..and one was called ‘Dick Feather’ which made me chuckle….
I bet you'd have to go some er... to beat him!
I'm fighting my second cold this year at the moment so haven't attempted any racing for a while. I've just been doing free rides with friends every other day or so and with the cold weather we haven't been out on the road since 17th Feb.
Doesn't look like it's going to warm up any time soon either so thank God for Zwift at the moment. 30% through the Everest challenge for the Tron bike though so keeping things ticking over.
Yup, i even brought mine in from the garage into the dining room today it was that cold.
I didn't set any records at all, i barely got over 140w.... Was just a proper gentle recovery ride really. Ended up wih 40km, but took half a lifetime 🙂
I cant even zwift as for the first time ever the kids school is closed so they are home with me. I am not entirely sure i can open the garage door as the snow drift is about half way up it! The wind and the wind chill is so brutal i wouldn’t survive the 10 sec walk to the garage. The current temp in the garage is -2 so not really keen on wearing next to nothing in that.
-1 in the pain cave WITH the Oil filled rad on for 2 hours - the wind was leaking through and lowering the temp. Managed a 40min climb to FTP, hold for 15 mins, then 3 x 15min SS intervals through the London loop.
The walk to the 'cave was bitter in bibs and a light base, lucky I took a spare as mid way through and once it got sweaty it was very cold with the fan on and I had to change it.
Anyway +4 degrees when I'd finished with a steaming head 😀
Edit: Plus I earned the Polka Dot Jersey today - woo hoo!
Nice going kryton, my garage is so draughty it actually is the same temp as outside so i would have been the same as you and steam every where and all metal objects covered in condensation. I trampled snow from my wellies in to the garage yesterday which is carpeted and i have just been in now and its all still there!
Got the luxury of doing it in the living room, a balmy 18 degrees. Couldn't bare the thought of doing it in a garage, BRRRR
After completing the 4wk ftp booster I'mat a loss on what to do, none of the races fall into my schedule of zwifting as its a tight timeline after i get home from work and also confidence in racing isn't great...
Anyone know a decent workout or weeks worth of said workouts? Looking at Jons Mix and SST, both seem good to begin with
Nice one Kryton! I’ve still only had the one sprint jersey.
Which climb was that?
Which climb was that?
I've no idea, either the Elephant & Castle one or Box Hill I don't know how to go an find out when it was awarded. I just suddenly notice I was in a different shirt and had the jersey next to my name. Its only an "at that moment in time for today" jersey though isn't it?
I wasn't focused on where I was, just knocking out 3.8w/kg 😉 sweet spot intervals.
Correct Kryts. I think it's an hour or two.
Well that’s the one place where w/kg does rule supreme 🤣🤣
Yeah, I think it resets after an hour.
Still- good going! With a couple of thousand minimum online these days, there’s no easy pickings 👍🏻👍🏻
Pilgrims of Zwift again today, seems to be quite a regular one for me on Fridays now as the timings work fairly well. I think i'll be banished back into the garage today, so winter socks will be going on i think as it's fairly chilly still. Got to go in there early though to tidy as i've had the wifes Specialized down out of the loft for a refurb/sort before selling.
10:35am anyway, it's usually about 2.0 peaking at 2.5w/kg
BRRRRRRRR it's sodding cold there !
Tomorrow I have a 2hr fasted Z2 which to avoid breakfast will be at 7am, therefore no chance to put the oil filled rad on for a longer duration prior. I'm seriously considering wearing longs!
However, the temp does rise to the dizzy heights of 0 according to the Met.
I've got long ones sitting next to the heater currently.... I've even got GLOVES there too ! This is bonkers.... Wooly hat will be on for the first 10 mins...
Well i had a terrible race today. As it was below zero in the garage i wore my 3/4 length shorts but they have no padding and after 50 mins i was suffering. I was already suffering in the race although i managed to be in the lead B group but i had to get off and put my regular shorts on. Suffice to say i just went backwards and ended up in 17th. I wasnt with it today though and struggled to keep hr down, i guess shovelling the snow off the drive and both cars wasnt the ideal preparation.
Well, my real race was cancelled tomorrow and although today was a rest day, I ate too much chocolate 🤣
So with calories to burn, I thought I could switch and spend tomorrow resting properly with the family and race on Zwift today. Also, because none of tomorrow’s races caught my eye, I figured it would be cool to support my team race series.
It was road to ruins which I think I’ve only ridden once before on the day it came out 🤣 Not a fitting course for my strengths but that made it a bit more exciting.
I quickly watched an old one on YouTube earlier to get the gist of it.
Warming up, I felt nervous but not as excited as I used to get before Crits took over my life.
Out the gates then and I briefly hit the front. Deliberately easing off, I nearly got dropped! I forgot how brutal these starts were. 450w stayed on display for way too long and I was now worried about the imminent climb!!
The front strung out and I tried to both ease off but keep moving forward.
I haven't used Sim mode on my Kickr Snap for ages- it’s all been ERG- and I was impressed with how life-like the inertia and the drafting was.
My only plan was to hold on tight and see which group I could hang with and soon we began to climb. Settling in to the second or third bunch, I was 28th and I wondered if top 20 was a realistic goal.
RPE was as useless as real life and I was going too hard. With my HR beyond 180, I tried to settle in and varied my gears and cadence to shift the load around.
Over the top and S.Smith BRT was my main rival in the surrounding riders.
We formed a group of 5 and apart from the occasional surge, it stayed together nicely.
Once the return climb began, a wave of panic came over me! This was a long way back up to the top! A quick check revealed a 30sec gap behind us so the plan was simply to hold this group!
The pace was quite varied as the three A riders attacked each other and it took some 700w bursts to get back on at times. I recognised the final climb approaching and then nearly got dropped on a downhill as someone attacked! I stupidly used my aero to cling on and felt sure I was going to be out the back on the climb now.
But.... as we trudged back up, I was doing well. Spotting a 1 sec gap on Smith, I followed the lead A rider and attacked a little. My power held up and soon three of us were descending.
Right at the bottom, one guy attacked and the other paused so I closed the gap. Back together again and the gap to Smith was 20 seconds.
Nobody was working though! I took a turn on the front and then one guy attacked again. We followed and picked up another rider.
Across the dam and one guy broke the elastic and stayed away to the finish.
The remaining A and B rider wouldn’t work either and again I slipped up. A strong TT effort now may have got them gee’d up and kept us away but I hedged for the sprint.
Reaching the volcano, the gap was 9 seconds now and I knew we’d be caught. Sure enough, Smith was back and it was a sprint off for 20th!!
The last minute was brutal! 512w average in fact!! No idea what was left- I waited until 150m. Smith was in front but as I wound up the old legs, I was closing fast! I kept pushing and pipped him- just after the line!!! So 21st for me and 5th in B.
It seems my Zwift tactics are no better than real life 🤣
Lol I enjoyed that!
Crosshair - great write up. I read somewhere that the only reason Smith managed to bag 20th was because the guy ahead of him was all elbows on the bike! 😀
Well that was, errrm interesting!
WBR 3 laps jungle loop. Which of course meant a long hilly lead in up to the jungle. I did ok up it I think, average about 3.5 which isn't bad.
Being the big fella I came into my own on the flat/slope of the section to the line, plenty of power to use, well, until we crossed the line. The counter showed 40.8km to go! That was after a 12km lead, wtf!
The race was then cat and mouse, it ended up not being 40+ more, but was still a good distance. I'd struggle on the latter half of loop, it's all 2% 3% etc, not one for the big guy.
Back on last lap we were a group of 6, but 2 of them had just caught us and passed, they were on their way and not a lot out 4 could do. I'd been working with Woermann a German for ages and was sad to see him binned from our quartet. So we were 3. The lead of us was pushing 2.8 on flat, so left him to it, when he eased a bit I would throw in 450w for 10s just to panick them. Down to the line, 700 to go, waiting waiting, I went with 300m left and visually I seemed to beat both my adversaries, but results showed one 0.1 ahead, so we will see.
Really tough ride though.
So much for having a sensible week.
Road ro Ruins for the first time in a race.
Sensible start and a bit of effort got me tagged onto the 2nd main group although that was 70odd out of 200.
Got dropped starting up to the jungle and just about got back on but sat up for the descent and dropped back to the chasing group. Tried to sit in the back of the group up the climb out and ended up with a group of 4. One guy pushing on so decided he was the man to stick to and see if we could get the rest back by the top. Around 20seconds down which stayed about the same back to the mainland while sharing the work. Just before the short switchback climb they were about 12 seconds so put a big effort in and got to within 2 seconds before the descent to the volcano when I had to sit up. My companion came back and subsequently dropped me up to the Volcano and I couldn't get him back.
Gambled the place with catching another 8 riders which nearly paid off. Would have been good if he could have held on the higher pace and we would have bridged the gap but then communicating in a race via typing isn't going to happen.
Reasonable result in the end with new power records from 20minutes plus. Comfortably beat all the Cs who remain in the results so happy enough. Lost CVR points ;0)
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=45814
Hey Tom, I notice you ride for a team called STW, which I guess is Singletrack World. How does one go about getting to be a STW Team rider?
You just do it in your profile on zwiftpower.com
I have a MacBook Pro and am about to buy a smart trainer. With both of these do I still need Ant± connector or can I just bluetooth the trainer to the MacBook? I also see they recommend using the App as well. IS this necessary and, if I do use it, how will trainer, app and MacBook all connect up?
You just do it in your profile on <span class="skimlinks-unlinked">zwiftpower.com</span>
Don't forget the entrance exam.
I did the "SZR Friday Fun Ride" yesterday, 3 laps of Volcano flat (so 37.5km). In theory a 2.5-3.0 w/kg group ride I just stayed near the front without forcing the pace and found myself in a breakaway group who didn't seem that bothered about the group ride concept. There were about 15 of us well over a minute ahead of the leader by the start of the last lap, where the pace increased enough to start spitting people out the back. It certainly turned into a race, I think I ended up 5th in the sprint - started too far back.
Today - 10 laps of the same course, 125 Zwift kms... 3hr22m. Ouch.
125! Wow, that's a big number. Must admit, my max threshold is 50km.
Cheers guys, I am now a fully fledged STW Team member. 🙂
Going to try my 1st ever TT tonight at 6. Nice short single lap of the Jungle loop. No risk of doing very well but fancy a go at something different and not too long in the saddle. Bit late I know but hints and tips would be appreciated
just dipped my toe in, yup racing makes you dig deeper, FTP went from 237-251 (Tacx Neo Power)
did the WBR 1 Lap Figure 8 Hilly at 1905, got 4th in C
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=46027
Well done both of you boys!
Welshfarmer - is that a trophy I see before me ?
Well played. Dirtyrider too.
Might do a short C race tomorrow if I can find one. Getting lazy.
There's an early afternoon CCW that has my name on it. Just changed stem and angles on the bike so wouldn't mind testing. Legs may not be in it though.
🙂 only a Bronze though.
To be fair I wasn't sure what to expect. It was billed as a TT about 13 km with 1 lap of the Jungle circuit. But it started back on the docks and had the full 13 k run in as well. Just as we were about to leave someone said it was hot from the off. I had assumed the ride in was a warm up and we would only be timed on the Jungle Loop bit. Anyway, I basically got caught sleeping as I took it a bit easy off the line as I still wasn't sure what was going on but then realised it was a race from the get go so got my head down. Was back in 43rd place by then. I knew I could climb OK so by the time we reached the 100m sign going into the jungle I was up to about 21st with only 3 "C" Group riders ahead of me and 2 close on my tail. Well I didn't really make any inroads into the ones ahead as they already had 40+ sec on me but I did trade places with the 2 who were on my tail several times. Managed to drop one of them on the climb to the suspension bridge but came off the end of the bridge neck and neck with the other one. It was a long run back down the hill to the cave! I was maxing out on HR going through the cave but unable to put more than 2 seconds on my chaser. In the end I crossed the finish only a second ahead of him. Was 4th in C but ZP seems to have dropped one of those ahead of me so I will settle for a Bronze.
I basically got caught sleeping as I took it a bit easy off the line as I still wasn’t sure what was going on but then realised it was a race
Yeah, everyone gets done on that one (except me - I did the opposite and thought I'd won when we passed the "start" line !)
Didnt want to start a new thread for thsi query, but shout if you think I should.
I've been zwifting for a while using an old dumb turbo with speed and cadence sensors, this weekend I bought a tacx flow 2240 from halfords, first ride out was great yesterday , zwift was varying the resistance nicely when going up hills etc.
Today I am getting no variable resistance at all, any ideas? Here's what I've tried
-updated turbo firmware
- made sure the phone bluetooth is switched off , so that the tacx app isnt controlling the turbo instead of zwift
-in the pairing section on zwift, the power source and controllable turbo are set to the same device
- rebooted the laptop and turbo numerous times
When I use the tacx app, it can vary the resistance just fine, so there's obviously something up with zwift - I've submitted a ticket, but I thought you all might be able to help.
are you doing a workout ?
have you paired it as the right "type" of trainer in the zwift startup window ?
are you doing a workout ?
have you paired it as the right “type” of trainer in the zwift startup window ?
No, its in "just ride" mode.
No sure what you mean by the right 'type' of trainer, but in the controllable trainer section its listed as the tacx flow, and in the power source section the same again.
I have a MacBook Pro and am about to buy a smart trainer. With both of these do I still need Ant± connector or can I just bluetooth the trainer to the MacBook? I also see they recommend using the App as well. IS this necessary and, if I do use it, how will trainer, app and MacBook all connect up?
You're good to go Frank. Just download the app from the app store and it will pickup the trainer through Bluetooth. But if you want to use a HRM I think you will need ANT+ (anyone confirm?). I've got an old TV mounted on the wall in the garage and run a usb-c to HDMI cable from the MacBook to the TV.
No sure what you mean by the right ‘type’ of trainer, but in the controllable trainer section its listed as the tacx flow, and in the power source section the same again
Not sure as I don't have a flow but if I click on the trainer section of zwift, I get 2 or 3 options and I think one of them acts as a dumb version
On a similar note I'm tempted but the £180-£300 smart trainers in Halfords site. I don't need power as I have a 4iiii
Most say they simulate up to 6%, is this an issue? Assuming I go up a 10% Zwift incline do I just change gear to make it harder as per my dumb turbo
And... Which trainer is recommended? I'd prefer a Fluid feel...
But if you want to use a HRM I think you will need ANT+ (anyone confirm?). I’ve got an old TV mounted on the wall in the garage and run a usb-c to HDMI cable from the MacBook to the TV.
or a bluetooth HRM
i run Zwift on my Laptop, then use the LCD above it for watching Netflix/Youtube/Prime, rather than tie up 2 devices for one purpose
of course you could get a 4K Apple TV and do away with the laptop
No sure what you mean by the right ‘type’ of trainer, but in the controllable trainer section its listed as the tacx flow, and in the power source section the same again
What he means for example with my Snap I get
Kickr snap
Kickr snap FE-C
The 2nd one is the controllable one
Ah ok,for me theres only one option which is tacx flow .
Just download the app from the app store and it will pickup the trainer through Bluetooth. But if you want to use a HRM I think you will need ANT+ (anyone confirm?). I’ve got an old TV mounted on the wall in the garage and run a usb-c to HDMI cable from the MacBook to the TV.
With a MacBook Pro the Zwift App can connect either with Bluetooth or ANT+ to the trainer, cadence sensor or HRM - if it's a Bluetooth one anyway.
Note: if you want to use The Sufferfest app on a Mac, the trainer will only connect via ANT+ , thought the Sufferfest iOS app will connect via Bluetooth.
I use a Bluetooth speaker for music at the same time and that can be problematic. The speaker connection seems prone to dropping out with three other Bluetooth devices connected, so I sometimes use an ANT+ dongle to connect the cadence sensor, but with a Mac you should be able to connect everything you need with BT as long as your cadence and HRM are bluetooth compatible obviously, but it may be worth having an ANT+ USB dongle on an extension lead - put the dongle close to whatever sensor you're aiming to use - as a back-up / addition particularly if you use a bluetooth speaker or earphones.
Edit: I've found the Zwift support guys pretty efficient if you mail them and there's a lot of online info on the Zwift support portal both general and specific to particular trainers. Google is your friend on that front.
Julians - i have the same trainer and you dont need to select a trainer as it will only see yours as you have stated. The only thing i can think of is if you have accidentally set zwift to erg mode ON which means there will be no resistance change. Log back in to zwift and start riding and look in the menu to see if erg mode is activated.
... or accidentally set difficulty to zero ? I don't think this removes all alterations but it might feel a bit like that
got it working now, not sure what I did to make it work, just unpaired the flow in zwift, unplugged the trainer from the power, waited for a few minutes, plugged the trainer back in, then searched and paired up with the tacx flow, and it just started working.
I've done that several times today and it made no difference, but this time it all just started working - seems a bit flaky to me.
anyway, good its working - hopefully it will stay working now, cant be bothered faffing with it every time I want a ride.
Just did the 4.20 one lapper as a C
Finished 4th and then DQ'd for w/kg (my 95% was 3.2 apparently - thought that was OK, or do they use full average power?)
Anyhow, good fun and I guess back to B next time (though I'll get a few kickings as I was at full whack to produce that much for 13 minutes)
just did the WBR 3 Lap Jungle Hilly Race 1815, was 50/50 after doing a 1 lap figure 8 hilly race yesterday, but im at work tomorrow, so thought well why not
was a bit weird, there was a 13km run in to the start of the first lap, then im sure it it said 3 laps and 40.1km to go, but my rides logged as 36.5km ?!?! not sure whats happening there (13km ish in, then 3x 7.87km laps makes 36.5km right) when it came up 40.1km to go, i thought ah christ bugger that, but carried on
anyway, not my favourite course as the downhill isn't steep enough to recover from the uphill effort, saw welshfarmer say it was off from the docks in the comment yesterday, so managed to jump and stick with the front group of 20ish up until the start of the epic kom hill, then got dropped but had managed to put a decent amount of time into the "c's" behind me, with seemingly only a few in front, had 1 rider with me for more or less 2 laps, managed to put a decent gap into him on the last hill, which he didn't get back, tried chasing down a couple of C's 15/20 seconds in front of me on the final run in, but couldn't peg them back
results initially said 9th when i looked after a 10 minute recovery spin, but now saying 2nd? got a red mark for average heart rate though, but its normal for me, yesterdays has changed from 4th to 3rd as well
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=46179
was a bit weird, there was a 13km run in to the start of the first lap, then im sure it it said 3 laps and 40.1km to go, but my rides logged as 36.5km ?!?! not sure whats happening there (13km ish in, then 3x 7.87km laps makes 36.5km right) when it came up 40.1km to go, i thought ah christ bugger that, but carried on
I did same course yesterday and did exactly same on my distance counter thing.
dirtyrider - you won "who has the highest avg heart rate" The podium finishers tend to get booted if they have no HR but I think in BandC they are leaving them in after that. ZP (zpower) users are booted straight away.
I ended a silly 7 day period with my 4th race and not the flat one I had intended. 3 sisters instead. Perfect for my attributes of too heavy for my power :0)
Sensible off the line and into the second group. This broke up up the KOM climb and I ended up with mostly by Cs and a couple of fellow B riders.
Setting off up the Epic a couple of suspect C's went off at an unsustainable pace for me and the 2 B's shot off a little while later. Trying to maintain a steady pace the B's eventually came back then went again as I shook my head thinking I'd see them later. Couldn't hold the last small group that caught me before the top and then set off up to the mast. As there's a big downhill rest after this I set off at a higher effort of around 250watts:3.1w/kg and slowly pulled riders back. After the steep corner I upped this to 280+ watts and reeled in, and dropped, everybody who was within range (including the 2 Bs) bar one C who had about 12 seconds on me. Couple of big efforts on the uphills on the way down and I was with him by the bridge and we shared the work to the Volcano. Slim lead of around 20 seconds and 40 seconds on 2 others.
Got on the front on the Volcano and worked hard to maintain 240/250 watts which put my partner in trouble as the 2 behind were linking up and a big effort up the steep ending and before the descent started gave me about 40 seconds but the time gaps are a bit variable on differing terrain so had to crack on once at the bottom to maintain the lead.
Overall nothing startling as a result and I could feel the effort. Strangely enough all the Cs ahead of me got bumped or upgraded...
5 minutes to find to get up with the next meaningful group on the road. 70odd starters but only 42 finishers.
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=46186
Just did the 1 lap job, brutal from the go, first bit of silverware though 🙂
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=47112
Changed my training a bit on Zwift, I was doing the 4wk ftp booster to give me a solid footing and and accurate(ish) ftp value.
Now training for the multiples of 100 mile sportives i have this year, long ride training on zwift, my god is it monotonous and my ass hurts! Cannot wait for the warmer weather so i can go out instead, self admitted fair weather rider...
Nice result Tiger, some impressive average watts going on there. I best add you to the list of people to avoid in flat races!
i did 3 laps of UCI course today in the EVR race and i can officially announce that it is the hardest course out of the lot. The 3 climbs at the end of each lap are just pure torture. I pulled between 450-500w on the first climb and i still got dropped even with a feather power up. The guys racing today were just too fast, each climb was full gas which just wasnt sustainable. I hung on to a group for dear life and ended up 7th in B but i was completely out of gas.
Yeah blader, that UCI course is brutal, that first climb is perfect for me but then there's just not long enough to recover before the next one, then there's nothing at all left in the tank for the steep at the end. I love it 😀
I did the WBR one lapper yesterday and experienced my first technological mechanical, ant+ dropped out for a couple of seconds and everyone in the group that I was in just disappeared into the distance. Up to that point it had been a really good race with everyone tearing chunks out of everyone else at 5.5+ on the front. It was a 13 minute race and the winner had a 5 min power of 5.4w/kg. in the end i picked up a straggler from the lead group and beat him in the sprint. Still a good work out and did another 40 mins or so after that, was rather enjoying being on the bike.
Rode for 90 minutes last night. Back with a functioning Bluetooth speed sensor (also cadence and HR). zPower on my Sartori (set as a Blue Motion and resistance 4) looked credible for heart rate and road riding. Four hilly climbs and 51 km would be about right.
Anyway, ordered a Kickr 2016 off the website as reconditioned Snap and Kickr units are back in stock. Cheapest Snap is £300 now. https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices
Still not worked out where the group rides and races are listed on iOS, but not that bothered. Might do another 50 km tonight with a bigger iPAD to see the numbers 🙂
Chickening out of a full on race tonight. If anyone else is doing the SZR 2 lap Evening "Joyride" at 6 then I will see you there 🙂
I have done a few of their Joyrides and they are anything but fun!
I went real-world today with a blast on the 29er on the roads. Had to drop my car off at the garage for servicing and MOT, so came back on the roads with a 28km bimble, well, i say bimble, i was trying pretty hard considering !
Times, pace and stuff were all pretty good, felt strong and happy.
Making some decisions and debates tonight now as i've been struggling at times with a bit of neck pain. So i'm considering consigning the Isaac to the loft and decomissioning it. I've done the attempts now at Crits, i don't see myself doing the Crit thing again, so there's really no need to do any work on the Isaac now.
I can fit the rear wheel off the Isaac on the Parkwood as they're both QR, but admittedly i have to remove the rear caliper from the mount, but it's only a 2 minute job after all so no biggy. I have used a Hybrid tyre before but it steals about 30-40w when riding, which may not seem a lot, but when racing on Zwift, it's actually a pretty massive factor, it's the difference between winning C races and finshing 10th.. The other alternative is to come up with a plan where i can fit the turbo tyre onto an actual 29er rear wheel, but it really would have to be an exceptionally narrow rim to manage it. We'll see... But i can see the Isaac being banished after tomorrow.
It's something i ought to think about selling, but i'd feel really bad as it was a gift from a neighbour who's now moved to Canada, but he'd have only ended up giving it to charity. As far as i know it's a decent frame, carbon Isaac Pascal, with full Campag 10 speed, Campag brakes and i believe decent wheels... But i have no concept of what something like that is worth.
Scaled, ordinarily i would like those climbs but for some reason Richmond seems to make everyone go watt crazy on the the flat section. Last couple of times the starts have been lightening fast with no let up so by the time you get to the climb you are already blowing hard. Today the start was actually pretty comfortable and i was ready for the first climb but hitting 500w and still getting dropped is just too fast for me. 3 laps of that nonesense and i was goosed. The climbs being so close together means i am just staring at the crankset trying to forget the pain.
Any zwift tips for an old, slow fat (91kg) bloke apart from stay off the beer and crisps? Done a couple of 1 hour+ sessions averaging 110 watts and enjoy the timed hill climbs and sprints. Are any of the group rides suitable or will I get left riding alone? What about the fitness plan rides?
shinton, I think some of the group rides (workouts maybe) might allow everyone to stay together regardless of their actual power, as long as you keep pedaling
... or else if nothing else works, go on the zwift diet™ and lose 40 kilos. Nobody'll care unless you're racing
Hi Shinton. I am an oldie (50+) and started this year at 93 kgs (now down to 86.8 as a result of diet and Zwift). I would definitiely recommend some group rides as they will certainly push you to try hard, just make sure you sign in as a Group D to start with. If you feel you can't stick the pace even as a D then get going on some of the ERG mode workouts where the turbo will automatically set an appropriate resistance for your ability (based on your FTP which you will of course have already ascertained 🙂 ). You will soon be looking for ways to improve you power, such as making sure your roller is spotless, you have a good slick tyre pumped up to 100 psi etc, etc..
Another 90+ kgs here.
You’ll probably find that you’ve got legs that are used to push 90kilos around and don’t lack power on flat courses this gives you a decent stab at keeping up with groups
One of them dreaded days here today.... Rest day ! I really don't like them and they rarely seem to help. But i'm at 160km up to now for March which is honestly enough for me in a week, so having the day off makes sense. Whether i can manage it, is very much open to debate 🙂
Another 50 km around the Richmond course. Rather enjoyed the three laps, and could probably have done another 90 minutes. Rode using a standard iPad rather than my mini, and can now see the inclination graph - that used to be bigger! I can also see the group rides menu on log in as well - missed them previously. Still can't read the names of the cyclists though. Don't really want to bring it in from the garage, but I could run it on the home cinema via Apple TV Airplay. Might get a bit warm though. We also had an iPad Pro mk1, but this doesn't fit into the Tacx tablet holder. I'm also rather wary of using this holder on my Kreitler rollers. Looks an easy way to log distance, but not quite the same.
I probably need a fan.
Will consider a group ride/race when the Kickr arrives, and I look forward to power comparisons.
So, as per previous posts I have a new tacx flow smart (2240) trainer, and since switching to this trainer im loads faster in swift , looks like my power is approx 20 watts higher than when I was using my old dumb cycleops mag trainer.
The flow is calibrated correctly according to the app, so which number is correct? The one from the flow or from the cycleops?
I'm inclined to believe the cycleops more as when I ride in zwift on the cycleops with mates that I also ride with in the real world, were all in the same order, ie the person in real world that is faster than me is also faster in zwift. However when using the flow I am the fastest person, which is deffo not right.
Is there a gotcha to calibrating the flow correctly? Like I say the tacx app reckons its calibrated correctly.
Maybe the cycleops is a little pessimistic, and the tacx is optimistic?
When riding on my own I guess its no problem, as any improvment in relative, but being loads faster than others who in the real world I am slower than is irritating (for them)
I assume the cycleops trainer was using a virtual power curve so i would say that this one is likely to be less accurate than your smart trainer.
Had a very interesting race this morning with MGCC crew. The race was advertised as road to ruins but its london course today so i figured the race was likely to falter. Spoke with the organiser who had no idea what was going to happen so we all lined up not knowing where we were going or for how long.
A fast start again and a couple of miles in it seemed were were heading for box hill so london loop but this time only 1 lap. Normally its 2 laps so decided i could burn more matches up box hill so i might try and get a breakaway. Sadly 2 Korean riders had other ideas and i had to hit 5w/kg and constant 370w all the way up just to hang on to them. I crested box hill in 7:04 with a hr of 180 and thighs full of lactate but i was 8 secs behind 1 of the Koreans. I knew i had to go hard up that steep kicker before the descent so i hit 500w up there and managed to just catch him as the downhill started. So me and 2 Koreans heading for the podium spots.
i soft pedalled down the hill to try and recover for the nasty ramp in the subway section. I always get dropped after that section as i have nothing left for the run in. I decided not to look at the screen and also to keep pedalling hard after we have crested it. Boom i hit the ramp doing 560w and managed to get a 1 sec lead and just kept turning a big gear. I was only doing 76rpm but in this gear i was doing 320w+ and so i had 0.7mile to hold on to my 1 sec lead from the 2 chasers. It was time to unleash the yorkshire grit and fight the pain to the end. I kept it in high gear and made sure my cadence never dropped and just went for it. I could see them hitting some big numbers but so was i and now i had a 3 sec lead. I was now shouting and begging for the line and there it was and i coasted over and won GOLD by 3.62 secs. Now that hurt a lot but the satisfaction was immense. Stats ended up as avg 295w with max hr of 182.
Yeah the cycleops was using the zwift calculated virtual power. All my riding mates are also using virtual power. I suppose it could be that the virtual power is pessismistic, but when we're all on the same kind of trainer were all comparable,but now i have gone for a smart trainer i cant really compare with them.
Kind of shows how much discrepancy you can get across different zwift setups, makes comparing yourself to others difficult.
Awesome work Blader... You're a bit of a BEAST !
Well done Blader, that sounds like everything went more or less to plan, you were just prepared to hurt more than you thought you were!
Hopefully CVR racing tonight, but now we're at the sharp end the timezones are all shifted and the 10pm racers are all going at 7pm, that's firmly in my eating/putting kids to bed window.
Scaled thats one of the reasons why i didnt compete in the cvr league, the times were either too early or too late for my famiy life. I shall try and keep an eye on tonights race as there have been quite a few good ones, good luck.
i tried a sprint segment after the race to see if i could max out my trainer (limit is 800w). No idea what i got up to as for some reason it hasnt saved but i am 99% certain something was smoking at the back wheel, i do hope it was burning rubber and not electrical components. Will try it out on Thurs.
LOL seems to be a theme going on here, i could smell burning yesterday after a couple of sprint efforts at max cadence (148!) the trainer had crept forwards a few inches and I was dangerously close to my foot heater, so much s that i've singed the hair off my right leg 😀
Ha! My turbo had been creeping forwards also and as one leg crept forward it went into a lower bit of floor and I fell into the fireplace
Zwifting is hazardous!
(fireplace is not used so no burning though)
Tiger and scaled that is funny, who would have thought it would be so dangerous to be stationary. One of the guys on the mgcc race a couple of years ago was heard on discord riding in to a wall. It transpires everyone heard a loud bang and crash so they asked around and one of the guys on his rollers had come off and hit the wall in his basement. No harm done but it does come up now and again in conversation.
Pah. Smart trainer idea gone down in flames after the cat went to the vet and ran the bill up.
That is a bummer Kryton. Hope the moggy is OK now though?
My Zwifting may take a bit of a knock in the next days/weeks. I've decided to retire the Isaac now. So will be doing all my Zwifting/riding on the Parkwood. I've currently got a Hybrid tyre fitted.
I previously had this tyre and did some testing.
Isaac, Conti GP4000, SPD-SLs
5:00 @ 200W in ERG
Max HR 119
Ave HR 115
Parkwood, Hybrid tyre flats
5:00 @ 200w in ERG
Max HR 130
Ave HR 123
Parkwood, ContiG GP4000, Flats
5:00 @ 200w in ERG
Max HR 123
Ave HR 117
Re-test Isaac, Conti GP4000, SPD-SLs
5:00 @ 200W in ERG
Max HR 121
Ave HR 116
Isaac, Conti GP4000, Flats.
5:00 @ 200W in ERG
Max HR 120
Ave HR 116
I didn't test to see how many watts are lost using the Hybrid tyre and Parkwood, but the HR was 7bpm higher for the 5 min test on the tyre. So what i'm thinking is to pick up one of these
Tacx Home Trainer MTB Tyre T1397 Folding - 28 x 1.25
The main thing stealing my power (or upping my HR) on the Parkwood test didn't seem to be the pedals or the riding position but the tyre. The 700x23 i currently have as the turbo tyre doesn't fit the Mavic 29er rim as the rim is too wide but i'm thinking the 1.25 (32mm) will fit better on the rim i have. With luck, i'll then be on a pretty much level playing field for my usual speed/power. If not, then i'll just have to come to terms with being back firmly in C rather than B, which honestly makes very little difference to me.
Not sure if i'll test the hybrid tyre today as i may have to shoot into Reading to collect my car after servicing etc.
Well interestingly (to me...) i jumped on for a ride with the Hybrid rubber on. The route took in Leith Hill, which couldn't suit me less as a course
Comparing times, speeds and HR to a previous race attempt, it wasn't that bad actually
Today was 19min 35 and Jan time was 18min 15. Which may seem a chunk, however, looking at the HRs
Today was Av157, Max 166 and Jan was Av172, Max 176. So on the race in Jan i tried a LOT harder to get them 1mins 20sec. I'm sure someone cleverer than me can work out from the Watts what the difference would be.
Average 227w and Average 259w.
Wasn't planning on pushing hard today, although 157 isn't exactly bimbling, but then again, it's not flying.
All in all, i enjoyed it 🙂
London Hilly 2 Lap WBR 🙂
Tough, was on my own most of the race and finished very mid table, but got a chunky FTP increase according Zwift
Edit: Just looked at Zwiftpower and may have done okay in C Looks like some Chinese profiles may get filtered out on silly power and no HR
What does that put you to now ?