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6.45 virtual commute/workout in the morning if anyone wants an invite. 3 of us are doing a SS workout, you can choose your own workout or just ride. Rubber band will be on however!
Ah, that's a point. I'm going to have to ditch on tomorrow morning sorry Robbo.
Was planning to go into the office today to do some stuff but about half of it isn't practical to do solo so I'll be in the office about 5.30 🙁.
RGT has a Flandrien route I think so I hope Zwift have something up their sleeves.
Woke up this morning and decided to do the Uber Pretzel loop. Finished it an hour ago after about 5 1/2 hours on the bike. Tough but really enjoyable.
Got a rocker plate for my Wattbike and it's super comfortable now. Made all the difference.
Gonna celebrate with an alcohol free dry January beer 💪
Well done it's a very tough route 👏👏👏
Good effort, I need to do that at some point.
Okey dokey.... after the fact that NY on Sunday wasn’t actually too terrible, and despite Brian’s protestations...who fancies another Sunday Hills this coming Sunday?
I’m strongly tempted by the London Pretzel... A nice long flat lead in to stay as a group and bash out the miles, a sprint to try to get a feather, and then Fox and Box hill to finish with.
It’s 10km longer than the NY route we did, but I reckon we could get it done in 90-100 minutes with a. Good group rolling pace.
It’s NOT the scheduled map either, so won’t be too busy.. I will probably NOT have it ‘meetup only’ so we can grab a wheel off strangers if needed...
Takers?
DrP
It takes around 100 mins for the London Pretzel...well it did for me and the previous times we have done it on a Sunday hills ride. It's a good route with the hills only kicking in at around the 30km mark.
I'll see how I am Sunday as the tour routes this week are big hills which I'll probably do Saturday...I'm thinking Alpe or La Reine.
I can always join Sunday and do the initial flat if I'm not in a hills mood.
3rd stage of the tour is a choice between:
La Reine
Road to Sky
Mountain Route (which include the radio tower)
Not sure what to do but wont be doing it until Saturday afternoon so might just do a recovery ride on Sunday morning. I don't think I have the motivation for La Reine or the Alpe at the moment. If it isn't a scheduled map then should be busy enough to see some people but not mental like yesterday!
It depends how the weather is at the weekend, I’m eager to get out and properly test the Addict now I’ve cut the steerer added aero bars and a new set of wheels but don’t want the maiden voyage to be on slush or ice.
If I’m on the trainer I’ll probably do tour of ice and fire as I’ve been up the alpe a fair few times but never got that badge, I also fancy breaking the hour. Like oop north I’ll try and join on Sunday and see how I feel as we hit the hills.
oopnorth Full Member
It takes around 100 mins for the London Pretzel…well it did for me and the previous times we have done it on a Sunday hills ride.
I thought I'd done it before. I'd be keen to do it again, or something similar if the weather's rubbish. The snow has now turned to boilerplate ice outside so will see how quickly it melts, or if we get more snow. More snow = more splitboarding again 😀
Well this should raise a smile from a few of you:
Mrs brain has started doing the odd bit of zwift in the last week and jumped on this afternoon on her lunch break for a quick 20 minutes as her meeting finished a bit early.
Spotted Yorkshire on the world list, and picked tour of tewit well because it would be "a quick flat course round the stray" - which if you know where tewit well is makes perfect sense.
Suffice to say it was neither as quick nor as flat as she expected and I was greeted as I came in this evening, not with a cheery "hello" but "it's Yorkshire today why does the tour of tewit well not go anywhere near the tewit well? It went to pennypot!" *
*pennypot is the roundabout where the squirrel is. there may be words missing from this sentence.
Re Sunday I think I might plan do the tdz Sunday since it's going to be hilly anyhow (might work as a group of us and just chat through the discord server instead?) and maybe get outside for a ride Saturday.
Ouch!! I'm sure she enjoyed the steep leg snapper... 😉
Hmm.... OK so I've popped an invite out for Sunday... but...
I too need stage 3 (mount ven top) of the tour... which at the moment I've penciled in for 5am on Friday!
Brian... what group are you doing? Group A?
DrP
Looking at the choices yeah, it'll be la reine (a) though it's not a lovely ride!
Thinking probably the 8am? Though if I went for the 7am option I could try the champs elysee race afterwards...
ZHQ FutureWorks Circuit Race - Anti-sandbagging https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1521682
I’ve penciled [la reine] in for 5am on Friday!
You see it's not just 2 laps of NY that makes me think you shouldn't be in charge of things 😉
5am??? I thought we were crazy at 6-45am for the workouts...
I might try the Alpe again, I still need to get under the hour....that may not happen, but gotta keep trying. I found La Reine worse than the full Ventoux route, probably because I pushed too much at the beginning through the esses and on the petit KOM before hitting the main climb. One day I need to go up Ventoux again but I'm in no rush.
I tried RGT tonight, that's a tedious game. The better drafting physics are kinda irrelevant when I only saw 2 riders going the same way in 17.5km of the Dirty Reiver route. A badly rendered avatar riding through badly rendered countryside with no idea where I was. Single loop so no chance of meeting anyone else, eugh.
Cheers @oopnorth and @stumpy01 for the ride this morning. Zwift crashed on me 40 mins in. I managed to extract some data to Strava so not all was lost. Not a good start though considering there was supposed to be a patch to fix crashes and that downloaded at the start.
Going to do the TdZ Mountain Route stage at some point tomorrow - probably at 2 or 3 depending on family stuff! Might see some of you on it.
Still not sure on Sunday morning yet but if anyone wants a group ride on Sunday Morning DrP has organised one so ping him for an invite if you haven't got one already!
Jeez Robbo that was tough this morning...no wonder you left early 🤣🤣🤣
That last set...ouchy ouchy ouch ouch. Think that was the toughest one yet! Only just made it and my cadence was rubbish today.
I'm on the 9am mountain ride tomorrow...hoping to make sunday...at least for the flat section!
Have a good day all
Yeh I think that one needs a bit of adjustment - maybe slightly shorter sets - 3 sets of 10 might be more manageable. 1 min Vo2 max intervals next Friday! Cant wait! Lol
I was doing that this morning almost...was taking at least 10 seconds fof the power to come down between sections.
Looking forward to next week...not! Time to find an excuse! 🤣🤣
1 minute on, 1 minute off isn't too bad. Don't forget we are working up to 3 mins! haha
Think I'm gonna do the 11am Ventoux TDZ route tomorrow. Maybe see some of you on there...
oopnorth.. you doing the la reine route?
I skipped the 5am ride today as having a rest today... but going to hop on a TDZ Group A moutain ride tomorrow am (still doing the london loop with you lot on sunday..)
Might aim for a zone 2/3 effort in France, rather than push myself to FTP+...
Anyway..will either do 8am or 9am tomorrow...
DrP
@DrP no I'm just doing the short mountain route, the C group ride. Got lots to do tomorrow so I don't want to muller myself on the Alpe or Ventoux and be useless the rest of the day.
OK..have fun, and I'll pick a time that suits me tomorrow am...likely 8am..
DrP
Yeah, that was a toughie this morning! I was really struggling in the last set.
oopnorth
I was doing that this morning almost…was taking at least 10 seconds fof the power to come down between sections.
Do you drop your cadence at the end of the set? I find if I manage to keep pedalling, then the power seems to fall away faster. If I slow my cadence down to stop my legs shouting at me, it invariably seems to take longer to get to the recovery power.
I really wanna get out on the road this weekend, but if the weather stays as it is, I will try to join DrP's Sunday London Pretzel ride.
The TdZ La Reine route is predictably painful (I had a go last night), but good luck to all of you doing it over the weekend. While the first 8km or so are flat, like many other TdZ rides the pace was pretty high and that hill goes on and on, partly because of the lack of noticeable features or the stats that are provided when doing AdZ.
Also note that if you continue onwards to the top of Ventoux, it won't give you the badge as the starting points are different.
I read that on ZI..
It's a pain because, y'know, badges are cool...
But this seems to be the only way of getting the 'la reine' route as it's event only.
Maybe, just maybe, good ol' DrP may suggest ven top as a Sunday Hills one day......
DrP
You can suggest it mate by all means...but maybe not everyone will do it 😉
To be honest I have thought about it before but it might be a problem keeping the group together.
Maybe, just maybe, good ol’ DrP may suggest ven top as a Sunday Hills one day
I've still got the badge to get for that. I'm not keen on doing two laps though.
To be honest I have thought about it before but it might be a problem keeping the group together.
Yeah, without laggy banding the big climb routes aren't really conducive to a group ride.
Will it still give a TDZ completion if you carry on to Ven Top?
Will it still give a TDZ completion if you carry on to Ven Top?
Yeah, you get it a few 00 m climbing from the top.
Yeah, without laggy banding the big climb routes aren’t really conducive to a group ride.
Perfect for us gravity inspired riders!
Perfect for us gravity inspired riders!
Or racing DrP to the top...
Will it still give a TDZ completion if you carry on to Ven Top?
Just to clarify...you get the TdZ La Reine route completion about 5km from the top of Ventoux and the La Reine route badge. Then if you want you can carry onto the top, however you won't get the Ventoux route badge as it has a different start point to La Reine as mentioned above.
Just thought best to make it clear to avoid disappointment 🙂
Actually, ven top WITH the elastic band would work well.. we all ride at our own efforts, but stay together???
I'll read into how it works practically..do we go at the fastest pace, or the slowest?
DrP
Thanks @oopnorth
That's fine. I'll be doing it several times this year in training for the real thing.
Wait, Ven Top.
Whens that happening?
I’ll read into how it works practically..do we go at the fastest pace, or the slowest?
Iirc the pace of the organiser.
I think it seems to average out the pace...
Let's have a think if this is something people would want to do...
At least in 'normal routes' we ride.. split.. regroup.. ride etc...
Ven top seems to be just up up uuuuuup!
DrP
Yeh, I think the group would inevitably splinter on that route. Still be in chat but it’s quite hard to ride at someone else’s pace, not just when their pace is faster as well. I pretty much have a ‘sustainable’ pace for climbs and find it difficult to drop below that, and going beyond it is even worse.
I'm riding TdZ at 10:02 this morning up the Alpe.
Depending how I feel I may attempt the sub 1hr climb, using the large group and some pacing to drag me up. I think I'll pretty much have to hit FTP all the way mind.
Well that was actually quite fun... was riding with GPlama too!
No one wanted to join in my banter though 😪
1.09 for the la reine route..
DrP
I did the mountain at 9am but put my write up on the other thread...
Was fun but hard. Good luck to those doing the really big hills today!
Plan to see you on the sunday hills tomorrow, not sure for how long but I'll be there.
Well I've foolishly decided to do la reine tomorrow at some point after Sunday hills. Going to pick up a bologna TT at 12 today - at my own weight 😂, then there's a future works steering race at 15.00 so will try that too. Might even have a bash at repack today at some point too.
Turns out there's not much to do in lockdown when the weather is a bit cold!
@dangeourbrain I’m in on that Bologna ride, I go off at 1205. So, we can defo switch to MTB on this one?
I'm not sure is the honest answer @giggsmaster. I'll find out when I get there, if I've at least got my own stats right though I'm off to a better start than Tuesday.
Good Luck!
I don't think that 12pm ride is even a TT @dangeourbrain @giggsmaster. I think it's a road race on the "Bologna Time Trial" course.
EDIT - no, scrap that, zwifthacks says it is a (mass start?) no draft TT. As you were. In fact it's a proper TT. The usual participants in that series are gonna grumble. Good for you though, esp if MTB allowed.
The usual participants in that series are gonna grumble.
Somebody always does 😉
58:57 up the Alpe! Chuffed as bits with that. Only the second time I’ve been up, took 10 minutes off the previous.
Found @slowpuncheur near the top which spurred me on for the last push!
Off for a lie down!
Great time @funkybaj. Well done for getting under the hour...its still one I have to break.
Awesome Funkybaj, I keep meaning to have a proper tilt at the alpe rather than ride it as part of a longer loop. Hopefully I can also break the hour, I’ve often made the mistake thinking that section 1 when you are counting them down means you are in the last section, however there’s another long drag up the hill then the right handed and up hill towards the line. I paced myself thinking I was well under always to finish a few minutes over the hour.
I’m trying to make to make the Sunday hills tomorrow, I think it’s my 13th consecutive ride so hoping it’s not unlucky.
The flying @funkybaj! I saw you briefly. Made a bit of a dig to catch you but nowhere near. 61.42 from me this morning. Rubbish. Late breakfast, no warm up. 7 times now and no wheels. Worst still, I was contemplating a ride outside tomorrow. Winter bike is in shed and last night my wife broke the key off in the lock. We've had words 😆😬
I just did the 50km "Oh My Crit" race, 7 laps of the new hilly route.
I'm in that C/D no-mans land where I can race cat D but probably shouldn't - I think I managed a top 5 including getting off to answer the door for the Amazon guy which suggests I'm really a C.
Really enjoyed it though, the longer format gives you a bit more room for tactics etc.
Update - got dq'd so that's that decided, I'm officially a C again.
Was going to join in with he Sunday morning ride this week but I've just beasted myself up the La Reine climb so doubt I'll have any legs for a long ride. Was going to go up it slowly but, you know, got caught up in the group and went for it.
Legs are very tingly!
I've managed to repatriate the winter bike from the shed so I'm off out IRL tomorrow morning. A few little hills around North Lancs/South Cumbria beckon. Enjoy that there London.
I did La Raine this evening as well - found it really hard work and definitely feeling it now.
Hopefully I'll recover a bit for the morning, but will be a limited effort from me I think
Red wine got the better of me again...I may be there in the morning...then again I may not 🙈😜
Had a beer and a gin + my trainer is in the hands of a warranty repair so I'll be asleep. Enjoy the ride.
Not gonna make Sunday hills. Wife was up half the night with our daughter so she's catching up on sleep.
Have a good one.
Sorry I didn't make this morning folks, I managed the alarm but my legs said no.
Was at great ride... Time flew by...
Cheers for those that joined... you know what's waiting for you....
🌭
DrP
Yeh good ride out(in) that
Felt awful for the entire time but can now justify doing lazing around for the rest of the day
Yep cheers for waiting at the end, I was absolutely cooked. Great workout!
A bit of a bummer with the drop out at 13.5k, still, at least I made it back for the hills 🤣
I think I missed about 3.5k in the end.
Thanks for the ride chaps, kind of enjoyed it but totally worn out now and thankful of a rest day tomorrow. I was expecting Leigh hill followed by box hill, I think Leigh hill is by far the hardest in London so was relieved with Fox hill which seemed pretty short.
Ticked the badge off, powered me into level 39 and picked up some vintage shoes for the trouble. The level up bonuses are pretty mean arent they.
After yesterday's grind up AdZ I looked out the window and decided to go for a ride outside, nice 52km local mixed terrain loop in pretty much perfect conditions for the time of year!
Woke up late then straight into breakfast and then DIY. Sorry I missed it, hope it was a good one.
Well having been told no by my legs this morning I jumped on the tdz @ 3pm as they felt a bit more normal.
Started off ok, brief stop at the petit kom to open a door as I was over heating, went alright from there but was slowly losing any real enthusiasm or energy up until about 3km to go. At that point I really started to struggle and at about 1.8k I pulled up and had to go wandering off on very wobbly legs to find some food. Pulled a flapjack thing from my ride bag, inhaled that and dragged my self to the finish before eating my body weight in sausage roll.
Ended up raiding the cupboard for a can of pop about half an hour later as I was actually going a bit faint and headachey.
Probably for the best I didn't try first thing this morning before breakfast. I think I may have over done it this week.
That sounds like a time to rest Brian...maybe have a day out before the Tuesday race to get some energy back
@dangeourbrain sounds like you need a couple rest days, all part of a good exercise regime. If there is a ride next Sunday I hope to join that this coming week, depends how the week pans out but at the moment all good.
Yeah, I'm planning on taking the day off tomorrow at least!
Oof, that definitely sounds like you need a couple of days off.
Although I often raid the cupboards when I get back from a ride in the evening, it doesn't seem to be as bad after a morning or afternoon ride.
Hey ho....
If anyone is interested, I’m doing the YDZ ride 4...A group..on Thursday at 8am..
2 laps of “sand and sequoias”...
also... I’ll have a think about Sunday Hills as I’m gonna go for a ride IRL on Sunday... plus I’ve got the GF over...
But... I’ll have a think about MAYBE a short one on Sunday am..dunno!
DrP
I am doing a virtual climb on Saturday now hopefully about 6000ft over a couple hours, so Sunday I will not plan anything and do something ad hoc, if I feel like it or a short run.
Not sure of the weekend rides yet, will need to tick off the TdZ stage 5 at some point, plus I wouldn't mind trying a crit race if possible before next Tuesday as practice, to see what they are all about.
If I can join a Sunday hills I will.