Welcome to the forum, Mia...

Hmmm, is the trainer harder?

Yes, I think so... I find it very hard to motivate myself to go on the trainer... I always put music up very loud to help me focus on rhythm and less on how many more kms/minutes I have to keep doing it for.

Also taped some races from TV coverage... and riding with The Tour up the alps, or doing the cycling leg of this country's Coast to Coast is a good way to keep going to.

You'll find a trainer is not only boring it is also much hotter - no wind to cool you down... but, on the other hand, if you pop a cycling computer on it (magnet on the rear wheel) you can make things more interesting too... you can set your resistence to emulate different conditions and practice cadence and all sorts...

Good luck, turn that music (Beth Hart or melissa Etheridge or the Indigo Girls are great!) up real loud and go for it!