25yo Female 1st FTP test - never ever trained for cycling (runner) - is this good or not?

[MattyK]

I'm not offended, but when someone new turns up and quickly manages to to call someone a rude jerk by misinterpreting their post, I'm highly likely to respond by not offering any support.

Yes, riding on the road involves a level of risk. The skill is in learning to understand where those risks are, and taking appropriate actions to avoid them.

[mikesbytes]

Hi 007, you have had some excellent advice from some of the top experts in Australia so I won't repeat significantly what they have already advised.

Typically I see runners as being quick to transition to sports cycling, especially if they had a bit of experience with recreational cycling of the like. I am example of that, finding myself competitive in masters racing in only my second year of sports cycling, though elite will have a tougher entry.

Track cycling will help you build the cycling skills noted in other posts while meeting your parents desire for you not to interact with motor traffic.

And at any point where you do decide to start riding on the road you can point out to your parents that the biggest killer in Australia is inactivity combined with poor diet. This kills almost 3 people for every person killed by smoking

[Derny Driver]

Track cycling will help you build the cycling skills noted in other posts while meeting your parents desire for you not to interact with motor traffic.

Not really. Track cyclists train on the road as well as on the track and the ergo.
Track skills are very different to road riding and racing.

[madmacca]

"However, my parents won't let me ride on the roads outside at this stage"
Must say I find this statement a bit concerning for a 25yo.

I'm sorry that I have a good relationship with my parents and value their opinion. They've been on this earth a lot longer than me.
If I were to start cycling outside on the roads, I wouldn't feel happy without them feeling comfortable with my safety. I don't want them worrying about me - that would be selfish on my behalf. I want them to understand that cycling can be safe, providing you learn how to make it safe.

I find it concerning that at the age of 25, I'm clearly a lot more mature than you in that I consider the feelings of others when I make my decisions.

I think some people were reacting to "my parents won't let me", which is different from "my parents are concerned about the safety of road cycling". At age 15, the former stops becoming acceptable, at age 25 people start to see the sense of (even if they don't agree with) the latter. It is the 10 years in between that people tend to do stupid stuff.

I'd suggest looking at Strava heatmaps for your local area - this will help show routes close to you that are popular with cyclists (most likely because they are safer).

Zwift doesn't teach all the skills of road riding, but the controlled environment of a static trainer can be good when recovering from an injury. And many experienced cyclists use Zwift for specific structured intervals, or to stay consistent with their training in poor weather. So be aware of the limitations of Zwift, but there is no need to apologise for using it.