Which cycling workouts have scenic routes that make indoor riding more interesting?

iFIT scenic cycling series pair trainer coaching with routes filmed in places like Acadia National Park. In a 2026 study, riders reported higher enjoyment during a 10-minute indoor ride with a virtual nature scene on screen than without a virtual scene. [1]

What is a good beginner indoor cycling workout?

The Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series with iFIT Trainer Paulo Barreto offers six beginner-friendly rides. Mayo Clinic advises people who are new to exercise to start carefully and build up slowly. [3]

What is a good workout to do over Thanksgiving week?

A short, scenic ride fits easily into a busy holiday week. The Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series offers six beginner-friendly rides of 25 minutes each, so you can fit one in before the travel starts or on a slow morning. Any amount of physical activity has some health benefits, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. [2]

How long should a beginner's indoor bike workout be?

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans say any amount of physical activity has some health benefits. [2] Mayo Clinic suggests slowly adding to the time you exercise as your energy improves. [3]

Can I ride virtual national park routes on my exercise bike?

Yes. On a NordicTrack bike with a paid iFIT membership, you can follow iFIT National Parks series filmed in locations like Acadia National Park. The post Explore America's National Parks on Your NordicTrack Equipment covers the parks and challenges available now.

Fitness

Scenic Indoor Cycling Workouts: Ride Acadia From Home

Ride the Maine coast from home with six 25-minute Acadia cycling workouts for beginners. Get a simple plan to fit them around Thanksgiving week and a look at the bikes that follow your trainer.

Nov 12, 2026

5 min read

Six beginner-friendly, 25-minute scenic cycling workouts along the Maine coast, led by iFIT Trainer Paulo Barreto in the Acadia National Park series.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Scenic indoor cycling workouts pair a filmed route with trainer coaching, and with a paid iFIT membership a NordicTrack bike follows your trainer's resistance.

In a 2026 study, 23 physically active young adults reported higher enjoyment during a ride with a virtual nature scene than during a ride without a virtual scene. [1]
The Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series offers six beginner-friendly rides with iFIT Trainer Paulo Barreto along the coast of Maine.
Mayo Clinic advises people new to exercise to start carefully and increase activity by no more than 10% a week. [3]
A short ride fits around Thanksgiving week: before the feast, the morning after, or over the long weekend.

Scenic indoor cycling workouts put a filmed route on your bike's screen while a trainer coaches the ride. The Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series with iFIT Trainer Paulo Barreto is a good example: six beginner-friendly rides along the coast of Maine, each short enough to fit into a full holiday week.

Thanksgiving week fills the calendar with travel, cooking, and company. A short ride carves out a little time for yourself. This guide covers why a change of scenery can make a ride more enjoyable, how to start as a beginner, how to fit a few rides around the holiday, and how NordicTrack bikes put a route and a trainer in charge of your effort.

Features mentioned here, such as SmartAdjust and Follow Trainer, require a paid iFIT membership.

What Makes an Indoor Ride Scenic

A scenic ride pairs trainer-led coaching with footage filmed on location. With a paid iFIT membership, your NordicTrack bike follows along, matching your trainer's resistance automatically while the route plays on the screen.

That pairing is the idea behind Better Together. The bike supplies the resistance and the mechanics. iFIT supplies the coaching, the route, and the progression.

Why Scenery Can Make Indoor Cycling More Enjoyable

A 2026 study of 23 physically active young adults compared three 10-minute indoor rides: one without a virtual scene, one with a virtual nature scene on screen, and one with a virtual urban scene. Riders reported higher enjoyment during the nature ride than during the ride without a virtual scene. [1]

Power output, speed, heart rate, and perceived exertion did not differ between the rides, so the scenery shaped how the ride felt while the work stayed the same. [1]

The researchers say the results support using virtual natural scenes on a screen as a strategy to improve the exercise experience, potentially supporting exercise adherence. [1] It was a small study, so treat it as an early signal.

Acadia National Park on Your Bike

Acadia National Park is known for its rocky coastline, forests, and mountain views, which gives the camera plenty to show while you pedal. That quiet scenery suits the pace of a holiday week.

In the Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series, Paulo Barreto leads six beginner-friendly rides along the coast of Maine. Paulo coaches resistance, cadence, and effort, and the rides are designed to build toward the next one.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, any amount of physical activity has some health benefits, and small amounts of moderate-to-vigorous activity throughout the day can help. [2]

How to Start If You Are New to Indoor Cycling

Mayo Clinic advises people who are new to exercise to start carefully and slowly build up to a moderate or vigorous intensity, increasing activity by no more than 10% a week. [3]

Mayo Clinic lists biking among low-impact activities and says cross-training with low-impact activities lowers the chance of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint. [3]

Adults need at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, like brisk walking or fast dancing, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. [2]

Listen to your body as you ride. If you feel pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or nausea, Mayo Clinic says to take a break. [3] If you have an injury or a medical condition, talk with your health care professional or fitness professional before you begin. [3]

If you want a beginner-friendly place to begin, the Acadia series has six rides with Paulo Barreto. Start the Acadia National Park 25-Minute Cycling Series.

A Thanksgiving Week Ride Plan

Three Acadia rides fit neatly around the holiday. Pick the days that suit your plans, and ride as many as feel comfortable.

Before the Feast

Take the first ride early in the week or on Thanksgiving morning, before the house fills up. It gives you 25 quiet minutes with a trainer and a view of the Maine coast.

The Morning After

Pick up the next ride in the series on the slow morning after, when the leftovers are waiting and nobody is in a hurry.

Over the Long Weekend

Save another ride for the weekend, when you have a little more time and want something to look forward to.

NordicTrack Bikes for Scenic Rides

A scenic ride works well on a bike with a screen big enough to enjoy the view. The S24 Studio Bike and the X24 Bike both have a 24-inch pivoting and tilting HD touchscreen and 24 resistance levels.

With an iFIT membership, the S24 Studio Bike follows your iFIT Trainer's resistance automatically, and when you adjust the intensity yourself, SmartAdjust uses those changes to personalize your future workouts.

The X24 Bike adds an incline range from a 10% decline to a 20% incline. With an iFIT membership, its Follow Trainer feature moves incline, decline, and resistance with your trainer's plan, so a climb on screen comes with a climb on the bike.

Pair either bike with the Acadia rides and the machine and the coaching work as one training system. For current pricing and availability, visit the product pages on NordicTrack.com.

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The primary purpose of this blog post is to inform and entertain. Nothing on the post constitutes or is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. Reliance on any information provided on the blog is solely at your own risk. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, and please consult your doctor or other health care provider before making any changes to your diet, sleep methods, daily activity, or fitness routine. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of information available on this blog. iFIT Inc assumes no responsibility for any personal injury or damage sustained by any recommendations, opinions, or advice given in this article. Always follow the safety precautions included in the owner's manual of your fitness equipment.