Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

LOL 5 points more than Tim who finished a long way ahead of you. !Weird system, i keep telling you that.

I guess it's just about position relative to prediction and there were enough big hitters with more points than you??

Trying to do the 12 week FTP thing starting from week 3. On the face of it a lot of the sessions look very easy when looking on whatsonzwift but day 3 6 reps of about 70% of FTP which I can relatively happily sit in at bottom end of z2 had a nasty sting where the smart trainer ramped up the RPM to 115 on reps 4 and 5 and 130 at the end of the last rep. It was leaving me dredding the final 3 minutes which I guess is the idea even if it wasn't because it was a full effort sprint.

Fighting and battling the desire to race today... It's Richmond which is the flattest of the flats... Decent field in at the 11.30am 4 lapper with WBR... But i have to admit, the legs are saying NO !

Yeah exactly, sorry I’m not confused as to why I got 5 points. I’m more stumped that it isn’t -100 points, but there’s a hell of a lot of people with negative points below me!

Cartwrights allocation of points would have gone to Edmund who’s only done a handful of races.

Weeksy dont do it, save yourself for a weekend ride. I put my mate on it today using my set up and he quite like the idea so as to help his fitness and lose weight so he is off to sort out his Bob Jackson racer so he can try a race next week. I have rarely ridden Richmond as it never seems to be on the calendar but i quite fancied hsving a go but i am going to be strong and have 3 days off.

ARGGGHHH that almost went great... .ended in disaster.

WBR 4 lapper of Richmond flat

Went off hard.... like it was a 1 lapper.

10km in, i'm still in the lead bunch.. .about 30+ of us, all flying along...

Me and a couple of others got dropped and i was working with a guy, Ridley. I grabbed an aero over the line and let him know i was pinning it, to come with me... But i lost him, next thing he was 7s behind so i cracked on.... 2km to go he's closed to 5s... "Nah, i can hold that..." i also noticed the group behind of unknown size had come from 1min 10 down to 30s.... with 1km to go, Ridley ws down to 3s and the bunch behind was 15s ! Oh no.... what's the plan.... So i pinned it for 200m, i held Ridley a bit, but with 250m to go he comes by ! Arrgghhhhh.... Next thing, so do 9 others ! sheeeeeeyt ! i dropped 9-10 places in the last 400m ! Nightmare.

In hindsight i should have waited for Ridley and we could have worked a bit and maybe held them off..... Wonderful tool hindsight !

good news was, 283w weighted average for a longer race, more than happy with that !

Good work Weeksy.

Welll done. You can tell you were by yourself on a flat course- your Weighted and Average power were crazily close!!

In the initial shake up i'm 2nd in C

Losing out to one of the fellas who passed me in the final 300m LOL. However, it's still a 2nd.. which is hard to complain about.

Quite a big field there and you finished ahead of quite a few group Bs so well done. I'd love to get a podium at some time in the future and a win would be amazing. Zwift certainly gives you great motivation to train.

Zwift certainly gives you great motivation to train.

Motivation to train could be any number of goals:
Sub 1hr up Alpe d'huez
8 Laps at Glentress 7
WHW in a day
Podium at local enduro
Lose a few lbs to fit back into those jeans.

Zwift is a tool to help you achieve those goals, but surely no-one has an actual zwift based goal........

Something has gone badly wrong when zwift is your motivation to train.

Well when it's pissing down outside like it was last night when I was getting ready to go out and ride, yes it is. Don't you think people who use Zwift ride on the road and trails too and find it a very useful adjunct to their general cycling?

I would imagine a lot of serious cyclists already have most of the required kit to go on Zwift like a trainer and a PC. All I had to get was an Ant+ dongle for £9 and I was up-and-running.

If you have so much against Zwift why do you even bother posting on this thread?

Something has gone badly wrong when zwift is your motivation to train.

Yes, it goes by the name of “life”

In my case the only time I can rely on to train is between 5:30am and 6:30am. I also needed to do that indoors as we can’t leave the puppy alone yet.

The alternative is to get out once a week at the weekend. Which wasn’t happening as my fitness was already trashed and I had no motivation to go out and ride badly and slowly. If I was able to commute by bike I would do, but I can’t.

Without Zwift that motivation is gone and I’d have another cost in the form of an ever growing clothing size.

Cost wise, well, it’s peanuts compared to what folk pay for their cars/golf clubs/phones/tv/holidays/gyms etc etc.

It’d cost me more to swim once a week in the local pool.

Another +4 points on CVR for today LOL.... That's 2 x +4's in the last 2 events, they're hard to come by sometimes these points.... All that hard work.... 4 points hahahaha. Better than a minus though 🙂

Misunderstood the event today.

Entered a WBR 2.5wkg ride as this coincides with my Z2, so I thought riding with a group would be an easier way to get a strict 1:15 of prescribed Z2 in.

I somehow missed that theres a sprint section in the ride, then 45 mins in it was a bit free for all at the front. I'll likely get told off by my coach - but as I'm on neuromuscular part of my plan anyway I did three sprints coming 3rd on the first at 926w - 200w lower than road watts achieved on Wednesday. Then maintained Z2 and gradually let the group as they rode around at 3w/kg to stick to plan.

Fifeandy, there's some serious pairs of legs kicking around on Zwift and many of those are total Zwift racing addicts who say it's much harder than anything they do outdoors.

So actually, getting better at Zwift racing is not only a legitimate goal but one that will push you harder than almost anything else.

I literally raced the second time I rode Zwift in 2015 and was hooked. When you have another rider alongside trying to half wheel you up a hill- it is the exact same feeling as in real life. It is just like a real race!

Compared to a Cat 4 Crit, a KISS race in B category is at least 35w weighted harder!

Hi all - got myself a smart trainer and want to get involved in the racing.

How does it work? I tried to register on zwiftpower but doesn't seem to let me register (is there a trick to it?)?

Also how do I actually join a race?

Ewan,

Are you already on zwift ?
If not:
Got a suitable computer/ipad to run the zwift software ?
Got a dongle (ANT+ or whatever the USB version's called, depending what your trainer works with ?

Once on zwift:
It's the zwift software that lets you ride; zwiftpower shows you race calendars and results but you need to be registered w zwift first
You can also view events and enter them on the zwift phone app (I think it's the easiest way)
If you've entered a race, just get on zwift & start riding before the race starts. It should show you that the event is due to start and SHOULD take you to the start-pen a couple of minutes before the start (puts you on a trainer so you can keep pedalling to warm up)

just checked - I can't get the register link to work either

doesn't matter, you can still race but you'll have to pay attention to the results when you finish as I don't [u]think[/u] you'll appear on zp until you do register there

Cool. I got zwift working a couple days ago. Do I need to do something funny to my name?

How do u see the results when u finish? Esp if there are multiple cats? I'm pretty sh1t so thought I might try cat C.

Yes, your name should incorporate the cat you race in (not really sure how much that matters but it's fairer on the people you're racing). I think they still ask that you add the organiser's "name", e.g. KISS into the name as well but I don't bother and I still appear in the results

Several STWers have added STW into their name instead of that - makes it easier to spot a "friendly" face. You can also add STW into the team name section when/if you register on zwiftpower but again, that's optional (and if you join an actual team then you'll need to put their name in htere instead)

AT the end of lots of races there's a result screen that pops up just after you finish - it's scrollable and you should be able to see where you rank. I pretty much ignore it and go to zp instead but it's an option if you can't get onto zp (I do use it to give a thumbs-up to riders I've been battling against but don't look at results)

I'm a new Zwift user and I raced on Thursday. My result appeared in Zwift Power but when I try and register there I get the message "Creating a new account is currently not possible".

Yes, there was a cryptic post on FB by Glen Knight saying they are not currently accepted new registrations but it didn't really explain why.
You should still appear on the ZP results table though.

Well I did a race - WBR 3 Laps Hilly #pst Race (17 mi / 27 km) (A, B, C, D), Sun Nov 19th 2017 09:10. - https://www.zwiftpower.com/race.php?id=15103 (Ewan Panter)

I got my ass absolutely handed to me! Figured I should be cat C, but came 10th of 12. Maybe I should be cat D.

One thing I didn't get at all was how to draft - do you have to press a button or something? I was riding near people but my little man just stayed in the normal position. I think you save 25% energy so quite keen to work that one out. Anyone want to educate me?

Also at the start everyone seemed to be putting out a lot of watts! I was doing 300 odd and got properly dropped. Is that normal?

Where you on a TT bike? Can’t draft on a TT bike.

same for everyone mate - drafting's just a matter of learning really. Your avatar sits up a bit when he's drafting and also the scree will go from "close the gap" to "OK" but it's quite hard to stay in the right spot, especially if it's only one or two riders (it's much easier in a big group)

starts - yep, it's a scrap for sure. They settle down quite quickly (unless you're an "A") so worth trying to hold on if you can, as a group is hard to catch once it's away. Start your push 5-10 seconds before the start so you're away at the front, then just try to bed in with a group you can hold

Ah! I was on a TT bike. Have now changed to a normal bike. Thanks!

I waited until the beeps to start pedalling - will start before next time... and also fine a six pack of MTFU.

Hit the power with 4-5 seconds on the countdown to go. Have fun next time out.

Zwift is one of them things that you get better at just by racing, you learn you can go a bit harder etc, hold better position, draft a bit etc

Ah! I was on a TT bike

No zwifting for me today, I'm still in pain from Thursday 😆 and wanted to save what little I had left for some Hilligdon testing tomorrow. I'm back to race weight at 69kg now too 🙂

I think I've solved the what bicycle to use for Zwift conundrum; https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2017-NEW-full-carbon-fiber-road-bicycle-frame-T1000-UD-carbon-bike-frame-bike-combo-frame/32834076204.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.270.7HycD8

Looks identical to what CH & I race on, you're welcome 🙂

what do you use at the moment ?

I use my racing bike on the Turbo as I only take that out for racing/testing, the rest of the time I'm on the commuter or SS.

If the UCI wasn't allowing disc brakes next year I would have hit the order button on that myself, for a back up bike, but now that's my commuters role 😆

That link is there to help you kind folks solve the issue with the Zwift conundrum and help form a better relationship with your significant others**, don't all thank me at once 😆

[i]**purchasing will almost definitely do the opposite of the above.[/i]

Kiss 2nd base at 8pm has potential tomorrow. Reasonable distance and apart from some random usual DQs I should be fairly competitive with luck.

With the recent influx of STW related Cs, we could do OK as a team.

weeksy - Member
Kiss 2nd base at 8pm has potential tomorrow. Reasonable distance and apart from some random usual DQs I should be fairly competitive with luck.

With the recent influx of STW related Cs, we could do OK as a team.

If it wasn't for Brighton being on MNF tonight I would've joined you for that.
I think, for me, it will be either a workout, the 6pm WBR 4 lapper or the SZR joyride

Was planning to have an easy week to save my legs for the VR World team race on saturday but i have woken up this morning with a bunged up nose and a sore throat and generally feeling fatigued. Whats going round at the minute and is it short term so i can at least be in a reasonable state for saturday? Just to make matters worse i am in hospital twice this week with the kids so in amongst all the germs of waiting rooms.
I took a very gentle spin round the jungle today with no fan on in the hope that i sweat it out. Have to do MGCC race tomorrow so i can speak to the team so i think i might be doing a lot of wheel sucking.

I did 5:05 WBR 4 lap flat. Finished 8th in C. It hurt like a ****ing bastard
That is all.

I did the 6:05, coincidently finishing in exactly the same time as you! Was going to bail after lap 2 as I wasn't really feeling it (raging hangover yesterday!), but was having a great battle with a random American after we got dropped by the lead group so stuck at it. (He actually did bail after I dropped him on the last lap lol) Managed to finish ok, there is nothing like the rollers followed by a sprint finish to make you feel ill though 😀

Well done gang!
I think the Esses on the final lap is the pinnacle of all Zwift racing to be honest 🙂

So now I’ve recovered some what. I’ll do a proper write up.
Weird we ended up with the same times zilog 🙂
I went all out and kept with a group of Bs for 2.5 laps but I was really struggling to maintain around 315w for 20kms and after 2 or 3 efforts to get back to the group I had nothing left on the little uphill halfway round the 3rd lap dropped off and caught on to the next group with a few Bs and the top Cs until the series of climbs at the end of lap 3 but just couldn’t stay with them due to the earlier efforts. So ended up doing a 10km time trial to the finish as the group behind me were around 45secs behind and closing. One rider was closing fast with 5km to go and managed to hold him at 6 secs and with a few hundred meters to go he was really gaining I had nothing left but gave it my all and managed hold him off. I was so totally shagged afterwards.

Good work! The all-out start has always been my strategy but it always burns me out for the 2nd half of the race so lately I’ve been trying to make myself [i]not[/i] keep pace with the lead Cs (who always get bumped anyway). It’s very tempting though, as you get dragged so far ahead of anyone behind you all the while you can hold on!

think the Esses on the final lap is the pinnacle of all Zwift racing to be honest

I did a fairly gentle ride a bit earlier yesterday. Got some stuff going on currently that means my head wasn't really in it for a race/intensity. It was a nice enough ride. I'm debating taking 3 days off before Afan now for the STW outdoor race on Friday morning.

Equally, soul-crushing when you haven’t and you see everyone else disappear over the last hill

I just did a 20 minutes FTP test on Zwift which came out at 247W and equates to 3.01W/kg so pretty much the middle of Group C. I'm happy with that as my previous estimate from the couple of Zwift races I have done was 228W.

I think I paced myself pretty well as I was holding 260-270W for the first 10 minutes with an average of 268W but was starting to tire. With five minutes to go I was having trouble holding 240W and my heartrate was around 170 bpm which I know on the road is my FTHR. I gave it all in the last minute and finished with an average of 260W to give me my FTP of 247W. I probably could have gone a little easier at the start and finished stronger but for much the same result I think.

I don't think I could have given any more short of puking up and I don't want to do another one of those in a hurry!