got something you could jump into.  Then they've got a number of plans for building endurance, etc...

Go crazy:

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/plans

Less tongue in cheek, start with the first one, and see how it goes. I'm finding that with the appropriate FTP entered (do the test), it's plenty good for starters, even for a nonbeginner cyclist. Once you start getting used to the steady state stuff, you can start the serious pain workouts in the higher intensities. 

Virtaul power is a great measuring tool for your progress.  It's not as precise as an actual power meter (at least that's the general consensus I've read) but it can tell you a lot more about your progress than a HRM.  I think a lot of people would suggest getting the candence sensor if you're going to use TR.

I think the general consensus is the power numbers will not be the same as a power meter, however the power curve will be similar within a small margin of error.

I'm on week 2 of the Fink competitive plan and using TrainerRoad exclusively right now. I'll also be merging a 12 week marathon build in the middle of it for a Memorial Day marathon. But ... yes ... I decide what kind of ride I want to do and select close to the time that Fink is calling for.

I'm not really into Fink's 30 min 100rpm rides, so yesterday I selected a 45 minute endurance ride from TR (Birch, I think). That felt easy enough to be close to what Fink wanted and my Avg cadence was at 90. I usually go pretty hard for the Wednesday brick rides ... lately I've been choosing Threshold rides, but I'll look into VO2 and Anaerobic rides for those as well. I'm still getting my cycling legs back after a run focused period.

I use the same screen name on TrainerRoad as well if you feel the need to look at what I'm doing as the plan progresses. 

another question? How do you know when to change gears or what gear do you start in. Just trying to figure out how it works. I looked at the website and it doesn't mention it.

Personally I try to pick the gear that fits in with the suggested power goal (keeping the bar in the green) and cadence of 85-95.  If it is asking for more power, shift.  Or if you ever have a question about their site or program, the master of TrainerRoad, Nate, or the others replies very quickly and thoroughly.

If you're using virtual power, you need the speed sensor, not cadence.  You can use the combined speed/cadence sensor, it just has to have speed.  I do recommend having cadence as well, I've been using it more now as I'm trying to find my sweet spot with cadence.  Having the number on the screen is helping me with that.

So virtual power is determined by the speed of the wheel and the fluid trainer with a known power curve.  The trainer is selected under "devices".  Note that the trainer must be a fluid or air resistance unit; that means the faster the wheel turns, the more the resistance increases.  Magnetic trainers don't do this, they typically have an adjustment knob you set yourself.  TrainerRoad doesn't have that information, so it can't tell power directly from wheel speed.

So if you have all this set up correctly, pedaling faster or shifting gears (with the same pedal cadence) will result in wheel speed change, which will show up as a change in power.  As you progress through a workout, the target power will change, and you'll need to either shift gears or change cadence to stay on that power level.

I probably made this sound more complicated than it really is.

The advantage of using power/virtual power over HRM is the instant feedback you get, heart rate takes so long to change, it is really kind of a last resort, unless you're doing a long endurance ride, IMHO.

For straight up TR workouts you get to choose the gear you want.  You just have to match the power number they ask for.

If you are in a easy gear, and they want 250 FTP you are going to need to have 200+ cadence... so you will likely switch to a harder gear.  If you are in your hardest gear, and you come to a rest period you would have to go down to 20 cadence so you will switch to an easier one.

If you do some Sufferfest videos (or some of the others) the video might suggest a cadence, TR will tell you the power.  The only way to match those two will be to find the right gear.

I actually find Sufferfest cadence suggestions to change too frequently and I so I often just try to keep the power level right.

Some of the TR workouts have instructions in them as well, but not many of them.

If you start using their set programs or even if you don't, some of the programs will have instructions.  They will tell you to use a certain cadence at different times.  If they don't say or if the ride doesn't have instructions then just find a gear that allows to you give the desired power output at your natural cadence.  you will find with the set programs that about 1/3 of the rides have instructions.  I started with the Intermediate Base I program and am now into the Base II program.  Ive noticed a substantial gain in power output.