16 of the best lockdown pain caves and turbo training set ups

Brrrr! It’s only the second week of November, and when heading out on rides first thing there’s already a light covering of frost coating the countryside. As beautiful as this may be, with Lockdown 2.0 now underway group rides are off again. Riding alone (or with those in your household/support bubble) or with one person from another household are the government’s new Covid-19 rules until at least 2nd December.

To get your group ride fitness fix, virtual platforms such as Zwift beckon. This means heading to the indoor pain cave…

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We asked you to show us your indoor training set ups. From basic garages to lavish home gyms, you delivered on sharing the neatest, the messiest and the most bizarre pain caves. Here are some of the best submissions, showing a full range, from the budget to the pricey...

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Marti Jerrard has strategically placed his workout setup just in front of his ‘recovery drinks’… He says, “I love my pain cave as I can see the beer fridge which is a great incentive.”

We think that's smart thinking using the box the fan came in to elevate it. Then there's the ironing board to prop up the tablet. Genius. You might be thinking a bit too much pink going on... well, there's a good (but bad) explanation for that. @FariqBAzaha confessed: “I shamelessly converted my daughter’s bedroom to a pain cave”.

Now, this is more like it. The Wattbike takes pride of place in Ross Glass's garage, flanked by a full range of bikes. But we don't think that fan is going to be that effective...

Talking about fans, @neilegjohn has opted for the slightly overhead headwind in his shed suffer hideout. Loving the wooden stand for the tablet. Is that three screens? Sorted!

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You lot are great at coming up with innovative ideas for propping up phones or tablets. Vincent Corpus seems to be making versatile use of a music sheet stand here. And let's take a second to appreciate that bike storage system... simple and smart.

A Wahoo Kickr turbo paired with the Climb Indoor Grade Simulator, as well as a sizeable television… now that’s a next level setup going on in Simon Plant's house. Good to see white road shoes staying nice and white indoors.

But who said you need a road bike and setup to have fun spinning the legs indoors. Tiva Monty has hooked up her Brompton folding bike to a turbo. What you can't see in the photo is her banging tunes. Tiva said: "My downstairs neighbour loves me now."

Tucked away in the eaves of Paul Barnard's upstairs landing, we think this an impressive use of space for an indoor turbo setup. What's more, you see that other saddle by the cupboard? Paul shares this Wahoo Kickr and Headwind setup with his wife and daughter. We love to see the whole family catching the virtual cycling bug!

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What makes a pain cave less painful? Riding next to someone who is also giving it their all! Mike Beggs’s garage is roomy enough for two. Black and white? That's art, that is.

Martin Riley’s set up first appears to be a lovely, decorated room with inspiring racing photos and a collection of cycling jerseys. That is until you see (and can’t unsee) the OTT boobs in that bikini jersey…

"Did you say the messiest?" Daren Chandisingh attempts to take the lead in the clutter competition. But those perfectly lined rows of Zwift water bottles and MucOff lubes are letting you down Daren! And wait till you see the next submission...

Quite simply, @rwilloe says "I prefer a bit of chaos". But there's enough of that already going on inside Watopia with hundreds of bodies gliding through each other! @rwilloe may have some unnecessary handlebar friends. Yes, that's you, bell and empty GoPro case... That said, always sensible to have a mattress ready for collapsing onto post-ride.

Now for the clutter-free and the very green! Paul Gilmour has got himself a well-lit space for turbo sweatfests. It's not all about the legs in this pain cave—it's nicely specced out with a chin-up setup and boxing punchbag.

Apparently you lot like green floors. Here's another! And that rather looks like a weights bench for, god forbid, more cyclists doing upper body workouts?! Are we going to lose our rep as skinny armed cyclists? To become... triathletes? Shocking scenes occurring this lockdown.

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Sheltered but airy, Glenn McMenamin's garage pain cave seems spot on for staying cool without the irritating whirling of a fan. Wait, two Porsches? Or just one and an aspirational car cover?

Kraig Murtaugh has squeezed his two workout setups neatly and compactly together in this pain cave room.

Thanks for all your submissions, it's been fascinating seeing all the different pain caves. If you've got an indoor training setup you want to share, please do so in the comments section below!