I purchased a PowerTap power meter last year and have been training inside with watts all winter. This has included 3-4 workout per week ranging from 90 minutes to 2 hours, mostly hard intervals.  My power increased for the first 6 weeks but then plateaued. Recently, it's taking much more effort to generate the same wattage that I easily produced in January. What's worse, I just did my first group ride outside and people I hammered last summer dropped me like a bad habit. I know they haven't worked as hard all winter as I have. What's going on? 

I've heard that you should cover your legs when the temperature is below 65F. I live in the mountains and we have several feet of snow, but last weekend the sun was shining, the roads were dry and the thermometer said  67. So I peeled off my leg warmers -- and now I have sore knees. What happened?

I've been riding when temperatures get above 25F degrees, but I recently read about a pro who says he never rides outside if it's below 40.  I can't be tougher than a pro, can I? What is the minimum temperature for training outside? 

I'm confused about long early-season rides. Should I include intervals and other hard efforts during this training?

Snowshoeing has become the hot crosstraining sport among the local cyclists in my area, but I don't see the connection to riding a bike. What's the carryover to cycling?

I took up cycling three years ago and have gotten progressively addicted. Last year I rode almost 15,000 miles including many centuries. I could do it because I lived in Arizona.  But I moved to Wisconsin in September and can't ride outside due to the cold and snow. I'm getting depressed and morose. This may seem like a silly reaction, but I'm serious. I mope around. I've lost my appetite and given up a social life because all my friends were cyclists and now I don't see them.  Don't tell me to train indoors or cross-country ski.  I want to ride! 

I'm a relatively new rider and have read that a higher cadence is better, so I'm trying to increase mine to 100 rpm. I have no trouble maintaining 95-100 with my bike on a trainer, but when I reach 95 on the road, it feels unnatural. Is there something about riding outside that makes me want to use a lower cadence than I should?

If I watch a sports show on TV and get tight muscles and a high heart rate from the excitement, does that count as time spent doing mental training like visualization?

How long should I ride on the indoor trainer in the off-season? I race up to 112 miles in Ironman triathlons. A well-respected triathlon coach says to limit indoor rides to 2 hours, but with races over 6 hours this seems short.

My business schedule requires me to train indoors during the week even during warm months. I want to find a good "spinning" bike for this purpose because I don't like the feel of mag and fluid trainers. But I want one that tells me power output in watts. Any recommendations?

I bet you're sick of questions about how to escape boredom on the trainer, but this winter has gone on forever and I'm still grinding away in the basement.  I try to pedal for at least an hour, four days a week. I've followed all your previous workout advice.  Do you have any other sanity-saving ideas till the weather finally allows me to ride outside? 

I just moved to the frozen north from a state where I could ride year-round. I got an indoor trainer but have one major problem: I sweat buckets! After 30 minutes my bike, T-shirt and carpet are soaked. What's the solution?

I recently bought a set of rollers for indoor riding. Although I can balance while in a doorway so I can brace my arms, I wobble a lot. How can I get steadier? 

This winter I'm training at a health club that has a leg-press machine and spinning bikes.  What's the correct way to combine these two activities?

I want to do step-ups this winter for added leg strength, but don't know how tall the box should be. I am 5-foot-3 and ride a 50-cm frame.