While having a smart trainer or being led by either of the Zwift or TrainerRoad programs is a wonderful treat (who wouldn’t want to get coaching cues from Matt at the end of your interval on Zwift?!), it’s not absolutely necessary.

There will typically be three bike workouts within a week.  Two are written out as indoor trainer workouts, and one as an outdoor ride. If access to a trainer is limited, then familiarizing yourself with the intervals and structure of the workout itself will be important as you will have to translate that to the outdoor environment.  Every workout has a thorough description that leads you through the entire workout (whether riding inside and outside). You will be able to be highly successful without a trainer so don’t panic.

For example, there is often a lot of climbing or slow cadence involved in an indoor workout. Paying attention to how long to sustain those hard or slow efforts will give you an idea of what kind of hill to find to carry those out. A bike computer can help you manage your pace and heart rate as well.