On every road and bike path in the northern hemisphere, leaves turn brown and compost waits to become mulch. The days are getting shorter and the long winter nights creep in. For some, this means a true off-season; for others (myself included), it means putting on winter gear and leaving the jet wash at the door.

But for many, the last glorious ride of summer before the season turns bad can mean only one thing: time for indoor cycling. In the past, turbo training was pretty boring, with no distractions apart from the awful ride on the wheel-on-trainer and the next interval on the TV, music, or goofy handlebar-mounted stopwatch. Today, there is a plethora of hardware and software available to make indoor cycling more fun, more comfortable, and more convenient.

If you're looking for solid buying advice, we've got you covered with an in-depth test of the best smart trainers on the market and a guide to choosing the best indoor cycling app for you. For my part, I've also prepared a feature exploring the fuzzy edges of the genre, like my decision to return to turbo after a 10-year absence. [Dust off your turbo towels, pair all your peripherals, and turn on the big fan.