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[Closed] STW Zwift Autumn Series 2

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@robbo1234biking - I don't seem to have received an invite for tonights race? Still up for it if it is not too late.

In keeping with most other people here, think my FTP has dropped from my summer "peak" - partly through injury and partly through laziness. Measure over the weekend and seemed to have dropped to 299W. Remeasured it because was struggling to keep up with training plans that I was breezing in the summer.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 4:08 pm
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I've joined in on this, should be fun. Just got a 'dumb' turbo I'm borrowing from a friend and speed and cadence sensors I bought from Wiggle. Won't be taking it too seriously but it will help with my fitness I think.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 4:15 pm
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Sorry crazy Harry you should have the invite now!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 4:17 pm
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This will be interesting, fell off at speed last week (not off the trainer 🤕) and ribs are still a bit sore. Will make it to the start line but not sure I’ll stay the course.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 4:37 pm
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DrP no you can’t do that, who’s going to help me around after the lead groups drops me on the first proper climb?


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 5:04 pm
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Bugger. I'm going to have to duck out of tonight. Work deadline and family stuff means I can't fit it in. Gutted but will be on the start line for next one - and Sundays little jaunt. Might treat myself to a ramp test tomorrow instead! Ride well people.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:05 pm
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Going to start my warmup soon 😂


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:10 pm
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I'm starting mine about 7:27


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:11 pm
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@slowpuncheur, Sundays jaunt is on Saturday Lol! Don't want you missing that too haha! Shame you can't make it tonight but everyone usually misses one or two, we don't take it too serious it's all for fun.

I'm only just about to leave work myself so my race is to hit the start line in time 😉


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:11 pm
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I’m a bit thick. So, having never done a meet up, but reading this thread...

I’ll not be on the line on a turbo pre-event, like a normal race?
Wherever I am in Watatopia warming up, at 7.30 I’ll be transferred to the group?
There’s no start as such, we’ll form a group with Rob at the front?
At some point, once we’re all together there’ll be a signal to race?

Is that about right? Just finishing my pre-race massage now...


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:36 pm
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Yeh that’s about it although you should get the join meet up button about 5-15 minutes before hand.

Signal to race is ‘Go, go, go’ then it just becomes a normal Zwift race basically!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:42 pm
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It's the same but not in a holding pen. You all just sit at the road side.

You'll get the normal button to jump to event as per races


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:44 pm
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Is that about right? Just finishing my pre-race massage now…

You do that too?


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:44 pm
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Thanks both. 🙂

You do that too?

I thought the thread was looking very serious, so I’ve broken out the sweet almond oil...


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:51 pm
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Errrm. I'm scared.

No pics!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:54 pm
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I will be streaming. Will post the link shortly if anyone cares.

Edit, should be here


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 7:55 pm
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Going to have to skip this week sorry folks, work has rather gotten in the way.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 8:18 pm
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Anyone getting the join yet?


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 8:21 pm
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No button! Resend Robbo please


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 8:24 pm
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Weeksy. Robo can't resend, try saying you won't go and then will go.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 8:28 pm
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That was a spectacular fail on timing on the second lap sprint, where I started on the banner. I tried to then use it as a solo breakaway, but had too much massage oil on my hands and kept slipping off the goods hoods. Honest.

Need to learn some Zwift etiquette.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:22 pm
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I was toying with the idea of giving tonight a miss as have lost my mojo a bit. Decided to give it a go, but mentally quit second time up the climb despite the pace being not too bad.

Ended up spinning round the 2nd half of the race waiting for it to finish so I could pour myself some wine..

Not the mindset of a champion it has to be said..😂


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:29 pm
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Well that went all wrong then all ok.

Couldn't get in race so jumped in on phone and that let me in.

However, no Comms meant I totally missed the go go go and got left for dead. Myself and Craig iatr? (top ride mate) flew after riders and for 1.5 laps went caught quite a few who jumped on with us.
But on lap 3 up the hill I got spat out unceremoniously. Nowt I could do to hold, they were over 4w/kg up it and whilst I could have done that on lap 1, but not on 3rd lap. So I was out the back of the group.

It was then a slog to the line, I was trying to help my new buddy but I couldn't.
He scalped me up to the line though and I couldn't respond.

All in all, I gave plenty but missing the start killed me.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:31 pm
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Great ride with some of the C crew, was about 5 of us for most of the race after the lead group dropped us, but seemed to pick up loads of others from somewhere about halfway through the last lap! Final hill blew it apart and then there was a proper race for the line, sadly my legs failed me about 200m to go and I had nothing left to contest the sprint finish with!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:35 pm
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I think we had a very similar ride, Steve. I was waiting to see when it would kick off, and took a drink, by the time I put it down the group had gone. I find it really hard to regulate the power to keep the pace even when in a pair, but I think we did alright.

Sorry for going for the sprint - I felt a bit of a knob 🙂

Craig (IATR)


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:35 pm
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At no point during that race did I feel any better than "a bit ropey".

I think that short steep climb is the worst to race in zwift, too short to settle into a rhythm, too long to go for it all the way - I hate it!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:37 pm
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Also I think there should be more than 5 points places awarded for the sprint section... top 8 sounds a bit fairer...


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:38 pm
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That did not feel good. Struggling for power and couldn't hold it for long. Felt awful at the end!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:38 pm
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Once I got dropped by the cat C folk (didn’t take long 🤣) I spent the rest of the race in an ITT.

Think I nicked some points in the sprint though which is nice 🙂

Edit: also thought I was having a heart attack at one point (perceived effort 10/10 hrm said 105) then I realised my strap had slipped...


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:39 pm
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Sorry for going for the sprint – I felt a bit of a knob

You did great mate, first 2km I just hung on your wheel hoping to catch riders, but felt I contributed after that.

Trust me, I'd have raced you to the line if I had it.

The other thing was, I lost the rider list so I couldn't see what I needed to put in at times.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:39 pm
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That ending was the closest I've come to vomiting on Zwift 🤣🤣🙈

Felt good the first 2 laps but that big climb at the far end of the last lap got me...I got spat out the group and couldn't get back, i was doing 3.6w/kg and just dropping back.
Then I saw i was getting caught by Declan, Ivan and the rest of their group so I just put all my effort into a solo TT just to make it to the end, almost 2/3rds of a lap.
I was sying at the end but managed a final sprint to hold on to my place.

I'm dead...


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:39 pm
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Hmmm results may be delayed - Companion app is not playing ball!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:41 pm
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Got that wrong tactically tonight but gave it my all. Not done that circuit before and it doesn't seem to suit me, good race though and I got the holeshot too, some points for the that surely??? (Fordo197)


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:42 pm
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Well that was evil. Had a power out again but ultimately I think my FTP has definitely dropped.
Was solo for ages, resisted dropping back to the pair behind , I tend to go backwards if I drop my pace but relented, they caught, I stayed with them for a bit and as predicted I fell off the back then caught and passed one at the end.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:43 pm
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I had a reasonable start, went into the red power figures for a few seconds, slowly got dropped, settled into a nice pace, caught D.Drysdale, tried to take turns on the front. I used my feather at the beginning of the steep climb, N.Arnold then joined up and took D away from me 😭. I spent the rest of the race all alone trying to keep the gap between myself and K.Stumpy as big as possible. In the last km I passed Poop who was cruising to the finish line at a steady pace. Quite enjoyable. 😃


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:44 pm
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Well done Robbo and Zilog on that last lap...I just couldn't hold it. Think I blew myself trying to catch Andeh


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:44 pm
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@oopnorth was glad to see you drop behind on that hill as I knew we had the same handicap 🤣🤣🤣 sorry 😀 Storming ride from Andeh though given our handicap was 4 minutes on him! He was well out in front and we were chasing him down for ages!!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:52 pm
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So, I probably shouldn’t have done that, but managed to resist chasing the lead group for too long, then made my way round with RM and N.Arnold and chased the sprint each lap. Managed third I think. Felt a bit out of sorts, not sure if is covid symptoms kicking in or just my usual excuses! Thanks for another great race Robbo.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:55 pm
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Erm, ok. I’m gonna have to ask, how does everyone else know where the finish line is? ‘Cos it clearly isn’t that bloody great orange banner across the road at the end of lap....!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:57 pm
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I got caught up in that melee on the steep climb on the third lap. I had been in a group with Weeksy, Craig and others and we'd been steadily catching Robbo's group. It all blew apart on the climb, I thought i'd latched on to Robbo (and others) as I went over the top but got caught in someone elses draft and lost a second or two and then OopNorth and I were left in no man's land. I managed to keep going but that was a tough last eight mins on my own trying to catch the group and not get caught.

Oh, how I've forgotten the "pleasure" of these races! 🙂 Cheers everyone, good to be back at it!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:58 pm
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Also, didn't see any sort of "Go go go" message at the beginning. Was I lost in the excitement?


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:59 pm
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It's the blue banner somewhere near the finish line on the last lap. The distance counter is normally correct.


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 9:59 pm
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That was friggin hard, New York is a real beast of a track. It's relentless!

I felt great to begin with and managed to keep on the front guys for a while, but the endless little surges just blew me up. Got plopped out the back with Kirky and someone else, only to be dropped by them after another 5km or so. Ended going solocozyolo for about a lap before the oopnorth/robbo group wound me in.

That route just leaves no time to recover at all, its either up or down. 450m vertical by the end!

I've got a feeling my handicap may be a little low, but my weight/ftp hasn't changed since last time....ghost in the machine?


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 10:03 pm
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Kind of ‘enjoyed’ that, i.e. not actually enjoying it all, but now looking forward to the next one! Plan was simple. Don’t let Phil get too far up the road. No idea when the split happened but there were just the 4 of us with 2 30 seconds back. Nixie took the sprint with a huge effort miles out! Massive power. Don’t know if he waited or we caught him, but we worked well as a group, until making a complete arse of the finish sprint. Think Tim and Phil had given up by the time the blue banner came into view!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 10:06 pm
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@Zilog6128 I've no idea how we have the same handicap as you always beat me in these races, today I was looking for you from the start and did everything I could in the first half lap to keep with you and the lead group, then it settled down.

@Straightliner I tried to keep with you and I'm sure we could have maybe got back on but my legs just didn't have the speed once we were out the draft. Good effort!


 
Posted : 03/11/2020 10:06 pm
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