@kirky72 I've moved over to answer your question from the other thread here...on races which I found useful to ride in category A as a B. It depends a lot on the terrain you favour and when you're available. The ideal length is 13-16 minutes I think. Any shorter risks being too explosive (1 lap of Innsbruckring in A is interesting when it hits the leg snapper...). Any longer and you might spend a bit too long above threshold. My basic aim was to get to the finish in the front group. So you want a front group which will survive, and which you can survive in basically.
There are some regularly scheduled ones: TTR Weekly are both good. Aussie Crit Crushers (one pair of which we copied last night...), the 2nd one of each pair longer than the first. Kirchmair Sprint Series, but they can be on the short side. Dirty Dozen Sprint (usually - check it's not just a climb!). Others which come and go include anything 3 laps of Duchy Estate / Queens Highway, 1 lap of seaside sprint, 1 lap of Watopia flat. Maybe l lap of Paris (either way).
cheers I’ll give one a try next time it fits into my plans for the week. Already walking like a robot again after a long walk/run yesterday, it seems running really isn’t for me. So resting up ahead of saturdays Prl.
Hopefully got a new deep gel saddle with cut out coming before the weekend. I found the nicely padded saddle that used to be comfortable had snapped one of the rails between mid to toe area so was probably sagging and may have been adding pressure to the perineum.
The replacement saddles I had in stock are a little bit too firm and proving uncomfortable over a long ride.
@kirky72 ...
Idid an 8.5km run on wednesday, at 4.24min/km pace, and legs still feeling it!!!
Oh well, cycling is a bit less 'impact'!!
see you (and others?) tomorrow am in london!
DrP
Enjoy London. I'm going out in the real world tomorrow.
@DrP Will try to join you guys after our Ventoux ride if possible, although it might be a short one. Are you guys going to be using Discord for chat? otherwise we may not be able to communicate.
i tcan use the discord chat, but also, though Kirky adn I will be in a meetup, we can also chat to 'nearby' on Zwift..
DrP
I struggle messaging on the companion app, without dropping out of the draft, as it is without adding another method into the mix so if we are all together than the Zwift messaging should suffice.
My new saddle a really ugly and plump looking Bioflex gel ozone turned up and is fitted ready for tomorrow. For the first time my lower end my not be my biggest problem.
hopefully there will be some other people in london, as it's NOT the scheduled course.... Hmm... will see how we get on Kirky 😀 !!!!
DrP
Last Saturday I made the same mistake (despite London being a guest world on the Friday and the Monday) when I did half PRL on my own. It was quiet but there was a TTT and a full PRL badge hunter event going on. Looking on Zwiftpower there just seems to be one 100km endurance event at 7.30am so it may well be quiet! Hope to see you about 10ish all being well.
@DrP can you send me a invite to the meet up I'll try and joining from the start for a couple of laps, if not I'll try and find you and join for a couple.
What's your zwift name again dude?
DrP
Found it.. invite sent!
DrP
Here we go!
See you on the line guys...lets hope my legs warm up and the cramp from running gives!!!!
DrP
Sorry guys we were unable to select "ride with" as London isn't a guest world today...so couldn't catch up with you
Probably a good thing cos I was pooped after Ventoux
Hope it's going well
No worries Craig although there wasn’t too many riders around London so some extra help especially on the last two laps would have been nice.
We both had pre ride excuses or aches and pain from running earlier in the week. I thought on Thursday and Friday that I had zero chance of wanting to ride any more than 20/30 miles but loosened up a bit over night but quads were rock hard, hamstrings and calves aching so not a good recipe for a 100 mile plus ride.
However we both did well, maybe going off a bit too fast after the first lap warm up, hitting 8.12 up box, I think 10 of 11 times were under 9.30 5 were under 9 minutes and every lap except when we took a convenience break was under 29minutes, some were nearer to 26 minutes.
The last lap or two started to hurt but we coped and finished around 5hours 30.
Feel a bit frazzled now and might not make Sunday hills if there is one.
Combination of rocker and new super plush saddle worked well and my legs weren’t much sorer than when I started and my undercarriage is surprisingly pain free.
I picked up a bioflex anatomic flex gel saddle. Really deep gel sections with cut out. I wouldnt add it onto any of my outdoor bikes for fear of doubling the bike weight but it is really comfy. I just need to lower it a touch more.
Oh thanks Karnaki for trying to join us, unfortunately you arrived just before our scheduled stop, we opted to do an extra lap before hopping off and I tried to keep the break short but I guess the commas weren’t good as you had departed before we were ready to set off again.
(Just rode to Brighton amd showered, so didn't reply immediately! )..
Was fun, but felt much harder than the vEverest attempt...
I think because, as kirky said, we both had sore legs going into this! A lesson here is to rest and NOT run a few days before!
DrP
Well done both of you. That's a good effort!
Are there any plans for a Sunday morning (Hills?) social at all? I'll not be up for a big schlep tomorrow I suspect but can join for an hour if it's longer one or stay the distance off its short?
If nothing is arranged I'll put invites out for an hour ish ride.
@kirkyy72 no worries, took me ages to work out how to get to london, ended up setting up own meeting, leaving it to ride other way round till you went past then caught up. I only had time for a couple ifvlaps by that time so worked well. Had to take youngest daughter out for a ride just after 10. Well done, not sure I could cope with 10 or 11 laps!
its 11 climbs but 12 and a bit laps of London really as you go around again towards box Hill but turnaround back up the escalator and finish on the mall.
how about something nice like one of the less hilly French routes for tomorrow. I might be up for that as a steady recovery ride while the kids are waking up.
Well done! I thought I'd done well with a 105k ride in the wind today, then I saw DrP's Strava 🤣
dangeourbrain
Cheers for the invite but signed up for the pretzel badge hunt in the morning at 7.30.
I've put douce France in then, should go for a leg stretch at least!
Well done guys...a great effort and good time.
@dangeourbrain Brian I'm not sure if I'll make tomorrow early doors or not but I'll accept the invite just in case. If I can get up I'll see you there.
Yep I'm on cooked breakfast duty tomorrow as I buggered off out on my bike this morning. Quite looking forward a lay in tbh 😁
If I'm up and about and can make it though I'll be there.
I wish I had a better option but if I'm not zwifting I'd be up to get on with gardening anyhow.
In also quite looking forward to riding something not so squishy at both ends after today
Can’t make the morning. Will possibly do a light spin later in the day depending on family activities. Have a good one.
Does anyone use FulGaz on here?
I’ve signed up for 14 day trial period, but the resistance doesn’t seem to work correctly.
When 1st set up I used Bluetooth, but had a problem with watts, cadence and resistance not changing after a few km. So started using the Ant+ dongle which I use for Zwift and disabled Bluetooth. I downloaded video and tried again, this was in react mode, but the resistance was all over the place. Mid ride I changed to steady mode and resistance seemed to kick in for a few km, but then after that it went a bit Pete Tong!
It is the exact same set up I use for Zwift, trainer is the same distance away from laptop, with phone and Bluetooth speaker in same position as would be if using Zwift with no issues.
I have used Rouvy and RGT with no problems with the same set up.
Any ideas guys??
@giggsmaster I do but not sure how much help I can be, I’ve don’t have the issues you mention. I sometimes don’t get HR data but normally that’s one of my other devices hogging the heart rate strap output.🙂 which with no data does tend to end up being the devices connecting to something else!
It is worth a support ticket as they are pretty responsive, bear in mind support is Australia so time difference.
There are some guides on resistance Support Pages You can can log a case from here too, top right of page,
Hope you get sorted it great app to use I’ve been doing the virtual compacted Lejog this month.
Thanks for that @Phil56 blew the cobwebs out a bit more than I expected. I'd not even brought a water bottle or put the fans on to start with thinking it would be a gentle pootle!
Cheers @forge197, I’ve just sent a support request through, so hopefully get some feedback.
Do you connect via Bluetooth or Ant+ dongle out of interest?
See zwift sorted the app quitting issue this week, so you no longer have to close the app after a ride. Folk been asking for that change since day one I imagine.
Did the mega pretzel today for all route badges complete. Been good ticking them off, got me riding more. Think I might pause the subscription now until Winter.
@Forge197 I rode the Llandegla route you filmed on fulgaz, v nice! Kinda felt like I was going to fall off the turbo going over some of the rollers.
@Garry_Lager thanks, it’s great to have some off road on FulGaz, the challenge is that downhill much faster on the indoor bike than I can ride outdoor and the speed is a bit out of kilter.
That initial climb feels the same in and outdoors! I would like to do a couple more but with lockdown’s not been possible. Hope to do a couple more this year and see if they add them as it’s nice to have a couple off road routes if only to see the lovely trails and forest, especially right now as we can’t go there.
Howdy.. I've pinged out an invite for another Sunday Hills, in prep for the "tour or watopia" which starts next week!
Come along for the 'three sisters' route, with the kom..epic...and volcano....
Earn your Sunday roast 😋
DrP
@DrP what sort of pace? I’ve accepted I’ll join for as long as I can keep up 🥵, hopefully the bug is fixed too for visibility.
Put the below in the wrong thread earlier.
Maybe something to do in between race series. Could do on a Tuesday or Sunday. we could also try and get some cruise and sprint laps going occasionally in the break.
I had an idea of a group cat and mouse race up the Alpe, for some time in the future, which would act as pacing ride for people to achieve their own target times.
So could set of in 3 or 4 bands of times which would result in hopefully the majority of riders to come together at the summit.
Ie 1hr target riders depart at the first meet up time let’s say 9am
55 min target riders at 9.05
50mins target riders at 9.10.
Could be split to more time options if there was a larger number of riders but the above could work as 3 meet up rides or just roll out at 5 min intervals with the same steady paced neutralised leadin to the alpe start.
Just an idea for those that might like to improve their Alpe time by way of some added help from riding in a group with a touch of competition.
Change of plan this weekend going to try and finish my month cycle target tomorrow and get a decent rest in before starting again in April, not planning to ride Sunday now. Have a good virtual ride Sunday.
Is there still interest in finding a team event for us to dabble in, without the commitment of zrl?
When @dangeourbrain explored zrl, I think we concluded the principle of us racing as a team was good, but the demands of zrl were too much. So...maybe we could try the "paceheads race", assuming they run another series in April? The admin looks like the kind of thing we were hoping for.
Short series, Sundays, 9am, unlimited starters per team, top 3 finishers per team score each week, and you can do unlimited rider changes from week to week. They encourage multiple teams if you have enough riders.
The last series was 3 weeks long, and was Innsbruckring, London Loop Reverse and Roule ma Poule.
We could enter one team, and just ride whoever is available from week to week. Or an A/B and a C/D team if there's lots of interest and to maximise scorers in each team.
It looks like a standard entry in the zwift calendar (anyone can enter etc). But it's not. It reminds me of @robbo1234biking's approach in a way - the real competition is administered off-zwift at paceheads.com and the event is ridden in category A (but it's not just for cat A riders, they just hijack that pen for their competition).
Thoughts?
I think this thread is home to the likely participants plus I'll tag everyone who participated in the thread where we decided against zrl - paging @dangeourbrain, @scaredypants, @robbo1234biking, @w00dster, @oopnorth, @paino, @mrhoppy, @zilog6128, @kryton57, @ivandobski, @retrorick, @haloric, @oblongbob, @twisty, that was at https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/stw-zwift-wrtl-race-series/
@savoyad not heard of that before so will have a look but yes, def interested in team race and sun 9am works great!!
EDIT: I'm sure the concept is simple enough but is there a page that explains it in English?!
I should have posted links.
Actual website (in German): https://paceheads.com/paceheads-race/
Last week's results (you can see how deep "category A" goes here, it's clearly a real thing): https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=1914647
There's no guarantee of future series, but it's been going for months so I assume it'll start up again soon.
I'm up for that if I ever get away from my bloody desk, though historically Sunday has been real ride day (obviously that all went to poo over the last 12 months!)
Yeh Sundays should work for me. Wife is now working Sundays at the vaccine centre so real life rides on Sundays aren't an option. 9am is a good time as well as nothing opens until 10 (when they are allowed to open). Assuming they are fairly short races and I can distract my son with youtube for long enough I should be good!
I could be up for some Sunday morning races, especially when the wife’s working, may not make the all though so sounds perfect that we can dib in and out.
I'd be up for the sunday 9am races too.... put me down..
DrP
Showing an interest here too! Do I pile weight on and become a lazy C or get my arse in gear and compete in B? Hmmm.
Hmmm. Often tend to have stuff on at the weekends, but I could well be up for that Paceheads race thing, if it takes off.
Oooo just seen this, interested as Sunday is usually a ride day. Put me down.
OK, this is promising - already looks worth persisting with.
I'll keep an eye on the paceheads site and if they announce a series I'll get entries sorted, post links here, and get it off the ground.
Keep declaring your interest if you have any. We can pin down the details (how many teams basically) when the time comes. It should be fun.
Thanks for that Ian, quite enjoyed it and glad to see we both managed to muster a PB up volcano KOM. Very sad that you pipped me by a couple of seconds again though. I think a 7 minute flat effort is possible as I really had to lay off a couple of times just to recoup before the final push. Maybe next Tuesday if I make the race instead of venturing out doors.
Was great as always.. but you vanished at the end..? Pc crash?!
DrP
@savoyad definitely interested, that's a good time for me just depends week to week what family us doing, but that could finish off my cycling week nicely with a fell run later on in the day
No I stayed on and finished the route Ian, actually cooled down over another 5 miles, although I was kicked out of the game in the companion app again just after the KOM. I coasted down the hill around 35/40 seconds behind you and didn’t push on to catch up as I was knackered from the climb.
I’ve had this a few times recently were I’m kicked from or can’t get back into the game mode on the phone app. So no commas or use of power ups. Was annoying last weekend when I carried the same feather for 3 or 4 laps of London/box hill.
Allo all... I've pinged out a double header invite for Sunday morning... 23km of flat French roads.. both clockwise and anticlockwise....
40 min to do the first.. then join the second meetup!
Bish bash bosh... 2 routes done!
DrP
Might be involved in an egg hunt with the kids first thing but will try to join if I can!
I'll try and make at least one of them, cheers 🙂
I dont know what about to yeh second part Ian. I jumped off the bike as my lap top started to run a a virus update so I lost the game images from the TV.
I then accepted the meetup but it joined the original French course. I had another meet up notice which I accepted for new york.
After joining the meetup for NY the clock ticked down from 8 minutes towards 5 then back up to 15 minutes. I waited patiently then completed the course. Pretty mind numbing riding that one solo in a virtually empty world. on the plus side I managed to grab the jerseys.
Hey Kirky!
SOrry about that...
I went on to finish the French route (as i needed the badge).. took me back up the climb again, as the route finish was atop the KOM!
I’d changed the route for the second one as discussed...but maybe cos it was near the original time, Zwift got confused? I pushed the time back from the original one too...
I’d finished the route in France, then joined in NY... and it was just me!
THought your PC had gone kaput... and I left with about a minute to go before the ride started! I couldn’t be bothered with the route solo!
You must have been in a parallel world meetup!!
DrP
Just done the stage 2 tour of Watopia this morning. As per usual my intention was to have a steady tempo ride but I made progress through the group and eventually lead approaching the Epic Kom so things got interesting. I didn’t go balls out on the epic as I knew I had the radio mast climb to look forward to. However I was in a nice group which encouraged me to PB the climb. I thought that I took the radio mast slowly as I also lost a few places sliding down to 15th however I managed to also PB that.
I caught the wheel of a couple of riders on the descent and we gradually caught a few others each time swelling our group size. finished in 8th averaging 297 watts I’ve the 1.05hr. Somehow I managed to get a slight FTP increase up-to 319w from 317 which was most likely due to a 334w average up the epic climb.
New PBS, 2 minutes decrease on the epic.
50 secs radio tower climb.
Mighty 1 sec better on Titans
I quite like muir and the mountain, but would be better without the mast climb.
Not quite the loosener I had planned ahead of tonight’s spin and sprint but hopefully have something left.
Catch you later if you can make it.
@DrP any thoughts/plans for Sunday hills this weekend. My wife is working the weekend so I’m in doors ride wise.
I was thinking of ticking off everything Bagel, it sounds like a pretty tough hours worth of riding.
https://zwiftinsider.com/route/everything-bagel/
Still need some of shorter routes like mighty metropolitan, knickerbocker forward, lady Liberty but they maybe too short and the multi meet seems a bit tricky.
I knocked off four of the New York routed this morning 5 or 6 times up the glass KOM over the rides. High line is misleading route, seems short on paper but had a long lead in that takes you up the KOM auto start from the down hill and finish after you have climbed it for the 2nd time.
Only have everything bagel, mighty metropolitan and grand central left from NY I’ve made a meet up for everything bagel to help me along as it isn’t a world tomorrow. I don’t expect many if any takers. If my legs feel okay I may do the other two as I don’t have any plans for the day.
Cheers for the invite all being well will be riding outside tomorrow.
I did everything bagel a couple of weeks ago, not really in a rush to revisit it, soz 😆
Edit, it wasn't actually that bad...
Thanks for the invite but I'm gonna be looking after my daughter while my Wife meets some friends for a socially distanced brekkie.
I struggle with the NY routes. Not really my cup of tea.
Just seen your invite John, sorry won't be making it as I've just done the longer Tour route, legs haven't got bagel in them as well 😉
Enjoy the glass bridges!
I got a bit fed up of the glass bridges yesterday, 6 times up to the KOM.
There was no takers and the world wasn’t being used and was deserted, so once it was apparent there were no late joiners I dropped out.
Instead I completed both the Lutscher routes while Innsbruck was in use. After yesterday I started to feel a bit jaded the 4th time up the mountain but got there in the end.
Only 3 NY a routes left to complete all route badges.
Well new laptop = Ultra Graphics
Theres definitely a notable improvement.
Anyone use a gaming monitor for Zwift? Kinda thinking of leaving a monitor in place and just plugging the laptop in when needed.
Hi Shaun
I use a dedicated monitor for Zwift, I leave it in place and just plug the laptop into it, it works well. I also have Ultra graphics, it's great on a bigger screen.
Next stage is a tv mounted on the wall....
Anyone use a gaming monitor for Zwift? Kinda thinking of leaving a monitor in place and just plugging the laptop in when needed.
That's what I do... it's not specific gaming monitor, but nice 24 inch 4k LG thing.
It's nice having a separate full screen for zwift, and the lappy running spotify/stream stuff etc..
DrP
EDIT - that of course should say lappy SCREEN running the other bits.
Rejoice! Finally got my hands on an axle for my Tacx after 6 months of having one on order with Garmin. Sigma had one in stock when I randomly checked on Wednesday. Ordered and arrived today. Fitted and ready to go. I have a 1 month free trail for Zwift. I'm starting with almost no fitness these days, what can I jump into for 60-90 minutes at a steady pace?
Hopefully this is the beginning of getting my fitness back.
Finally got my hands on an axle for my Tacx after 6 months of having one on order with Garmin...I’m starting with almost no fitness these days, what can I jump into for 60-90 minutes at a steady pace?
Does your Tacx turbo (or your bike) have a power meter and does the Tacx have two-way interactive so that it can do ERG workouts (where generally on a road bike you select the 34T chainring and middle sprocket of cassette, start the workout and the turbo adjusts resistance to match the power required for the interval)?
If it does, I'd suggest you do "Ramp Test Lite" unless you are confident you could hold more than 250W for 1min (in which case do "Ramp Test"), where after a warmup the power requirements start at 50W for 1min and increase by 10W every minute (standard Ramp Test starts at 100W and increases by 20W every 1min).
This will give you a ballpark initial FTP to use in other workouts and you can pick any route you fancy, as the resistance you feel while pedalling is independent of the route gradient (the speed your avatar travels at will be affected) in ERG mode.
Typically, either test including warmup and cool down will take approx 30-40mins.
For "freeride" mode, if your Tacx will adjust resistance according to gradient, the bigger Yorkshire loops are a bit of a rollercoaster with longer ups and downs, while something like Sand & Sequoias on Watopia will start you off on the flat used for a lot of TT events and then through the short inclines rollercoaster through Titans Grove.
Thanks for the info. It's a Tacx Flow Smart trainer, and I don't have a power meter.
I'll get it set up this weekend for some benchmark tests.
So.... initial impression are.... it's a bit s#*t. UI is awful. Took about half an hour to connect to my tablet (iPad). Finally connected to my trainer, but wont recognice my HRM. Trawled online and tried everything such as disconnecting the HRM from any other device. It works on everything else apart from Zwift. I'm guessing it must be iPad related then. Anyone had this issue? I have a standard Garmin chest strap HRM which is ANT+. Hoping to try again tonight for my first proper 'ride'.
iPad has no way to connect via ANT+, so that is never going to work!I have a standard Garmin chest strap HRM which is ANT+
Yes, the UI is shite. You get used to it.
Fair enough. I might just use the Tacx app, that picked it up no problem. Not sure why Zwift can't take the HRM from the trainer like the Tacx app.
You don't need HRM to get started. While you've got the free trial, just open up Zwift, choose a world to ride & give it a whirl. You can sort routes by distance or elevation, so it's quite easy to find something suitable.
I'd start in Watopia.
I think you'll need a bluetooth HRM for an ipad. You can get them for around £20 from Amazon or ebay. I've got a Magene one which works really well & is comfortable.
I used to have a Flow Smart until recently. It works well, but cannot replicate every gradient change as it will only replicate up to about 6% I think.
To get round this, you can go into the settings while riding & change the 'trainer difficulty' setting. I think this defaults to 50% so I'd leave it there for the time being.
Thanks stumpy. I'll give that a go tonight. I know the limitations of the Flux, but not overly concerned about that. As I'm recovering from injury and not done much riding for 6 months, I was hoping that using an HRM will give me more accurate track of improving fitness.