I did the wbr flat race this morning and ended up riding the zpower train. Quite a lot of zpower users in this race and they were all laying down the power and dragging us with them but it was hard work on the flats to stay with them. Bigfoot from this parish was in the A group which i stuck with for the first lap but i eventually dropped away. I was in new road shoes for which i didnt have time to check cleat positioning and one shoe was a bit off plus i couldnt quite get the tightness right with the boa system (its the system that you cant loosen,it only quick releases) so trying to do this mid race was interesting. I finished 6th in B in a group finish but i struggled all the way round, just didnt have it today. I seem to have very sore/tight quad muscles immediately after the race so i wonder if that is cleat related which seems an odd effect or the baltic temp in the garage.
BWD- yeah, you are spot on! Zwift and zwifters have an unhealthy obsession with w/kg thanks to the novelty of those little numbers being on display
Yep, it's a bit like people's fixation on FTP which is only part of the story. I find it genuinely fascinating looking at other people's power output / cadence / HR / w/kg stats. It's a bit sad really, but also slightly amazing.
Does anyone have a problem with their turbo wandering across the floor? Smooth wooden floor here which meant I ended up pressed against the TV stand!
Nope. Rubber mat?
😆 Nope- Got an old Tacx floor mat.
Nope, but it does jump a bit when I'm sprinting 😳
Led to the power lead falling out at one point.
Yes if I sprint at 600+ watts on the tiled floor.
My new mat that'll fit the width of the trainer arrived at the shop yesterday so hopefully it won't move anymore.
No Zwifting for me today as I had a colonoscopy this morning (all good), and no going outside as its snowing heavily once more in leafy South Lanarkshire, but my reported avg FTP jumped up to 250 yesterday, so I'm pleased with that.
I'm also close to unlocking Level 10 and all the wonderful things* that will bring to me!
*some map sections, I believe.
could've gone for ZTRshartride hill intervals at half two 😀No Zwifting for me today as I had a colonoscopy this morning
scaredypants
could've gone for ZTRshartride hill intervals at half two
A better time would have been last night at any point between 6pm and 9pm....
I'm also close to unlocking Level 10 and all the wonderful things* that will bring to me!*some map sections, I believe.
I'm close to that too codybrennan. It also brings the Zipp 808 wheels as well which are supposed to be the fastest in Zwift. Or should that be the Zwiftest? 😆
A quick bit of newbie race advice please? Due to tomorrow's inclement weather I may have to stays indoors, so to get my Tss in it looks as though splitting two races am/pm would do the trick.
Anyway, as a first time Zwift racer do I just enter by hitting the "B" (I'm in that range) and that's it?
How do I work out who I'm racing eg the other "B"s?
And how do I create a zwiftpower profile. The wbr instructions say I need one?
You’ll only see the other racers on screen.
The bar on the right shows who’s around you and what class. C are blue dots on the map, can’t remember what B’s are.
Be ready to go really hard out of the gate, settles down after a km or two.
Go to zwiftpower.com
Thanks will do. Anyone else doing either of the two wbr races tomorrow?
1200m of climbing in the snow yesterday and none of it counted towards my tron bike.
Bloody outdoors.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1364912662
Loads of WBR races tomorrow. Which ones?
Kryton - be prepared to go 400w for the first minute or so straight from the gate. Green dots on the map are B riders,red dots are A.
Go to zwiftpower and link your account to strava.
And if you ride around a bit before joining the race you can carry a power up with you into the race
Kryton - be prepared to go 400w for the first minute or so straight from the gate
Yeah I did do a race before but didn't go through this malarkey with several ID's and another strava connection. I'm connected up though but at the moment not sure why, I guess to post results.
Its the 09:10 and 15:40 WBR Hilly's I'm looking to do.
I like the TeamZF (Aus) rides as they are a more manageable size. Hardest one so far this morning. Was meant to be 1.9-2.5 but I ended up at 2.5 most of the time. 3 laps flat in under an hour. Sprint home from the last tunnel was 1.9km. Hit peak HR and apparently 530W for a second or two. I think we all know what that means...
... I need to recalibrate the tacx 😉
I'm getting more tempted to have a go at an 'easy' race
15:40 WBR Hilly
Eyeing that one up too as weather isn't looking great for an outdoor ride.
mrblobby - Member15:40 WBR Hilly
Eyeing that one up too as weather isn't looking great for an outdoor ride.
With todays intervals and tomorrows AM race done, I'll have my excuses in early 😉 I might team up with you Mr Blobby and get punchy on the front in the first half to wear them out, then you can cruise to victory 🙂
Or if I'm feeling good, I'm more that happy for you to lead me out on the last ha ha
THat would have been fun but stopped raining so i’m off out 🙂
Christ, that was awful.
I felt crap this morning anyway, and my ;legs were still aching from yesterdays intervals. Got off the line about 350w to settle mid pack, telling myself "calm, calm, just stick with the ebb & flow then settle..." and after about a lap settled ion a group with everyone sharing the work. Caught a few other groups, but all general going nicely. One fella went on a climb, but we rolled him back in.
But I got caught up in a series of errors. About a lap in I notice my HR wasn't displayed although it was on my Garmin, So I though oh well, I'll be DQ'd but I'm in it for the effort not the results so why cares". Then, frantically jabbing my finger on the feather on my phone my power ups wouldn't initiate aargh. So I'm sat in the group on the last climb 1.5km before the end. Its eased of a little and I've gain a Truck draft. I lean forward to the space bar so I can conserve a little energy before the finish sprint in a as I press it..... bang. My foot comes out the pedal leaving me hanging over the bars!! Off goes the group. I tried but didn't have the legs to get back in.
Finish averaging 3.4w/kg and I felt a poor effort on my part with a lot of distraction and must "Crit rust". Last of the B's I think.
Reading Kryton's race report makes me think I'll change my mind about having a go at a race. That just sounds painful 😉
'Rode' with my brother today who is a proper road cyclist. I really struggle to keep the same pace as one other rider. Either out the front or chucked out behind. Whatever he beasted me and he was definitely taking it easy. Still good fun and we'll have another go. Can't say I missed riding outside today...
Reading Kryton's race report makes me think I'll change my mind about having a go at a race. That just sounds painful
Ha Ha. Like an outdoor race, the first 20m mins is "wtf, I can't cope with this", and then it settles. Also, knowing the course and where the attacks might come helps. I actually finished 25th of 30th B, and if I have stayed in the group I have a sprint so could have picked up about 9 places maybe - such is life!
I'm doing it again this afternoon for training benefit, not expecting a good result after two days of bouncing around 3.5 to 4w/KG. Fresh, I would have expected to be putting out about close to 4w/KG over 45mins if I'd have TT'd it, but there was some messing about on one of the flat sections - no one wanted to give away the draft which dropped the average power.
I jumped on late for a quick WBR flat race 1 lap. I wasn't going to race, but was a big 130+ field, so why not.
Jumped off with the fast Bs but wasn't quite on the wheels, hanging at the back trying to grab a wheel but it wasn't there, through the underwater section and up the kick I was in a bunch of 9. HR was showing 175, pretty high this early on.
Held the 8 through the gravel and up the false flat incline, down towards the village sprint I nearly lost the wheel so dug in to find the 2 ahead.
No power up! Damn I should have done with it. Up the first part of the climb, I nailed it well though and instead of being dumped as usual on that, I was right in the mix, creating it in 3rd of our bunch. Through the rollers I was mostly hanging on for dear life, then settled a bit on the drop down to the line. Waiting waiting, people kicked a bit and a held, then 200m to go I surged and repassed a couple for 3rd in our bunch and 41st overall out of about 140 or so.
More than happy with that. My plan was a gentle 30km afterwards, but my legs are jelly. I can barely stand, let alone ride.
So that's my day done lol.
Nice one!
I'd just like to add my thoughts on Zwift, coming from using trainerroad the past two winters. It's made a remarkable difference to actually wanting to go on the turbo. Rode the middle distance fondo this morning, 2h15 on the trainer which previously would have been unthinkable! Raced yesterday morning in one of the WBR races, missed a gap on a climb but still worked pretty hard for an hour. So in summary, very impressed with it even using a dumb trainer.
Edit: Saw an interesting event yesterday, 2km pursuit series, looked quite good and a different style of racing
Anyone racing today (Sunday)? WBR 3 laps hilly at 18:15 for me I think, may do the 1 lap flat at 17:20 as a “warm up” too.
Anyone up for the fondo at 3 - B the full pretzel - still be sting whether I can be bothered
Anyone racing today...
Realising that I have a set of tough intervals to get through tomorrow I've canned this afternoon's race on the head and instead performed a core body workout. Another time...
[quote=lunge ]Anyone racing today (Sunday)? WBR 3 laps hilly at 18:15 for me I think, may do the 1 lap flat at 17:20 as a “warm up” too.
I tried that one yesterday. Lost my chain with the powerstrokes off the line and was then in last place. Managed to pull back to about 99th by the end of lap 1, but still mostly surrounded by D's putting out more W/Kgs that I was!! Still hoping to pull by a load and join the group about 6 seconds ahead on the big climb. And of course that is where the chain dropped again, and again! So gave up and rode the remaining 2 laps on my own with a couple of other free riders putting on a fair pace. Me thinks my bike may need some fettling 🙂
Went for three sisters instead as I’m fed up of the pretzel (twice already this month) - was holding. 45th nicely until the volcano climb - battery on the etap ran out - finished 102nd....
3 bloody CVR points! Meh!
Zwiftpower results are a bit pointless currently. 50% or more of our field were non results due to registration, or lack of it. You kinda just have to take the race as a battle against the people you can see on screen.
I entered the Medium Fondo this morning to do one lap of the Pretzel. Spotted an STWer (P Bayles I think??) also doing the same route. I had some sweetspot intervals planned today so I just used the mountain / climbs around the Pretzel route to sit at the right intensity. Until I got to the last 10km of course, then it was full on Threshold to empty the tank to the end! 2hr 2min. Think I came 55th in the end out of about 1,000 finishers. Was pretty pleased with that as I'd done a similar workout yesterday. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow!
Gotta love Zwift. There's no way I would have pushed quite so hard without it. I knocked 14 minutes off my best lap time from when I raced around it 12 months ago 🙂
Well done Jim that’s a cracking time and result
Well done Jim, yes it was me you went past!
Finished in 2hr 7min and was absolutely drained by last 5km - went off at full gas up first climb and paid price at the end.
I might give zwift a miss tomorrow - legs a bit sore now.
Paul
Nice times guys.
I was a bit back at 2hrs 26min, but trying to maintain a steady 260w.
HR monitor decided to stop working (original wahoo BlueHR with new batteries), and then 3km from the end I punctured. Rode the rest with the flat. No idea how I managed to flat on a turbo (not a pinch puncture from the position of the hole. Lost about 30 places due to that.
Legs were tired for all of yesterday, but really enjoyed it. Going to be back for the next 2 month's Fondos (want a chance to win the bike).
Need to look at the training plans now to see which one is most suitable for me.
You guys are impressive in your dedication. Makes me 14 min race feel a bit silly 🙂
Been following the Zwift Coders group on FB. There is an API you can use to access live data, every so often someone comes up with something pretty impressive...
This guy has built a smart lighting solution to his Zwift cave, which reacts shadows in the game (going through tunnels, etc), time of day, ride-ons, interval markers, etc, even lightning flashes! Very clever.
Needs to be in a wetroom with a shower head over him for the full immersive experience.
No Idea how you lot do it, done 3 10k races and been a bit heavy I manage an average of 170w, ive been dropped at the start of every race everyone seems to fire off and my avatar is having a gentle pedal. hopefully ill get better my heart rate is higher than my watts.
parling - Member
No Idea how you lot do it, done 3 10k races and been a bit heavy I manage an average of 170w, ive been dropped at the start of every race everyone seems to fire off and my avatar is having a gentle pedal. hopefully ill get better my heart rate is higher than my watts.
Are you sure your power is being reported accurately ? I don't mean that as an insult by the way 🙂 Just an observation. Some setups have reported REALLY low, my first one was about 0.8w/kg down on the accurate setup i have now, so i went from back pack C to front of C almost overnight.
The simple answer is, more more more. Many of us have been Zwifting often now for the best part of a year or more, the training really does work, whether it's a plan being followed, just extra miles, racing, whatever really, more is simply more... The more you do the better you get at most of our level of rider ability.
Just keep cracking on with it, the HR will come down, the power will fo up and soon you'll be hammering towards a trophy 🙂
Hi Weeksy,
I've no idea how to see if its been recorded accurately, Im using my bkool pro which should be accurate. I'm apparently averaging 1.9w/kg. Not used a trainer in a few years so it could be I'm just rubbish, just feels like I'm faster outside on MTB. Looks like ill just have to keep going.
Cheers
I've no idea how to see if its been recorded accurately, Im using my bkool pro which should be accurate.
generally you need a mate who has some sort of calibrated power meter to compare 🙂 Stick their bike on your turbo and see how their figures compare to yours.
Hmm I don't have that, I think ill just update the firmware as I've yet to do that too eager to zwift and if that's my power that's my power Ill just have to get fitter which is what I'm using it for anyway.
Where are you based ? MAybe a local is also on here.
I'm based in Leeds, to be honest if its wrong short of buying something else there is little I can change i imagine.
Did the met-5 race today which was 7 laps of Richmond flat, i hated every single pedal stroke. The race was so fast that even in the group you had to be doing over 300w just to stay in it. I dont think i dropped below 300w for at least the first 8 miles, it was brutal and it was a big bunch. It calmed down a bit but i was still topping 280w and with no downhill there is just no recovery. By lap 5 i slowly dropped away from the lead group and just tt’d with another B. I finished 4th but i was over 2 mins from the podium and the B winner averaged over 330w for the race!!!
Tried a new saddle and it seems better but need to do a lot more before i decide but its looking good.
I watched you for 15 mins 🙂 I was sitting in the viewing mode while i was just pedalling round myself on a 60km. I think it was fairly early on and the pace was bonkers for a 7 lapper. I saw you just lose the group and then sitting in a bunch of 3 guys and still as you say above, putting up 300w+ constantly... Eeeeek. No way that would happen in my world for 7 laps lol.
Did the met-5 race today which was 7 laps of Richmond flat, i hated every single pedal stroke.......
Sounds alot like mine. Did the Final WKG winter league race Saturday. 15 Laps of the volcano CCW 66km.
Started fast and I got into a group of 12 which led from start to finish. You couldn't take your eye off it for a second or you'd be off the back and 500w sprinting to get back on. I was having to use powerups every lap on the short ramp near the finish. Every time I got xp I thought this is it I'm dropped.
I got a feather on the last lap so hit it as late as possible and found myself at the front but got mobbed on the line by everyone with areo's!
7th overall, identical on time to 6th and less than 2 seconds covering the top 12. 279W average for 1hr 30!
[url= https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=38649 ]https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=38649[/url]
If i had known you were watching i might have put a bit of effort in :D. I was pretty much on my ftp for 2 thirds of that race, last 2 laps were thankfully more like normal. I got a pr for the sprint section on lap 2 and all i was doing was trying to stay in the group!
Jamie that is very impressive, well done fella. It sounds like very similar race, i was eating up those power ups. Your race was much longer though so you hung on very well there.
Impressive stuff indeed! Looks like even zwift is off the menu for a couple of weeks now. Physio said 'whatever you're doing to your ankle you're hindering recovery so stop doing everything'
So next time I get on the bike I'll probably be looking for a clydesdale event 🙁
Plan today is either the 16:30 WBR 4 lap classique or maybe just a bimble round the Greater London Flat.... There's a race at 16:00 for the CVR cup... but i just see that as ending up as a solo TT due to the speeds of the previous races etc.. At least with the 4 lap Classique i should be in with the lead Cs/slower Bs until the end.
Depends how the legs feel later on really...
Another 2 laps of boxhill for the mgcc race and another GOLD medal winning race, thats 2 weeks on the trot. It was a barnstormer of a win as well as i came from such a long way back. I had every intention of taking it easy and riding with the race organiser who i was chatting with on discord but a few familiar names had other ideas and sadly i couldnt resist. First lap was fast paced and box hill was done in 7:23 and i was in the lead surrounded by lightweight japanese riders but only 2 of them and one did a pr so figured if we keep the same pace he might drop off on the next lap. Went up box hill at the same pace but it was hurting and i couldnt drop them even with a power up so i slowed slightly to try and recover a bit. Upped the pace again and one dropped off but the other guy just sucked my wheel and then left me when he pushed out over 5w/kg. I quickened slightly to try and minimise my losses but he had a 15s lead at the top and he did a pr!! So went over the top with a 7:24 (excellent consistency if i say so myself) and soft pedalled in biggest gear down the hill. I realised after gunning it on all the nasty ramps in the subway that he was only 8 secs ahead so i had the last mile to chase him down. I caught him with 0.4m to go but i was pretty spent and fearing i had no sprint in me. Well after chasing so hard i dredged up some energy from somewhere and from just a bike length behind we both let fly. I was inching up to him but the line was in sight and my legs and heart were starting to fail but i managed to maintain the speed and he must have tired ever so slightly and just as we hit the line i believe i had half a wheel lead. Waited for the results and i won by less than a tenth of a second, he has since been dq’d for being over the limit. That race would have made a great video.
In all excitement i forgot i was still on discord and the others were shouting what had happened and could i stop heavy breathing down the microphone,oops!!! It seems they rather enjoyed my obvious pain and swearing.
That things when you've out for a pootle and end up having a bit of dig on the Volcano climb, entering into a bit of a battle with another chap for 10 minutes, dropping him and him coming back a few times, wheelsucking etc only to find out after that he was 13... 😳
Great job Blader!!!
LOL@Slowpunch, nice 🙂
Great work Blader 🙂
Just warming up for 16:30 race, fan on..... cold!
In this weather I have to have a fan on my face and the heater on my toes!
22:00 CVR race for me, i won the B race last week on a course that really sucked for me so looking forward to a flat one this week where I can kick some of those 65KG lads about a bit on the flat 😀
as usual, not in bottom 3 for B is target.
Og god ! that nearly killed me. 170 average HR and a max of 181.
It went about as usual really... Started off well but realised the group was 1 level above me as i couldn't hang on.. picked up 3 riders and let them do the work. 1 lap in and a big group behind caught up, so we were about 12-15 riders. Again, i let them all lead for 99% of it, but sitting close to the front on all of the pressure points and kickers. up Horseguards each time i hung on OK.... Right in middle of the group.
Last lap i caught a feather on the line, saving it for HG hill, i lost ground though somehow, even though i was trying. As we crested the hill the group shattered, not massively but enough... I was 1 from the back and struggling.... As he passed me i got his wheel and dragged us to the next 2... then 2 more... We were 2s behind a group of about 8, but our lead guy flew and we all got towed closer... bit of a push from us and we crossed the 1km banner about 1s behind the other bunch, but closing, around the roundabout we were all as 1 group.... I think we were all dead, you expect to see some big numbers about 400m out, but none came... we all just cruised, but a little faster.
I managed to get up with abouto 150m to go, but it was short lived... but i think i did OK and passed a few and got passed by 1...
Results shows 15 in our group
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=38757
the 'live' tab shows me as 5th in group... Which was OK.
25th out of 40 in B, but the results are meaningless as half will be DQ due to either power or registration issues. So i'll take 25th 🙂
It would have put me on the podium if not 2nd in C, which is about right for my level these days...
Destroyed..
Weeksy that is a great effort, you are doing very well in B now and certainly not out of your depth. The results show you were in a big group so you have done well to be at the pointy end. Is HG hill getting easier for you? I always get dropped on the flat section after there,it happens every single time.
Is HG hill getting easier for you? I always get dropped on the flat section after there,it happens every single time.
Not really LOL. I've not raced on Classique much lately though due to often doing lower HR stuff. But HG hill is still where i suffer the most... I think it's because as you're approaching it there's 2 other little bits that creep up, this rockets my HR and then means when i hit the hill i'm already at 174-176 on the HR, so almost at my limit, meaning there's not much left in the tank to give.
Not convinced i agree about out of my depth, i'm not quite top half, but it's tough to argue or complain about being just outside the top half. However that's very much only on courses that suit me as a rider. But i'm most happy with how it's going.
Whilst the weight loss has slowed to a crawl as expected, i'm still sitting below the magical 15st barrier, so hoping in the coming weeks to creep down little by little and get quicker by being lighter, not necessarily more powerful.
But thank you for the compliment.
I bought some toe covers the other day, ready for getting back on the trainerIn this weather I have to have a fan on my face and the heater on my toes!
Weeksy, good work on the weight. Keep it up ! (err, I probably mean down)
OOOh quite exciting in that I never do much Zwifting (my cost per ride is in gym membership territory)
but today
I saw my first ever 'other' STW in the name ride past 😀
That was poor, bad start, recovered a bit in the middle, failed miserably at the end. WBR one lapper.
Edit: 7th, group I lost in the last km was 3,4,5,6th
That's far from a disaster mate. You'll be on form in no time at all!
Tactically poor, missed a surge after the last climb and couldn’t get back on. Dropped nearly 20s in the last km...
Really enjoy reading the race reports Weeksy and Blader, really wish my cold and cough would do one so I can get back involved again.
I jumped into the castelli C group ride to help with the monotony of z2 riding and at least think about sticking in a bunch. Deffinitely made the time time go quicker and thoroughly enjoyed the sprint at the end. Out of interest what numbers have people seen from their t2240's. The blurb says a max of 800w but I saw a peak of 880w tonight and pleased with holding over 750w for 20s. No idea what these numbers are like compared to the seasoned racers in this thread but it'd be interesting to know
Right, i've signed up to zwiftpower and joined the STW team , got a decent pc that doesn't glitch at all and i'm ready to race....i think. Needing something to compliment my endurance training, i find lots of long steady riding makes me a bit one paced so i'm looking for some short (about an hour) races to knacker me out?. I'm at about 3.8w/kg at the mo and hoping it will be 4w/kg+ by spring. What do you folks recommend?. Any tips too would be welcome. thanks in advance.
Teamslug - most of the races that are more than 1 lap are generally about an hour long (races around the 20-25 mile mark). Build your wattage to about 350w about 5 secs before the start and then as soon as it start go for about 450w and that should see you in the front group and then just feather the power so you dont burn all your matches. Its also obligatory to do a race report on here because we like them and also it gives me an idea of who to avoid in a race.
gives me an idea of who to avoid in a race.
Lol!
And extra points for throwing up/falling off your trainer while sprinting/writhing in agony on the floor after the race/having your family question your sanity.
I have been enjoying the great outdoors the last few days. I know it's been said before but zwift makes an amazing difference to your outdoor riding.
Shoot for the stars sign up as an A.
Whoop whoop.
First overall in the 22:00 cvr, that's got to be a new FTP.
Pace was brutal for the first two laps (some of which might have been my fault), dropped to about 300w for the third, then it was all a bit cat and mouse for the last lap before a massive group spirit for the line from about 300m.
Really shows how hard it is to get a breakaway going on a flat course
Zwiftpower confuses me, I look on it but you can only seem to search for races not clubs.
Thanks people. Sounds good fun. I get the feelin i'm gonna get dropped in the flat races cos i'm not a power house but I'll do a few to get used to things and progress onto hillier races. Where does everyone run their Trainer Difficulty. I normally run at 100% but would it make any difference to run it lower?.
Zwift has slopes currently up to 17% and the Direto can simulate 14% slopes, so I run the difficulty setting at ~85%.
I think this means I have to use a wider range of gears, using the 28 and 32t sprockets to climb the steepest slopes.