I’m conflicted:

I’ve got a cold, so probably not

The outlaws are here for the weekend, so probably

Well after a really good three laps yesterday around the watopia hilly route, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to do the three sisters today.

Now I have only done the mountain route once which was brutal, I’d only been on zwift a week and I am not a cyclist, but I figured 5 weeks in how bad can it be?

Bad.

I should have known I was in for a long ride when I went over the hilly Kom only a few seconds outside my pb. Laboured my way up the mountain with hardly anyone else around apart from one bloke who flew past me. Probably because so few people wish to flog themselves I managed the 5th fastest time to the epic Kom.

The radio tower just painful but the downhill was great respite. I got to the volcano Kom and one calf muscle seized. Managed to get over it and the other one seized. Got to the finish and of course thought “well I’ve done 48k so why not just round it up to 50k”.

Managed that and both calves seized as I got off the bike. It was the longest I’d ever been on the trainer at 1hour 47min. I have no idea how people manage 100k plus.

Interestingly zwift upped my ftp which I assume was all the hill climbing putting me over my average for long periods of time. I am getting perilously close to B grade level but don’t want to go up as I will get smashed.

Now Im not trolling as I’ve joined Zwift and picking up a smart turbo tomorrow. That said reading the last few pages it seems a lot of you dont actually ride real bikes anymore and are talking some secret language. Please tell me Im wrong .?

course we ride real bikes

just in our garages 😆

Personally I mountain bike on the weekends.

Zwift has let me ride during the week without worrying about the weather, if it’s dark, freezing etc. It also takes less time to do as you don’t have to wipe your bike down afterwards etc. I find it is also easier to fit into a busy work week and as I use exercise to simply make me feel good, it works for me.

………..

I’m similar to jk. I still ride my mtb 2-3 times a week. I just aim to fit 2 or 3 zwift races in as and when I can.
For example, Saturday morning, the kids were busy doing their thing and I had 1.5 hours before I had to take them and the mrs for flu jabs, then pop over to my parents and then pick up the shopping. That window coincided with enough time to do the 42km WBR 9.05 race. Did that, showered and was ready in plenty of time (even if the legs were a bit wobbly). Today I’ll be riding in the mud with my mates for a few hours.
There’s no doubt that using zwift has made me a lot quicker in the real world and for me that’s exactly what I want from it.

I do like riding real bikes but here in Leeds we have had nothing less than 20mph winds for a week except friday when four days of racing meant i didnt want to go anywhere near a bike. Plus the only trails for me to do locally are swamped and no fun at all plus those pesky kids of mine keep demanding my time. My future lies with zwift but my crystal ball tells me there might be a monday road bike outing as the wind might not be too bad (still 10mph).

That said reading the last few pages it seems a lot of you dont actually ride real bikes anymore and are talking some secret language. Please tell me Im wrong .?

I’m time poor at the minute, so a real bike ride is a rare thing. And waiting for opportunities with no biking in-between has a price in the form of new trousers with a larger waist. If it wasn’t for a couple OF Zwift sessions this week I’d be looking at 1 ride in 3 weeks. Things are starting to ease up on that front but it’ll be at least another year before regular outdoor rides are normal again.

As for secret languages, yes, that appears to be correct.

Commute on London’s roads Monday to Friday (weather permitting) I’ve lost the confidence to do long weekend cycles at the moment for two reasons;
A) someone used their car as a weapon against me last time.
B) I’m moving to a LCHF diet/nutrition – really don’t want to bonk 25+ miles from home.

Stats wise I’ve done 3,917 out of 6,250 miles outside so far this year.

Group ride in 20 folks 😆

The addition of the 😆 makes this group ride sound somewhat ominous.

Is that on the calendar?

As I’ve said before, I see Zwift as a place as much as a thing. A place to ride, a place to race, a place to train, a place to chat to folks.
Even now I’m using Trainerroad, I do the workouts on Zwift so I’ve ‘been’ somewhere 😆

I still ride road and trails. But it’s a lot easier to find 45min to Zwift than 3 hours to ride out.

I did 6 hours out yesterday and potentially a few hours today too, but it’s quite rare I have this much time free.

AHH, mobile link app found.

and done.

The last 2km was a race to the finish for those interested, I was because I’m a child 😆

Stopka went off the front with about 10km to go…

The rest of the group stayed together for 97/99km, couple of folks dropped off the back and a one point I was 90s from the group trying to get them back on until they said they couldn’t cycle at pace any further. Fair play for them carrying on though!

https://zwiftpower.com/race.php?id=13001

Nice Nath, no idea how you stay focussed for so long on the trainer. I did 50km while watching Better Call Saul and I was already losing my mind a bit. Good work!

Double post 😯

I do most of it before I’ve even woke up:
Literally get out of bed, missus hands me a pint of black coffee and before I know it I’m on the turbo – the rest of the time is music (fleetwood mac radio) and sweeping people back into the main group (so it’s a good workout for me). Only really start to notice the miles when I hit the wall around 75% in, then it’s a louzy 3-5 mins before I’m full of energy again. 😆

I hit the wall around 75% in, then it’s a louzy 3-5 mins before I’m full of energy again

You can really go off some people 😐

First group ride today with a wee jaunt up box hill to take my initial week up to 100km.

Roughly 100km more than either of the past two weeks.

No racing for a while yet!

CH says I should be more arrogant, see what it does 😆

Nice work piemonster!

it’s a louzy 3-5 mins before I’m full of energy again.

See, I’m the exact opposite, I’ll feel great for a random 3-5 mins, then feel shocking for the rest of the ride.

Nice work piemonster!

It was a solid hanging off the back of the Cat D pack pace effort! 😀

Actually, I’m less fussed about the fact I’m unfit. More fussed about how psychologically easy it was to ride 50km today on a turbo.

I’ll be glad when the electric fan arrives and I need sort some music out.

Since I’ve been doing the races, both zwift and real life enduros, I’ve been getting cramp in my hamstrings in the evening. I use the zero hydration tablets in the drinks when riding and it’s not something I’ve generally had a problem with before now. Any tips on how to avoid it as it’s making me weep like a baby in front of my children.

Are you stretching after riding? I was shown one by a bike fitter where you put one foot on about the 3rd step of your stairs, one on the floor, raised leg bent as if you are trying to leap up the stairs 3 at a time. Then lean forward and hug the raised leg. Then straighten raised leg while still hugging to get the stretch.

Other hamstring stretches are available.

No, I never stretch after riding 😳

Will give it a whirl. Thanks.

Another good hamstring stretch and one you can do in front of the telly, is to put your leg up on the arm of your sofa and pull that leg’s hip back all the while keeping your back straight.

Well my planned real world ride today on the only decent weather day this week has been well and truly scuppered. Child no 3 decided to try and stand on a football but the football thought otherwise and threw her off and broke her arm! 6 hours in A&E last night so keeping her at home with me today, it seems a full time career as a zwift domestique is my destiny. I wonder if i could make a living from being a pacesetter in zwift for people get themselves PB’s and jerseys.

eeeeek. Poor lad… I’m still astounded we’ve made it to nearly 10 years old without A&E for my lad.

GWS little lass.

I am afraid its in their genetics as i have had many broken bones. Child no 2 only came out of pot last week after breaking his little finger in a door! They are twins aged 4 so i guess it could be a twin thing. They started school in september and i reckon the teacher is going to get quite bored of having to sort my kids out on the toilet.

i think a WBR race is going to get my attention today, may be a strong ride filled with missed outside riding opportunity might create a fast one.

I’m still debating plans.

Theres a KISS 2nd base which is not only a shortish race, but in theory no Bs dragging some people along as it’s C/D cats only. It’s on a flat course too…. but… My legs are knackered after a tough ride on Sat/Sun, even though Sat was a gentle pace for me, it was still 70km off-road, Sunday was shorter, but pushed hard on a few segments, which sadly only resulted in a couple of PRs outdoors, i wanted more !.

So with that in mind, plus the fact it’s day1 of fasting on the 5-2.. Well… Hmmmmm

Interesting riding this morning, was in the EVR race sat nicely in 3rd for cat B and just warming up to a fast pace at 9km in when i had a puncture! So i abandoned that race and went for the WBR an hour or so later. It was a fast pace or felt like it and i was in the leading group of 4 cat B for pretty much the whole way round. So it boiled down to a sprint after we all tried to jump each other on hills leading up to the finish. I went for it with 300m to go and managed to dip in front of someone on the line for GOLD. it was very satisfying to win a bunch sprint and it turns out my time was nearly 2 minutes quicker than the B winner in the abandond evr race earlier so alls well that ends well.

Damn fella… time for an upgrade to the big boys ?

I cant see that happening weeksy, i think anger and frustration fuelled the ride today as i still hadnt eaten anything due to abandoned ever race (possibly the wonders of last nights late chinese takeaway still coursing through my body).

Had to bail on diet day, I was sitting there almost falling asleep at 4pm and got up, nearly fell over as I was feeling dizzy! Did it again 10 min later. I took it as a sign to eat stuff,!

Blader, your race reflects what Weeksy did the other day when he bailed on a race and then went and smashed an outdoor ride afterwards. I wonder if it’s a sign ‘we’ don’t warm up thoroughly enough??

Reason I say that is that I’ve noticed it in my TR interval sessions. They all have a block of around 90% of the first hard work effort during the warm up. And they always feel impossibly hard!
Then you spin lightly for five minutes and BOOM! The first work effort feels easier despite being 10% or more difficult!

I’ve always shied away from intense warm ups for fear of burning a match but perhaps that’s the wrong philosophy?

Well, I had an pleasant surprise tonight.

Firstly, I rage quit on a SZR SUB2.5 group ride. I got dropped after 1 lap and could barely turn out 130w on the flat without busting a bollock out of my forehead. I sacked it off after 20km and slumped on the futon. Then I had a thought…..

Set turbo back up and tried to calibrate it…..fail. Update firmware, recalibrate…….fail. Back off the pressure significantly……top end of the tightness scale. Spend 5 minutes getting it right and in the sweet spot.

I hopped back on and did a lap of the hilly loop. 😈 POWWWWWEEEEER! Muahahaha, I felt like a rocketship! Where I’d barely been able to put out 2w/kg before, I was now easily hitting 3! Over the last couple of weeks all my rides have been averaging about 140w, which wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m able to beat my PB on local trails, so why not here. On the 12km loop I was averaging about 230w! Nearly 100w for free.

So from now on I think I need to invest a bit of time doing the calibration after a warm up. This is probably Zwift 101, but thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve calibrated it at all this winter 🙄

There must be science behind the intense warmups before the FTP tests on Zwift?

At the moment I’ll be using my commute home as a warmup and then jumping straight onto the trainer – hopefully for 30s leg spin to get the blood flowing a bit before all hell breaks lose. 😆

Yes Nath, the reason they have those (and Trainerroad do too) is to dent your anaerobic stash and help stop you over-inflating your figure. That’s why a surge at the end is a bad sign.