EEEKKK!!! I rode on a trainer....

[7rider]

OK I am a dummy. What is the diff between a roller and a trainer. My front wheel came off and it support the bottom bracket and had a rolly thing on the back.

Roller or trainer?

Trainer.
With a trainer, the bike is supported - the rear wheel (or bottom bracket) is clamped tight by the unit, the rear wheel tracks along a "rolly thingy" in back and the front wheel (usually) sits on the floor or block.
Rollers are a sort of treadmill for your bike. It is free and requires you to balance the bike to keep it upright, just like on the road. It's 3 rollers in a row - two for the back wheel, 1 for the front. Nothing attaches to the bike (however, there are some rollers that have a front wheel support that you may use until you get used to it, but that sort of defeats the purpose of them, ultimately).

p.s. Han-grrl....some rollers have resistance units. My DH's does. Mine does not and cannot accept one. But yeah, they can be tricky to learn!

[rocknrollgirl]

OK, so mine was a trainer....roller sounds like a crash waitin' to happen!