like weeksy I also forgot all about selecting the Everest challenge as I thought you would get it when you have simply climbed the required amount. However zwiftinsider doesn’t seem to suggest it’s the fastest frame for any track so happ6 to flit between the Venge S works For the flat courses and new tarmac for anything bumpier.
Only one race this week, yesterday I did the 4.37 crit city, 12 laps dolfin. Jumped into the C as I wasnt feeling too lively and I’m still just about a C on zwiftpower.
First lap was just ridiculous thrashing it at 300/350w, reminded me of our volcano and Paris races in robbos series, eventually settled down a bit but alternated between coasting in the draft at 200w and up 300/350 on the rollers after the finish line. Hung with the lead group of about 10 for 6 laps until a couple of guys tried a breakaway but didn’t get too far and we reigned them back in after a lap or two.
After failing to get any useful PU for 7 laps I finally got an aero, I hatched a plan to drop it just before the start/finish line and then I could lay down some power hoping to pick up a feather or another aero and make a break from the pack for myself and at worst a split for a few of us to get away to guarantee a podium. Didnt work, I really went for it hammering 400w for a minute or so but just dragged the whole pack with me. Sat back in and conserved my energy hoping for a pu before the last lap. Got a feather, and as one guy made an early break I dropped it and try to follow on his tail, we lapped a bunch and I think this helped to split the chasing pack as nobody stuck with me and I was tiring before the finish.
Finished second on the road but noticed 1st had averaged 3.8, I was as 3.3 and third place 3.6 so most likely a lot of sand baggers in this race. Zwiftpower disqualified the first for me to pick up gold. My status is still C but states in brackets nearly B so only a matter of time before I need to move up.
it is unless you’re at least level 35 and have a disc wheel set! (So not me then 😭) Not so much for pure climbing though.However zwiftinsider doesn’t seem to suggest it’s the fastest frame for any track
no idea how you do more than one of those crit races a week/month/ever weeksy, so brutal
did the 1745 Bell Lap, is it 7 laps? just had no sprint left, nothing, 650w max i think however, on the limit, finished in the front bunch which i was happy with, 2 seconds split the top 11, rolled through 9th on ZP,
20:10 and 4.0w/kg (Zwift PR) 320w NP (Zwift PR for anything over 20 minutes) 4.1w/kg for 5 minutes, and Zwift FTP update to 305w
ouch!
no idea how you do more than one of those crit races a week/month/ever weeksy, so brutal
I've done 5 in a week before. I love crits!
I was going to do a Zwift race, crity city.
When I entered I got a warning on Zwift. "You have entered a race outside of your power category" etc.
Clearly a new and welcome feature.
Ahh...but does it stop them entering 🤣🤣
Sadly not. But it's a big big message.
Irritated today a bit...
Entered the TTR Weekly...
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=1152160
I assumed it was a TT race based upon that... So i was on a TT bike...
2 mins in i realise... it's not a TT race... it's a full on race. 5km i was 3s off the lead C group, then pulled them back... but they had a B or 2 and ended up pulling away.
Sadly, i think if i were on the right bike, i'd have done OK.
Sadly, i think if i were on the right bike, i’d have done OK
I've had a few of those. It's quite rubbish!
As a beginner with this Zwift lark, starting this week on a borrowed turbo, I'm still finding my way around
I bet you lot know already, but still being a novice, I can't find the 'gentle pootle to the pub' rides.
Whereabouts are they?
You want flat Binners? If so use the Watopia routes "Tempus Fugit" or "Tick Tock". They are totally flat. Other options are Watopia flat or volcano flat which only have minor rises in elevation.
Those will get you started, all the worlds have a flat option...apart from Yorkshire 🙂 Just go looking.
To get the best out of it, join a STW ride, we look after everyone and no one gets left behind!!
I bet you lot know already, but still being a novice, I can’t find the ‘gentle pootle to the pub’ rides.
Whereabouts are they?
The beauty of zwift is you can drink from a pint glass whilst pedaling binners.
I'm liking the sound of this.
I'll have to work my way up to a STW group ride. Could we instigate one that involves drinking whilst riding? I'd be up for that 😀
I'm done a few short rides over the last week with a few climbs. I'm quite enjoying not being soaked and covered in mud. Is this a slippery slope? Or whatever the opposite of a slippery slope is?
It gets addictive...be warned. You are more than welcome to drink on our rides, most of us turn up on a Sunday with hangovers anyway!
Binners, you pick the pace and we'll ride with you.
Pick a time and day and I'll sort the rest
Yeah I'm up for that too if I'm available
Blimey! Right... let me find my way around it properly and we can have a leisurely pootle with a pint at the weekend. Sunday with a hangover sounds ideal 😃
Sunday with a hangover sounds ideal 😃
There's a bit of discussion about this weeks on tother thread, if you want an invite you're welcome to join us but you need to be following who ever is organising it, this week falls to me. I should be easy enough to find if you search for dangeourbrain on the companion app - I can't imagine there being more than one with a silly name like that.
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=1155049
Bit of a hollow victory today. Got dropped on lap 7 but it transpires the guy is an A with 4.2 average lol. I was 9th on the road and was a fun race, but the bandits really spoil things at times
compared a set of Assioma Unos with my Quarq today
Assioma
5m - 339w
10m - 3292
20m - 314w
Quarq 1x 50t
5m - 332w
10m - 322w
20m = 309w
Given the losses as you move through the drivetrain system that's pretty much what you'd expect isn't it?
Binners for a social rather than race look in the events via the companion app for the more social rides like revo, the spinaloozas are good and the shorter endurance rides, drum n bass. anything where it tells you the maximum w _kg they will be sticking to.
I use them for recovery rides.
I decided that following a few days in activity I would tick of Ventop yesterday. not sure if I prefer it to alpe its far less steep but no let up and just goes on. Finished the climb proper in just under 1hr 30. taking it steady at times to try and pace myself for a change.
doubt ill go up there again any time soon if ever.
Didn't some of you on here buy an Elite Sterzo Smart a while back?
If so, how are they holding up a few months later, possibly being hammered, due to you being furloughed or working from home?
Glad you bought it?
compared a set of Assioma Unos with my Quarq today
Assioma
5m – 339w
10m – 3292
20m – 314wQuarq 1x 50t
5m – 332w
10m – 322w
20m = 309w
I got some assiomas in the summer and thought they were a little on the low side - just a couple of percent below the turbo, but I pb'd a couple of 25 and tens outside with them reading wee man power. Hard to say on the tests though with the difference position makes, going faster at less power etc.
Didn’t some of you on here buy an Elite Sterzo Smart a while back?
I've got one hidden in a draw as my birthday present from Mrs brain so no feed back for a while yet sorry
Weeksy, which cat have you entered? I'll join in. I think I'll enter cat C though.
C mate for me.
Yep! I looked a little closer and saw the category you are in. 👍
My legs are still not race worthy after last night hahaha!
Got to bail. My boy wants to go to the woods and Mrs Weeksy doesn't want him to do dark on way home alone. So I've been roped in
Outside is better than inside. Race went ok. I didn't finish last. I could see other racers but couldn't see any of their data. Maybe it was a glitch?
ive got a sterzo smart for sale if anyone wants one, don't like it
I could see other racers but couldn’t see any of their data. Maybe it was a glitch?
It's a glitch. Quite an annoying one. It's happened to me twice recently (including on Monday). There is a support thread here where they might be interested in your logs: https://forums.zwift.com/t/riders-nearby-board-empty-on-group-rides-races/481296
I'll take a look at the support thread. Thanks for the link.
I had it on our Tues night event after about 5 min
So...what is everyone's solution to the sweat fest of zwift? I usually use a towel draped on the bars but often in the thick of racing (like Tuesday night) I'm dripping and don't have the opportunity to do the towel thing as I'm sprinting etc...
This often results in sweat dripping on the phone which is on my bars and hitting a power up or shutting down the app etc, at the wrong time. I need my phone on the bars to access companion app etc, so can't locate it elsewhere.
What do you sweaty guys do to help avoid this? A sweat band? I'm wondering if a buff would be a solution? Should I embrace the 70's disco look?? 😉
PX baselayer and two decent fans blowing mainly across my back, plus a towel draped on bars to wipe down my face and arms as and when required.
I go with a towel next to me on the workbench, along with a gym mat underneath to mop up the massive puddle. I think on an average Zwift race i drop 1.5kg in sweat.
I go with a towel next to me on the workbench, along with a gym mat underneath to mop up the massive puddle. I think on an average Zwift race i drop 1.5kg in sweat.
I'm not the only one then! It's more the phone issue I have, and the sweat drips turning it off etc. I might try a buff as a head band and see if it helps or just makes me overheat more haha
I use a buff rolled up as a sweatband as it stops the sweat getting on my glasses. I also have a microfibre towel on the bars in case I need for the arms and I wear fingerless mitts as otherwise the bar tape become disgusting!
How did it go @weeksy? ZP looks like you won the sprint from the 2nd cat C group on the road?
Did the UI work for you? I raced in NY earlier and I had no rider display, and everyone else in the world stayed visible.
I go with one towel on handlebars and stem/headset, which stays put but can nudge up over my garmin (or your phone @oopnorth) if necessary, and then another towel loose on the bars to wipe myself with. And a mat on the floor.
1. Rubbish mate. 1st lap i found hard... but hung in. Onto lap 2 and the kick up after the line, rubbish, didn't have it, no HR and no legs.
2. Nope, no other riders on my list. I could see them on the road, but nothing in the list.
ZHR Up & Down Race (B) 18:30, Volcano after party job, bleurgh, that was a hard!! fought hard to stay in the front group round lap 1, pace settled, an A went off the front at some point end of Lap 1 beginning of 2, stayed away for a bit, came back in, but then there was some chatter in the text and it went mental for about 500m before the little kicker where it flicks right up the outside of the volcano, people shelled everywhere including myself, but that was the tactic i guess, was too far back to get up near the front before the rise which i normally do just to give myself a fighting chance, settled into a group of 10 until the Volcano KOM, but i was gassed and giving away 5kg on most, got gapped at the beginning and gave up a bit, but with about 800m to go i had a couple 5 seconds back and 1 about 10 seconds in front, did a decent effort of 378w av for just under 2 minutes, including a big kick at the end to pass who i was chasing
kids came home just in time for the last 2km and were in pieces laughing at me huffing and grunting, indoor races are so glamorous
10th
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=1179225
some number comparisons
Neo v Quarq AXS 50/37
1 Min - 424w v 440w
5 Min - 334w v 337w
10 Min - 315w v 325w
20 Min 298w v 304w
30 Minute - 295w v 300w
59:30 (Race length +6 seconds) = 281w v 286w
https://analyze.dcrainmaker.com/#/dcc/92781a18-18af-4888-71c9-6bb6f8a66e09
Great effort that mate, nice job.
Anyone going the Academy workouts, you are going to love #7...one word...brutal! 3 hard sets that get harder as you progress and just when you think it's over, a full 4 minutes at zone 5 to finish you off.
My legs had gone at the end, plus the lungs...the hardest yet I've done. I won't be doing that again...ever!
I did that last night and whilst it was tough I didn't think it was too bad. It frustrates me that they jump from big watts to tiny at times so that it's hard to drop or gain in the time frames though.
To be honest I find the ZA workouts a bit easy and tend to come off them feeling underwhelmed.
Hi Is this the right spot? Brought a Kickr Snap to help with lockdown Cardio and now using Zwift . Set it up on Monday .. and its a bit good . Training in my house no distractions at any time I like . Put 60 miles on in the first three days and will be back on it again in a bit . Need to sort a few things out with the set up - have a question.
Im currently using my laptop but have an iPhone 11 which I have ordered a hdmi out and bar holder .. I intend on hooking that to a wall mounted TV - How long roughly would the phone last and can I use my Bluetooth headphones at the same time or does that fubar things ?
2nd'ly I'm a leisure rider if truth be told not an athlete - whats the best way to get the most out of this - I did a quick 30k on watopia for the first ride, 20k yesterday morning on Innsbruck yesterday pm did an SST training for just over 40k.
Would like to improve my fitness
Any hints tips observations and directions very welcome.
Can't believe I didn't do this earlier - Just now need to renovate the basement for a permanent home for it all
DOn't know about with Apple, but if i mirror my screen on Android to Firestick i then cannot do music as well on my phone through a BT speaker.
There's no answer as to 'what'. Some prefer training, some prefer riding, some prefer racing, it's all up to you.
Thank you for the reply !
@makkag follow @dangeourbrain if you are interested in a Sunday Hills ride. This week is 8am Dust in the Wind. Its a bit like a club ride but we wait for people. There is a STW race series on Tuesday evenings (there is a thread for that) and a TTT on a Thursday evening if you fancy joining in some racing.
The issue with using the hdmi out from your phone is that you then can't use the companion app.
I assume using the laptop is a pain hence the move to the phone but I'd consider finding a cheapo zwift phone purely to run the companion app, Spotify and discord and have your iPhone plugged in to the wall at the same time as the hdmi using one of the dual hdmi/power adapter things.
To be honest I find the ZA workouts a bit easy and tend to come off them feeling underwhelmed.
@mrhoppy Then you must be well fitter than me or there is something wrong with my setup...I was proper dying on this one, although I admit the others I haven't found too bad, nothing like this one.
@oopnorth, I think it's what you are used to. I've been doing a bunch of crit races so 8 minute sessions of over unders with easy rests between is way less intense. The ramp at the end stung but I considered finishing the Alpe when it was done (I've been doing ZA sessions up the Alpe to get towards the Tron).
Crit racing I'm holding around FTP as a baseline with sprints on the climbs/shut down breaks. It's like that session wound up by 20%.
I went out for an hour, the first 20 mins being in the local woods where my lad and his mates go jumping. I'm not as good as him as you know, but i do need to try and keep my hand in, so was messing about there, i still need more speed for one particular jump to land where they are... they're crazy fast on it. Mrs Weeksy has been abusing me since i told her "You went to the woods to practice where our 12 year old plays??? " "errrrm, yeah 🙂 "
I then finished off with some scenic riding, that's about 3/4 of a mile from my door, top picture is over towards Didcot/Harwell, bottom one is on the way to Goring
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50592596163_287141e36b_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50592596163_287141e36b_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k5GhdK ]2020-11-12_11-36-43[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50592595993_15575db38b_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50592595993_15575db38b_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2k5GhaP ]2020-11-12_11-36-38[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Ahh that makes sense. I've not done any crits yet, so I probably don't have that constant sprint power, which kind of also shows in the weekly STW races.
Something I need to build on and get involved in the Crits at some point, but I'm sure I will just be making up the numbers at first.
Thanks again for the replies - Laptop not a huge issue just less kit to plug in and get running if i wanted a blast as set up in the spare bedroom atm - but do have some old phones lying around so maybe another option. Sunday will be a bit early for me I think and hope it will be an outdoor ride day - give me a few weeks to get used to this and get a bit of my fitness back up and I will join in - found and followed - seen the STW bit and added to my name Dean McGarry
Thanks again
im sure the starts are getting harder!!, 375w for 2min10 before any semblance of it settling down
18:15 Seaside Sprint race, just hard hard all the way, kept getting + power ups which is no good when everyone else was on feathers, kept to the front of the group on the little climb into the volcano so didn't get dropped, and i thought the course finished on the seafront, but was on the sprint line, the short sharp right strung it all out for the downhill run to the sprint line, got caught too far back and it was just a loooong line of riders, nearly gave up as i was right at the back, however decided to sprint, and here's a lesson, always pedal through the line, looked to pass 2 right on it
i got 3rd in B, +2.800 behind the winner, should have been up there for the win, the downhill run in to the finish suited me
4th was +2.801 !!! a literal knats cock
and 5th was +2.868
good racing
great job !
Picked up my Kickr Snap today. First ride with this and it feels like the resistance isn't changing much.
My bike has a Quarg power meter,should I be using the Kickr or power meter to control the Kickr?
I use kickr fe-c on both power and controllable.
But I don't have a power meter
Legs still feel OK after last night so going to do a lunchtime crit. Anyone in for 12.30 futureworks race? It is only 6 laps so short sharp and fast. I have entered C but only 3 riders so far!
As the race is so short I can prob keep my power up above a C as it should take less than 20 mins - should I be entering B or will I get pulled back by the anti-sandbagging feature? Have only done a couple of crits so dont really remember the course!
I'm not sure i even know how to ride and make power any more so taking 2-3 days off.
My legs clearly don't like how i've been riding lately. I've only had 3 days off in the last 25 it seems... So, the legs are saying no.
Go on weeksy you know you want to...
I really need to try a crit sometime but the times are all wrong for me...or they are 12 laps which I'm not sure I want to do for my first one.
My legs were also good this morning which means I should have gone harder last night! So I did an Academy anaerobic workout this morning to destroy them properly.
Legs still feel OK after last night so going to do a lunchtime crit. Anyone in for 12.30 futureworks race? It is only 6 laps so short sharp and fast. I have entered C but only 3 riders so far!
Looking on ZwiftPower it's 10 laps??
I was thinking about doing a ramp test today but may try a crit instead if the timings work for me.
In the companion app when you sign up it says 6 laps for C - it will be a surprise how long it is!
I might give it a go, I'll see how I get on with work this morning.
I've not done any kind of high intensity stuf for months so this will probably kill me off!
IT does indeed seem to be 6 laps... Sadly it's 6 of the dolphin not the Bell layout, but yeah i'll ride with you Robbo.... at least for some of it.
Legs feel hammered from last night effort but I might try a poodle beforehand and if they loosen at all, I’ll jump on the crit with you. I’m just about still a c in zwiftpower and it’s likely to be a quick race anyway.
LOL it will be quick for Robbo.
Weirdy in last nights race i couldn't use my lowest gear at all, i just couldn't drive the pedals. My overall performance was way way down on what i'd have hoped... So we'll see if it was a bit of a glitch in me or see how badly i need some time off.
Damn you Robbo 😀
Will give it a good go - might die on my arse and find out my legs feel awful lol
I can't see anything othr than a win for you Robbo.
It could be interesting because it's an anti-sandbagging race so could be easy for people who are actual Cs to shatter the threshold and end up getting the dunce hat.
Do you start the sprint before the hairpin at the end or after? Where is the best place to go.
How does the anti-sandbagging work, will it let me enter the C cat despite being a B?
yes but you may get dunce hat which slows you by about 33%
Right, I'm signed up for it...
So long as I don't miss the start!
Top race. I needed something decent as a PU for the last hill, set my PR on it but not enough.
Just managed to beat Robbo after he died and slowed in last 800m. But couldn't catch the lads in front of me.
That was hard work, combined with last night the legs are now totally gone. I got an out of category warning when I entered the race but no cone, obvs didn't put out enough watts. Due to combination of injury, lazyitis and beer have put on 8kg over last two months so w/kg has gone down. Good effort all round STW and Well done Kirky think you will end up first on ZP.
Got a power up that looked like some sort of vehicle but not van, WTF is that?