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Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

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In the interests of cheap testing, i've just ordered one of these.

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-tyres/kenda-k193-kwest-bike-tyre-700x35c

Less treaded than my current one. Which is this (or very similar)
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bike-parts/bike-tyres/rubena-landmark-city-tour-trek-tyre-700-x-38c-40-622-black

The Kenda does 100psi and seems almost a slick.... So... why not, lets see what happens.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 7:43 am
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I'm more of a cranker than a spinner. I used to find I ran out of gears with the 29er and I had absolutely no chance of keeping up on the descents. I tended to only shift up on the longer climbs.

Those tyres look like they might be a bit sketchy in Swinley 🙂
I had a turbo trainer tyre on my bike as at the time it was only used for that.
What about getting a cheap spare wheel and fitting a turbo tyre and swapping between the 2 wheels?


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:00 am
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That's what i do mate, i'll fit that Kenda as the turbo tyre. I'm not sure a 700x25 etc would actually seat on the rim correctly. Thoughts appreciated from all though... It's just a generic DT Swiss 29er wheel. I could always try the Conti GP 4000 on there that's currently on the Isaac though if people think it would seat on a MTB rim ?


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:04 am
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I tried the 17:05 WBR race again yesterday and managed to stay with the lead group until the end even taking part in the sprint. Finished 8th in the A's with enough points to move me up to 154th in cat 1 on CVR. Off for a bike fit today and hopefully a few more watts.

Back on Zwift on Thursday morning.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:08 am
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As you will be on the turbo weeksy even if it does fail you are unlikely to get hurt so you may as well try it, i certainly wouldnt advise going out in the real world as a test.
Speaking of real world i might just get out in to it today and risk my life and wheels with a tour de bradford,well somebody has to. I am going to try and curb my competitive nature and treat this as a pootle round old stomping ground and pay no attention to my garmin.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:09 am
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Speaking of real world i might just get out in to it today and risk my life and wheels with a tour de bradford

LOL i did 100km of trails at the weekend 😉 I'm doing the outdoor stuff for us lot too 🙂


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:20 am
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I had a turbo tyre on a 19mm id disc rim pumped up to something like 90-100psi. Wasn't too bad to get on the rim, no harder than a WTB tyre that it replaced. Had it on there for 700km with no problems.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:25 am
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Hey! I did 37miles outdoors last week!!.....
And 123 miles of intervals indoors 😆

Depends what you want out of racing Weeksy, you can learn the craft and probably mix it in an occasional sprint with a LOT less effort than I'm putting in.
I'm only working this hard because I'd love a Cat 4 podium/win and then my Cat 3 license next year. My body isn't shaped for breakaways so I need all the Powerz 😀


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:48 am
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Depends what you want out of racing Weeksy, you can learn the craft and probably mix it in an occasional sprint with a LOT less effort than I'm putting in.
I'm only working this hard because I'd love a Cat 4 podium/win and then my Cat 3 license next year. My body isn't shaped for breakaways so I need all the Powerz

I get that, but realistically, without increasing the training, decreasing the weight and increasing the power, i'm unlikely to get to even where you WERE, let alone where you are now.
Life and time dictates that i can't put in the weekends in the same way you were this year, it's just not going to happen.
Add into the mix that i don't actually like or enjoy the road bike, means it's all a bit of a pointless consideration for me.

I've got some goals and plans for next year, things will become a little easier in the Events context then, so i'll just be using Zwift as a training/fun tool for now as i have done previously.

I think i'll be attempting to kick the 5-2 and do a bit more regular healthy stuff, yesterday just sitting there feeling like i was going to pass out, was not good.... I felt tonnes better after some food 🙂


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:53 am
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I'm out braving life and death in the mean streets of London racking up my outdoor mileage Monday - Friday for STW'ers. 😆

Anyone racing tonight? I'm not sure which to do..


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 12:17 pm
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Nothing really jumping out at me or my legs tonight.

I'll save myself for the 8pm tomorrow.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 12:22 pm
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Well outdoor ride completed and i stuck to my task of not racing, quite liberating really. The bike and I survived riding through Bradford but it was a pretty lumpy route with a cat 4 climb that was quite testing, it was only 30 miles at an avg of 15.2 mph so a nice recovery ride.
I did notice a big difference between zwifting and real world ride (other than the obvious) was the shower afterwards. Zwifting requires a very cold shower, real ride requires a hot shower!


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 12:57 pm
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cold shower ? WTF, it's not the Dark Ages !


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 1:01 pm
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Yorkshire, they don't waste money on things like hot water if they can get away with it.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 1:16 pm
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WBR 3 Laps of Hilly Route at 7:05pm.

Anyone joining?


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:43 pm
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Just done the 3pm 10km 1 lap race and after the usual promotions I’ve got a yet to be confirmed 1st place in Cat C (out of 3) 😀
I was out in front and had built up a 15sec gap by about halfway but as we got to the hilly section they were beginning to close the gap. The group of about 4 caught me around 7km in and on that last little hill before the finish they dropped me. As they dropped me the lead guy used an aero PU and they pulled away. I tried bloody hard to catch back on again but even putting out 450w I was only holding the gap at about 4 seconds. I couldn’t sustain it any longer and pootled across the finish line trying very hard not to puke.
Ended up with an average of 331w. That’s a lot more than I’ve managed in the other short races I’ve done. So pleased to see some progress.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:45 pm
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whats all this talk of hot water? Dont come on here if you are just going to show off with your fancy hot water,what next, soap! Gnaar,bloody kids of today, dont know how lucky they are.
Seriously though,if you need a hot shower after zwifting then you either didnt try hard enough or you are in an igloo. It has to be cold to cool down the hot lava and magma that seems to be boiling inside my body.
Ok quick poll of our main zwifters, hot or cold/cool shower after a zwift race?


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:50 pm
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I don’t need to shower afterwards, my industrial fan keeps me cool enough 😆


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:52 pm
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Not sure I qualify as a main swifter but I’m giving you my opinion anyway 😀

I try and wait to cool down before showering then it’s a luke warm one. If I don’t have time to cool down then it a cold one otherwise as soon as the water stopped running I’m sweating like a fat lab again.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:54 pm
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Muggomagic - that is a great result if that stands and pushing out 331w avg is pretty impressive,well done fella.
I have never done a one lap race or short time trial so might give that a go.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:54 pm
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nathb only keeps cool due to the draught from his rear wheel when he drops one of his infamous watt bombs.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:57 pm
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Cheers. All I need is some liposuction then I could be a contender 😆


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 3:59 pm
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Hot shower for me!

Nice one Muggo! Serious watts 🙂

My monastic dedication to the cause continues so no races for me I'm afraid.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 4:19 pm
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Wow that hasn’t happened for a LONG time, apart from with Mr Cartwright, I’ve just had my a** handed to me!!!

Off for a shower now 😆


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 8:04 pm
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You only lost by several seconds and the winner has form and a ftp of 349 so no shame in that.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 9:05 pm
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So modest 😆 Besides, that doesn't count as a race report. 😉


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 9:08 pm
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Race report:
3x laps of watopia hilly.
5 riders in my class, 3 of us go off the front. A couple of other class riders stick with us, for a lap?
On the first hill there's an attack, I hang on fine with that. Then there's attack after attack by the other two riders, literally 2-3 real attacks per lap. The guy who won seemed to storm up the hill then stop and wait for us though. I literally just hung on the entire 3 laps, did 1 attack out of about 10 which resulted in the guy who won counter attacking and staying out front 😆 Hung with the other rider until about 800m to go where he launched a final attack, I countered and with the use of an aero got passed and stayed there.

I've just been looking at the stava stats, no wonder that hurt!

5s - 782w
15s - 765w
30s - 656w
1 min - 461w
2 min - 404w
5 min - 349w
10 min - 336w
15 min - 332w
20 min - 326w
30 min - 316w

https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?id=8544067


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 10:00 pm
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Nice work mate. As you say, odd behaviour indeed! When are gonna lay it on the line in a KISS EU race?

I hope they do a UK version of the ECrit series- you'd do well after a real life weigh in!


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 10:30 pm
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warm, not hot, shower here but always about half an hour after finishing (I sit and drip on a couple of old towels on an office chair in the meantime)

Lolling at nath's zwiftpower stats (max HR 121 and ONE watt for 20 minutes)


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 10:44 pm
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Not sure, it’s not that they don’t appeal they’re just too late in the evening for me.

Maybe Thursday night, if other people are doing it and my legs have recovered...

I’ve put on 3kg so far since being at my prime and then getting a cold lol

I think I’ve broke zwiftpower by continuing cycling for a short while after 😆


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 10:45 pm
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hang on - It's gone proper apeshit; thinks you did 4 laps in 40 minutes

*impressed*


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 10:52 pm
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It's got it as 4 laps flat.


 
Posted : 10/10/2017 11:35 pm
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Electric fan installed, life has been improved considerably.


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 5:58 am
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Did my 1st race last night....WTF it was brutal...it was only the kiss flat race 23miles...these zwifters are crazy!!!
I'm just glad I didn't come last.....only just..lol
Great fun tho


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 6:58 am
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There's no such thing as 'only the..... ' when it comes to racing on Zwift... every race is flat out ! every time, every day, every night ! Wooo !


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:01 am
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it was only the kiss [b]flat[/b] race 23miles
that's when all the "larger folk" come out with all their megawatts


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:06 am
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LOL nah, that's Richmond flat... it's the only actual flat course for us fatties. Even Watopia and Volcano flats have enough inclines in them to destroy any other advantage we may have.


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:11 am
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On the whole Power up thing, is it ok to use them in races, I am sure I've read on the descriptions about penalties for using them, but still see people using them in the race.

Anyone fancy the 17:05 WBR 3 lap hilly?


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:13 am
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ZTR races are generally a little longer with a slightly more sedate start.
And ODZ have some with an enforced neutral. But they just go flat out a bit later instead 😀

The event module has been an awesome leap forward but it did suck any personality out of the races and make them feel the same as each other.
3-2-1 SPRINT 😆


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:14 am
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Muggo- Zwiftpower applies time penalties in races where the are banned.


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 7:16 am
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it was only the kiss flat race 23miles
that's when all the "larger folk" come out with all their megawatts

Now you tell me!.. 😆


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 8:15 am
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There's no such thing as 'only the..... ' when it comes to racing on Zwift... every race is flat out ! every time, every day, every night ! Wooo !

The group rides are hard enough for me. May take a while before I pluck up the courage to race, or more accurately, get dropped and do a demoralising ITT 😀


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 8:25 am
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The group rides are hard enough for me. May take a while before I pluck up the courage to race, or more accurately, get dropped and do a demoralising ITT

Even as you move up through groups, you can still easily find yourself out in a TT type scenario. I often do if i'm doing something hilly, partly with the smaller fields we've had but also because i'm now sitting too low for the super Cs on the hilly, but often faster than the group below that.... So you end up in no-mans land.

There's no shame in finishing last or getting dropped..


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 8:27 am
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Yep we’ve all been dropped, part of the Zwift experience 😆


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 9:59 am
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I know I should be good and do my intervals tonight......but WBR 3 Lap Hilly race is tempting 😯


 
Posted : 11/10/2017 12:11 pm
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