Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

Mostly just community based. Friendly jerseys to work, hang and ride with in races. Buddies for group rides etc etc

Zwiftpower collates team info but since Tour de Zwift, the main organisers have shied away from too many series.

Some events like the team worlds and various other Team TT's are open only to teams.

And how do people become team members etc?

Usually just by asking to join the relevant FB group. Bolt Racing Team are one of the best organised for working together in races but KISS Racing Team and of course Nathan Guerra's 'Vision Cycling' have some of the top names.

Some are actually just people's real life cycling clubs.

I have been a signed up member to BRT for a few months. Being in a team adds an extra element to the races. A lot of us (try to) chat on Discord during a race. If you end up in a group with a team mate or two it adds to the strategy as the race unfolds. There is also a lot of vocal encouragement as people finish. The only problem is it is often hard to get in a group with team mates at the start of the race. The teams Facebook page also has a bit of chat about the races.

My dongle arrived over the weekend and tonight was the first time with the automatic resistance. Rode the SZR group ride/race thing. Very strange sensation. I wouldn't call the transitions seamless, occasionally it was like riding into I giant puddle of treacle, but definitely added another level. I really need to index my gears now 🙄

Jason, are you my nemesis from the TFC series 😀 ??

(My initials are A.S. )

That went better than I thought. C class on Watopia hilly, so was expecting to be last. Think I beat a fair few. Ended up jumping on an SZR sub 3 train a few times to close. Ended up catching and passing a guy who was it seemed closely matched for 3/4 of the race. Then saw a random German 10s ahead, down from 15s, he was putting out 2.5 so I went 2.7, caught him just after village sprint and as we were coming to the climb I went 320w, 3.3, I pulled 11s on the climb and it was all over. Grabbed a few more wheels on the roller coaster bit and a good wheel in last 1000m, I was 350w and slipstreaming nicely. Beat the German by 25s in the end.

Tough, but very rewarding tonight.

Jason, are you my nemesis from the TFC series ??

LOL I think so. I will be missing the last race due to my bike club's xmas do on Friday night.

Planning to do the KISS race on Pretzel tomorrow night.

A classic Esses attack 🙂 Well splayed sir.

Only about 9 places behind you Weeksy, quite pleased for my 1st C race! Didn't manage to draft very well today, found a few random wheels but was on my own in terms of other competitors for most of it 🙁 Good race though!!

I think I'm getting time penalties for power ups as I used 2, I saw a couple of others using so thought they were legal.

Oops

@Jason- well thanks very much for all your motivating battles! I pushed myself so hard during that series!
I'm a B now after my Crit on Saturday so all those points in C were for nothing anyway 😀

My only issue seems to be numb nuts

weeksy
That went better than I thought. C class on Watopia hilly, so was expecting to be last. Think I beat a fair few. Ended up jumping on an SZR sub 3 train a few times to close. Ended up catching and passing a guy who was it seemed closely matched for 3/4 of the race. Then saw a random German 10s ahead, down from 15s, he was putting out 2.5 so I went 2.7, caught him just after village sprint and as we were coming to the climb I went 320w, 3.3, I pulled 11s on the climb and it was all over. Grabbed a few more wheels on the roller coaster bit and a good wheel in last 1000m, I was 350w and slipstreaming nicely. Beat the German by 25s in the end.

Tough, but very rewarding tonight.

Sounds like a really good race, good ride!

crosshair -
@Jason- well thanks very much for all your motivating battles! I pushed myself so hard during that series!
I'm a B now after my Crit on Saturday so all those points in C were for nothing anyway

So tonight at precisely 6:50pm I pulled the garage door off. Finished repairing it at around 7:45 missing [b]BOTH [/b]races. It's like this house is against me cycling competitively indoors! 😆

I think I'm going to try the BRS Time Trial at 7:05pm tomorrow, with the 8pm KISS Europe race as my backup plan. What can possibly go wrong!?

Lol! Looking back at old posts I made on another forum, Zwift racing can be frustrating in the set-up stakes 🙂
I've got my routine as slick as can be now- I haven't messed up a race for ages!

I even managed to race ZTR and KISS on the same evening the other week 8)

It certainly helps racing the same people week after week. I think if I could have kept up with you off the start it would have helped.

On the verge of moving up myself, keep ending up at just under 3.2W/Kg, I might have to dig a bit deeper than normal in tomorrow's race.

Are you guys doing the KISS race tomorrow evening?

I was so mad as it's always something trivial that ends up costing me time. I.e. Plugging a socket in randomly turning the router off or evening opening the ruddy garage door a little too fast!!

Yes KISS race for me. I haven't done the mountain route for ages, I am sure it will be great fun...

No- first proper race in B so will wait for something flatter 😀

I'm doing the ZSun Chaingang ride at 19:15 (36 miles at around 3.2w/kg if I can hang on!)

Fair enough, think I'll stick to trying to get on in time for the time trial - quite fancy just sticking my head down and powering.

What W/KG are you up to now @crosshair? (I know it's only relevant in Zwift land) Be interesting to hear what you started at versus now and the time.

Pretty gutted I didn't know about Zwift back when I was at my heaviest and was doing a 7 mile cycle per week to try and lose weight, these sorts of numbers would have been intriguing!

I was a 97kg, 220w FTP D rider this time last year.
I'm a 90kg 303w B Cat now.

So 2.2 to 3.4 basically.

Wow. What an improvement.

(Let's hope I'm an 83kg, 400w Cat A by this time next year 😀 )

(Let's hope I'm an 83kg, 400w Cat A by this time next year

It wouldn't shock me massively mate... You're a determined fella when you set your mind to things

Nice work crosshair!

Not sure how far you are from it, but Strava Central (Richmond Park) has been a fantastic fitness tool for me. One headphone in, head down and you can churn out laps attacking the hills in relative safety. There's also shed loads of other cyclists to be secretly competitive with 😆

It's a little far 😉 I live near Newbury 😀

I enjoyed blitzing across it on Ride London though 🙂

Might have a go at the BRS TT tonight, as a shorter option since I raced yesterday! (or possibly the 5km race as a super-short option!)

I'll see what happens later, i'm feeling pretty good considering how hard i tried last night. Got no other plans and i'm out for Xmas night out tomorrow, so would be nice to get some calories burnt today for that. Added to the fact i'm not on a fasting day today which is a good thing.

KISS Europe is looking about the most likely possible for me at 8pm. However that's Pretzel route !

I want to ride tonight as I won't get another chance till the weekend. Not done a pretzel race yet and I'm not gonna make tonight my first! Looks very tough!!

RE: the KISS race. It says any bikes allowed, does that mean TT bikes too?

The full pretzel is 44.9 miles ( http://zwiftblog.com/the-pretzel/ ) the race is 31km according to the events list. Do you know which is correct?

Still aiming for the 7:05 BRS Time Trial, but the KISS is looking most likely, I just don't fancy 45 miles of it. It does play into my [i]strength* [/i]though.. hills! I just wish my Vortex was a sturdier, I nearly tipped over last time I stomped up one. 😆

*[i]I think[/i]

The full pretzel is 44.9 miles ( http://zwiftblog.com/the-pretzel/ ) the race is 31km according to the events list. Do you know which is correct?

Much less daunting in that case!

Ah, found the route: https://www.strava.com/activities/750859591

Yes it's half the Pretzel Loop and ends at the start/finish line.
TT bikes are allowed AND you can stop and change any time you like. The TT is loads faster downhill. People used to do it 'on the fly' but Zwift recoded it so it couldn't be done.

But there's no drafting with the TT bike is there? Think I'll stick to the standard one.

I'm going for the KISS one tonight, see you there! (Hopefully 😆 )

Bleurgh....!

Well, I did a ride on Sunday and felt quite strong for the first time in ages. Not quick or fit by any stretch of the imagination but I had that desire to keep pushing harder & harder for the whole time I was riding....

My Wife is out tonight, so planned on getting the baby to sleep & taking the monitor into the garage for a 1.5-2hr session to build on Sunday's enthusiasm.....

But, have picked up yet another sore throat/cold general crap feeling bug. Seems to be one after the other at the moment. I dragged myself into work, but am currently sat here alternating between too hot & shivering cold....

Gonna buy some multi-vitamins on the way home & sit on the sofa watching telly instead this evening.....Bah...

I did my 1 hour 5 mins after work, so I'm afraid I'm done for today guys.

I'm on the KISS start line.

Good luck! Just done the TT (my first one). Not nearly as enjoyable as a normal race but a good indicator of fitness I'm sure!

I'm on the sofa. I went riding outside today...

boring 😀

Just done the ZTR B race....ouch, ouch and treble ouch!!!

My Garmin has given me a recovery time of 3.5 days 😳

Just finished the KISS race, sat in my garage still unable to move...

Never a dull moment in my Zwift quest, my teamviewer failed for the first time ever about 9 miles into the race. I raced the rest of it blind, with only my Zwift mobile link. I couldn't even remember the amount of miles I needed to do wether it was 19.1 or 19.3 so I sat on it until the 20 mile marker.. I'm dead.

Zwift is really humbling. Compared to my riding mates, I'd say I was reasonably fit, but Zwfting along, struggling to keep up with the SUB 2.5 (read, pretty much 3.5) group ride is pretty demoralising. I was buggered after 40km, pretty much sat at my FTP, nearly fell down the stairs.

Just think though, just think of your friends faces as you smash that 5km fireroad climb in spring, without even breaking a sweat. I feel like a caterpillar, getting ready to beast all my mates when I escape the winter cocoon 😆

Provisionally 30th, Strava is very slow to update - must be getting bombarded!

Looking at the stats no wonder I died a little!

How did you find it crosshair?

Little disaspointed that I could only see/talk to people in my category, would have been fun to see all 400 riders! Well for the 9 miles I had a screen.

andeh
I feel like a caterpillar, getting ready to beast all my mates when I escape the winter cocoo

Haha good I like.

Hmm. Still some annoying issues with my Kickr Snap. Lost all resistance during the ZSUN chaingang ride so I was hitting 110rpm to make the required watts. I attempted a fix but lost the pack.

So I regrouped and set off up the Mountain for KISS B and my first proper B race. I'm certainly not a B-Cat climber, that's for sure 😀
I finished about 66/93 I reckon.

Just did my first ever Zwift race, the course didn't suit me at 95kg but I pushed far harder than I would if I wasn't racing. Had a good race with a Chris Deacon, is that anyone on here?
Why do I struggle to get my HR up compared to on the road, yet my legs hurt more? My cadence was normal 80-100

Wahoo Blue SC Bluetooth and Ant+ sensor on Amazon lightening deal at the moment if anyone is interested. £33.99 down from £49.99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahoo-Cadence-Sensor-Android-Computers/dp/B00NW882KM

95kg-ish as well. Week 2 of Zwift for me and thoroughly enjoying it although tonight's race was hard.

it was my first one tonight(Kiss 8pm)entered as D, but found myself with mostly C riders what's the score with the results ?

@cheers_drive no-one knows exactly why HR tends not to come as high indoor.
Two common theories are:
A) you're not using your core/support muscles to balance indoor.
B) you don't get distracted in the same way by steering/potholes etc, and with the lack of distraction the only thing to focus on is the pain and whilst it feels terrible, you aren't going as hard as you think.

it was my first one tonight(Kiss 8pm)entered as D, but found myself with mostly C riders what's the score with the results ?

I'll reckon b although the engagement in Zwift should cancel that out to some degree. My HR step wouldn't pair tonight so I don't know the exact but it felt sub 150bpm

If your w/kg (based on 95% of your best 20mins in the race) is over 2.5w/kg you will be taken out of the results. I can't remember if KISS will put you in the C category results or not. A lot of the backmarkers in the C category will be borderline C/D so may be lower than 2.5 anyway.

I quite enjoyed racing on the mountain for a change. Managed to keep a steady pace up on the climb, then went for the TT bike switch at the top, caught and passed someone on the descent, managed to catch a second, but I couldn't keep up with him on the flat. There was a group of 5 about 20secs ahead of me at the end, but I just couldn't catch them. I think there will be a few people moved out of the category after that one.

That wahoo sensor looks the double of the bontrager one i have which is typically less than £50 online.

I noticed most riders had KISS (C) after their name but I didn't, am I supposed to change my name for each race?

I don't think it is enforced in that race, everyone was in the same category. It is only needed when everyone is mixed up, or in the days before the event module. I always change mine out of habit. Just make sure you Strava file has KISS (C ) in the title.

just looked on Zwiftpower in 209 place i'll try cat C next time

I've lurked on this thread for a week now. Made the jump and bought a T2240 (with BC discount down to £170, natch!) today and tried it out with my wife's MacBook, a 3m USB extension lead and a £10 Amazon ANT+ dongle this evening.

Brilliant!!

I downloaded the Mobile Link app but couldn't work out how to use it to turn left or right at junctions, so ended up on Watopia heading left past the crashed aircraft and... up a mountain. I'm one of those weirdos who quite likes climbing, so despite the little screen and the lack of riders around me, I just carried on getting stuck in and powering it out, changing down a couple of gears and standing up when the mood took me and sitting down, changing back and spinning when that got tiring (much like I do on a real mountain, really).

But the result was amazing - there is no way I'd ever have been bothered to keep going for that long at that intensity in any other turbo session! I even found myself pushing harder than I'd planned to for the last km just because Zwift started showing me possible places on the live leaderboard for that climb!

Thank you for inspiring me to take the plunge. I think the Tacx reads a little high on the power output, I'm going to fit the Stages to the bike tomorrow and use the readings from that, but that was easily the best turbo session I've ever done and I'm actually looking forward to the chance to do more.

One newbie question that I may have missed the answer to in the 15-ish pages of the thread that I've skipped: what's the deal with cadence? Even though Zwift detected my Garmin crank cadence sensor, the cadence shown in the game and the on-screen cadence of my little guy was at times completely different from my own physical cadence.

@leeroybrown I think KISS will automatically upgrade you to C as at 3.0w/kg your right at the top of C.

@pierre welcome to zwift 🙂 You may need to download the Tacx ultility app to update the trainer and to calibrate how tight you have the rear wheel, if not done already. The difference in cadence is due to the limitations of the turbo trainers - they can only do a certain % incline, after that it's adjusted on screen. You can adjust this slightly by moving the realism setting from the default 50% to 100% in the options, expect to down change a lot.

I can't believe how dead I am after that, without a bloody screen it was just a long hilly TT on a non TT bike 🙁

What are folk doing this evening? I'm thinking the 10 mile KISS TT at 8pm

Drinking beer and go-karting.

@Pierre - please report back when you've compared the power from Stages to the power from Tacx Flow (T2240). I've got the same trainer but no power meter and I too suspect it may be a bit high. The specs say this base model only has "<10% accuracy" tolerance so individual units could differ quite a lot.

Don't forget though that the drive train typically accounts for ~5W of loss, so power at the crank *should* be a little higher than the power at the rear wheel.

The cadence on-screen SHOULD match the cadence on the trainer - BUT I think you need to use the Cadence from the Tacx (which broadcasts speed, cadence and power on both ANT+ and Bluetooth channels). What I've noticed is that the Tacx Cadence readings from my unit is only accurate above ~50rpm, below that it's all over the place (probably sampling rate).

Hopefully the other way round? 😆

By the way weeksy, do you use myfitnesspal? It was great for me when losing weight, as I made sure it was controlled. Well until I was really ill and it was out my hands lol.

Interesting, thanks all - I'll report back tonight. I have a hunch that the battery died in my cadence sensor fairly early on in the session and Zwift started using whatever algorithm they use when people don't have cadence sensors but do have power to animate the little guy on the screen. Doing 90rpm seated on the bike and seeing my guy standing up and groaning out about 50rpm was a little weird!

@dc2.0 I suspect that the Tacx is giving higher readings than my actual power output, so I'd expect the Stages to be a bit lower... we'll see tonight - I'll also try @nathb's suggestion, I hadn't thought of that.

...and another newbie question, sorry - why _wouldn't_ you play with 100% realism? I did wonder why I didn't need to change gear as much.

so, I've got an 'analog' turbo trainer (Tacx basic model which is 2/3 years old.
It has no 'connectivity' functions.

Can I use it with Zwift if I buy one of these?

[url> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahoo-Cadence-Sensor-Android-Computers/dp/B00NW882KM
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahoo-Cadence-Sensor-Android-Computers/dp/B00NW882KM
[/url]

Sorry for the dumb question but I know nothing about this, but want something to make using the turbo more interesting, and accurately recording my results.

Pierre, I generally set the realism on my Neo to 50%. The bike I have set up on it has a 1x9 drive train. At 100% I would grind to a halt on the steep climbs, and spin out on the descents.

Freeagent, as long as Zwift supports your turbo then yes the gadget you link to will let you get on Zwift. There is link of supported trainers on the Zwift home page. You need to be using a normal 700cc wheel for it to work properly on Zwift.

@freeagent Yes - that should work fine if you've got Bluetooth on your computer. It's the same one lots of other people are using.

Final results from yesterday 8pm race are up. All I can say is I didn't come last and there is plenty of room for improvement 😉
A flatter course next time hopefully.

The results are up: http://www.zwiftpower.com/v2/race.php?id=1970

25th @ 4.69w/kg!?!

By looking at the numbers and strava fly by I've learnt a lot, I need to race a [b]LOT [/b]smarter. There was a few times in the first 5 or so miles that I was leading, I should have kept mid pack and saved energy by drafting. After 6-7 miles I backed off a bit too much and got stuck in a much smaller group than the main group leading, who started to increase the gap further and further. I have no idea what happened after the 9 mile marker (discovered that team viewer crashed on my PC). 😥

Come on Zwift, release the iOS app already! 🙄

Your w/kg are more than double mine nathb!
I'm using a dumb trainer so don't know how accurate it is having never used a power meter. I doubt mine is that low though.
I flew out of the blocks in CAT D and was 5th until the climbing started, ended up 21st. My profile was 1kg to heavy as I lost weight since I joined 2 weeks ago, not sure how much difference that would make.

@cheers_drive yeah 1kg would definitely help, particularly uphill! If you link your profile to strava it gives you more power stats etc.

I've just looked at Cat D, shouldn't most them be in C? Most are above 2.5wkg+ threshold. 😐

I didn't think that just 1kg would make much of a difference, I'll need to check my settings then.

Really enjoying it now. There is no way I would have previously spent the best part of 2 hours on a turbo trainer. Even tried a sprint section this morning. 3rd on the list... happy with that! Althought zwift seems to top out its power at 1200W for me on my cycleops fluid 2. Couldn't get it above that level ( couldn't maintain it either! 🙂 )

Yeah, even the Feather Weight boost only reduces riders weight by 8lbs/3.64kg.

Bah, inspired by this thread I tried to download Zwift onto my ageing Dell laptop last night and it seems it can't cope with the graphics.

Anyone seen any HD4000 equipped bargains knocking about?

How much to you want to spend ?

Apologies if this question is already covered in this thread, but I've not had time to read it all as yet.

Inspired by what I have read so far, I have ordered a Tacx Flow T2240 and while I am waiting for it to turn up I just wanted to check that I can use it with just a bluetooth connection either via my phone or with my laptop if it supports bluetooth v4.0?

Assuming I am correct here, is there any functionality that I will be missing vs using an ANT dongle?

Thanks

@mlpinto use the mobile link app on your phone and it'll be fine as long as your heart rate sensor and any other sensors you want to use are also Bluetooth.

Has anyone mixed and matched bluetooth and ant+ devices at the same time?

These could be of interest- Zwift Routes in Veloviewer.

[url= http://zwiftblog.com/route-details/ ]ROUTES[/url]

Watopia PDF

[url= http://zwiftblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Watopia.pdf ]WAT PDF[/url]