Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

I've only ridden ny once, ages back. Can't remember it at all... Which bodes well for tomorrow. I think it's fairly flat though which will suite me better.

Great result though mate, what Cat are you in?

Poopscoop - if you're doing the A 'long' ride, its actually quite hilly (with 16% bits)!

I'm doing the race rather than the group ride mate,I think that's far flatter?

Though I feel a bit guilty as it's pretty short.

Might reconsider and do the group ride but I'm getting a real buzz from "racing" and not coming in last at the moment.lol

Great result though mate, what Cat are you in?

Bouncing along the just above category limit in D at the moment. They don’t seem to be enforcing the limits for these Zwift tour races so I’ll complete the series and then maybe move up to C.

I’m doing the race rather than the group ride mate,I think that’s far flatter?

Though I feel a bit guilty as it’s pretty short.

Might reconsider and do the group ride but I’m getting a real buzz from “racing” and not coming in last at the moment.lol

All I would say is if the ftp builder gets boring don’t give up on Zwift. I don’t do the training programs, they bore me senseless.lol

I'm on week 10 of the FTP builder, I don't find it too bad until 10mins of rest at 140w. That's dull.

@ Poopscoop
FTP is 231, but that is from the ramp test, not the actual FTP test, so not sure how accurate that is.

Thanks all for the tips, Alex etc, I know what you mean about training being dull but I feel I need to start somewhere as my endurance is not very good over long distance. I may try a group ride and see how it goes, I can always bail if needed 🙂 Most of my riding will be early morning due to work hours and family, it seems to be mostly races around 6am, but I'll see what is on at the weekend.

I'm am enjoying it though, I hated turbo in the past due to boredom, Zwift helps for sure.

oop north

Subscriber
@ Poopscoop
FTP is 231, but that is from the ramp test, not the actual FTP test, so not sure how accurate that is.

You won't come in last mate that's for sure, in fact if we're in the same race I doubt I will be able to to stay with you for very long!👍

Just did 6.10 Stage 5 race.

It went pretty hard from the off. Occurred to me it was a short race at this point and it was going to be a bit painful.

Held on to a nice big blob of D's for over half the race then started to fall back on the ups, getting overtaken by the occasional 2 or 3 or bigger groups. Had the Feather powerup but didn't know if there would be a second PU before the end. Decided to hold onto it.

Was really struggling getting my big arse up the ups now so just put in as much as I could on the ups and recovered a bit on the small downs/flats.

Before I know it the end is near! Lol

Getting overtaken by some and I'm over taking some. At 400m I hit the Feather and gave it all my meagre sprint can do and overtook 3 in the last 100. In fairness they were bloody dead,poor sods. No attempt to stay with me and they obviously had used their PU's.

I find the short races petty hard in truth. Also, during the race I went to hit the third fan remote to turn it on and turned the tv off instead. Which freaked me out as I thought the pc had rebooted.

Again, on the ups the water i spray on my face/head was a life safer. Probably placebo but it all helps.

79 out of 94 on Zwift, D.

10 out of 29 on Zpower,D.

Not too shabby, only 20s slower than I did it yesterday.

I find the short races petty hard in truth.

Stage 5 Race this evening ... Short - Flat - and Fast!

Jam bo, 20 seconds on a short have like that is a long distance behind though!

Zilog, pretty much sums it up, yeah.😁

Nice write ups fellas 🙂

mooman 24 minutes. That's insane.😳

I've been skipping the write ups recently as for the most part I've been going out in the big races. Hard to do something report worthy when your just barely hanging on. Also been doing the ODZ kraken a few times to try and improve my sprint (if you can produce around 3wkg this is a great group ride to join, it's billed as 3.5 but drafting should mean 3 is ok).

I'm trying to up the time and distance this year. Currently that's hurting as my body adjusts (65k IRL on sat, 5 mile run Sunday, 75k Monday, 3r ultimate race last night and 3r flat tonight). Hopefully the gains will come. My legs are tired but still trying to race. Got about one decent attack to give before they say no more to the higher power.

Tonight was the 3r flat in London. I get frustrated on this route as so few want to do anything other than wait for the sprint. That's boring for me so always try to attack and attack again (the mall hairpin is so easy to open a big gap on). Tried so many times tonight to shake it up but no one wanted to play. Got a few 6s gaps but didn't have the legs to ride away and had to let the pack catch. Only plus other than a good workout was a team mate taking the win in the sprint. https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=317241

Interesting nixie, it's dawning on me that I need to staety increasing distances. Not to the level you are though.

Ultimately want to ride the SDW in a day but just generally want to increase the range I can ride the mtb in a normal ride out and about on the north downs.
Logic says if I want to ride for longer.... Then I need to ride for longer. I'm not too sure if my reckoning is too simplistic though.

Having a low ftp of 218 perhaps I need to concentrate on getting that up first, not sure at this stage.

In honesty though I'm just glad to be riding at all, on Zwift or otherwise. As I think I just wouldn't be out on the bike during the Winter due to excuses.

Poopscoop

Subscriber
mooman 24 minutes. That’s insane.😳

And the proper fast guys were less than 24 minutes!!

I am pretty sure there are lots on zwift not pushing anything like the power Zwift suggests; even the pros have been caught weight doping, and dumb trainers are notorious for being hugely inaccurate.
That said its a turbo trainer work out - so as long as you not take it too serious the racing is great motivation, whether its in A, B, C, or D category ... trying to hold on to your max watts is painful regardless!

It's a good point.

If i ride outside on a road bike i can get in the top 20% on Strava on flat sections, often top 10% or better... but i'm an average C on Zwift... Where are all these superstars outside ?

Got up early to do my first event, a group ride with a bunch of Kiwi's, early morning there are few options available. It was a cat D, at a 2 - 2.5 k/w pace, so I thought I'd see how I got on, the last 10 minutes were pitched as a free for all, a final sprint if you wanted.

Set off, straightaway it went over 3 k/w pace, I thought it would settle down but it didn't, it just kept going and there was no leader to keep it in check, I got spat out the back and couldn't keep up so I ditched it eventually. I obviously picked the wrong group ride.

I jumped back on Watopia and did the hilly route, pushing myself on the sprints and the hill, so had a good session.
Need to keep practicing and pick my events wisely, onwards and upwards!

The events can be an absolute farce at times.

HERD and PACK are usually well monitored and also have the fence which stops people going nuts... One of them should see you right.

It’s a good point.

If i ride outside on a road bike i can get in the top 20% on Strava on flat sections, often top 10% or better… but i’m an average C on Zwift… Where are all these superstars outside ?

if someone is racing on zwift then they are at least a little bit serious about riding.

now look at your local strava segment. you might be in the top 20%, but that's geographically limited. open that segment up to the world's serious cyclists, and you'd very quickly start sliding down segment...

Yeah i get that... but even Cs etc... they/we can't be that serious... .surely.. It just surprises me i'm so lowly on the Zwift scale, but as a rider, i'm not that terrible... But i totally get your point.

I’m on week 10 of the FTP builder, I don’t find it too bad until 10mins of rest at 140w. That’s dull.

@jamesoz - the tab key is your friend 🙂

@mooman Thanks for that video link, yet to try it but saved to my YT account! 🙂

A question for you (and others that have re-calibrated belt tension as per video)...

At ~4mins1sec, instructions say about "don't forget to screw the tightener regulator lock." If it's in the vid start I missed it, but do you not undo this lock before adjusting belt tension via the other allen key bolt?

Yes undo tightened onside first before tightening belt on top.

@poopscoop I think I'd be less worried about FTP than improving fitness/reducing weight. Your FTP will likely go up as your work on the other two (and even if it doesn't then a better power-weight ratio is going to help). Although longer session will help towards your goal so will just being fitter as you'll be riding more within yourself on the longer efforts (if that makes sense).

It was a cat D, at a 2 – 2.5 k/w pace

Watts per kilo is not a 'pace' despite its widespread use on Zwift. It would be if everyone weighed the same or the ride was entirely composed of a steep-ish climb. But if I weigh 100 kilo and you weigh 50 kilo, our actual wattage and speed on the flat are going to be massively different at the same w/kg figure.

I blame Zwift for making w/kg (power to weight) the most prominent metric displayed on their dashboard and users for being thick 😉

Sorry, I seem to post this every month or so, but it just irritates me that people organising rides seem so dumb.

the tab key is your friend

It might be but so is active recovery.

It might be but so is active recovery.

I tend to focus my active recovery in the pub 🙂 Seriously I often tab through when I feel okay after the previous block. Which probably isn’t healthy.

I do the recovery bits to make sure I get my gold stars 🙂

jam bo

Subscriber

if someone is racing on zwift then they are at least a little bit serious about riding.

now look at your local strava segment. you might be in the top 20%, but that’s geographically limited. open that segment up to the world’s serious cyclists, and you’d very quickly start sliding down segment…

I have a couple friends who I follow on strava - they fly around the races, and up Alp du Zwift on barely over 200watts. They typically weigh about 40kg more than their claimed zwift weight .... there was a recent commonwealth games medallist who had flack for putting in his wrong weight to race on zwift ... I am certain its a very common thing, you would have to be very naive to think otherwise; hence why you cant take it too serious at all.

Its just good fun and motivation. I am more concerned about my 20 minute watts than what position I finish.

And there's me worried about being 2kilos over my Zwift weight around Christmas....

I think based upon this thread we're quite an honest bunch of racers. Arguably too honest

Got round to trying Stage 5 TDZ race at 1710, having done a TT Tune-Up workout a little earlier (which was a struggle through the surges)...

Just about kept with my group of ~12, we caught similar sized group towards end of lap2, surprised to stick out 290W average at my new sub 77Kg weight and finish in 25mins40secs.

Long gentle recovery ride on part of long group stage 5 event afterwards, hoping to be able to walk tomorrow!

I regularly weigh myself and adjust my Zwift/Strava/Stravistix stats, over the last ~7 months it's gone both ways, was ~84Kg back in August and have been making good inroads since around Xmas, snacking a bit less and ramping up the turbo time... 75Kg is starting to feel feasible again, a weight I've not been since ~Nov 2017.

Cheers @nixie that makes sense. I'll concentrate on weight and fitness and let ftp sort itself.

Yeah, the weight doping is a bit of a shame really. I find it hard to get my head around it. I'd honestly prefer to finish last at my real weight than finish higher up by taking a load of weight off. Knowing I was cheating would completely demotivate me. Even just freeriding round the courses.

I know there are a load of things I can't control like my trainers accuracy and what other riders do but I'll actually increase/decrease my weight on Zwift by a single kilo if I know it's changed.

It's petty really but let's face it, we are really riding against ourselves as much as the other riders so why cheat yourself?

I guess online mimics real cycling and the temptation to cheat for some.

I guess so mate.

Thing is that apart from a miniscule elite on Zwift there is no financial or material gain unlike real racing.

Just human nature I suppose.

Poopscoop

Subscriber
I guess so mate.

Thing is that apart from a miniscule elite on Zwift there is no financial or material gain unlike real racing.

Just human nature I suppose.

To be fair there is no financial or material gain for all except a miniscule elite who race on the road. Local crits or road races dont mean anything to anybody except the guy who gets the win ... and then only till the next race.
For some people to enter their wrong weight on zwift so they can pretend they are up the sharp end of an A cat race instead of getting shelled in the D cat is probably just a way of how they stay motivated ... I am not bothered in the least. The target for me is maintaining a 170bpm or 300w for 20 minutes; if that sees me riding in 1st or last there is no biggy.

Its all motivation to actually sit on the turbo instead of the sofa in the evening.

The weight doping bugs me. I'm race clean or don't race. Even though I'm not at the sharp end once I've found my weights (required for the weigh in protocol) I'm intending to regularly post to zwift transparency with weigh ins. Will also buy a power meter at some point to validate my trainer readings (even though I'm using one of the more accurate models). Sad yes but that's how my head works.

I was tempted to weight dope, but to artificially gain weight so I can go down a category.
My FTP is increasing, 266, 5 foot 8 and 69kgs. I’m at the back of the B’s, pretty much every race I’m shelled out, whether that’s climbing or on the flats.
Got fed up of the racing, one of the B races I did the climbing was ridiculous, 7w per kg up one of the short climbs in Innsbruck and then normalised to 4 watts per kg for the flat sections, I stuck with it for 3 out of 5 laps. Wasn’t fun.
Lately I’ve just been race prep training instead of the races.

nixie

Subscriber
The weight doping bugs me. I’m race clean or don’t race. Even though I’m not at the sharp end once I’ve found my weights (required for the weigh in protocol) I’m intending to regularly post to zwift transparency with weigh ins. Will also buy a power meter at some point to validate my trainer readings (even though I’m using one of the more accurate models). Sad yes but that’s how my head works.

Its all just pretend racing. apart from the elite professional riders everybody else is just pretending to some degree. The guys at my local Llandow crit refer to it jokingly as Llandow World Champs ... its just the same local biffers pretty much every week; nobody would know who wins the local road races, except the winner and his mother ... nobody remembers and nobody cares. But the winners pretend they are on a bigger stage and pretend it actually means something to other people ... it doesnt; they are just pretending.

And zwift is exactly the same. Of course we are racing ... our heart rate and pool of sweat each side of bike proves that, but its just pretend racing whether you validate your weight or pretend you are 40kg lighter.
Zwift is just a turbo trainer that is much more exciting because you can chase other riders in real time. I think it is brilliant.

Did my first race this morning, the stage 5 TDZ at 0610, Jeez that hurt. Let the speed demons go off as I knew I couldn't keep their pace, settled down and rode with a few in the mid pack. Ended up 24 out 45 so I'll take that!
Just need to work on endurance cos I felt sick / drained at some points, especially sprinting at the end to get up a place.
Going to look for endurance events now to help improve, if any of you have recommendations let me know.

I'm doing the Team Italy Social Sub 2 Ride at 5.30 for a change tonight.

Watopia flat, 60 minutes.

@oopnorth

Great result mate! Hurts but endorphin high once you go and sit down.😁

I'll be riding the four horses x2 this month. Over 100 miles and it's up the Alp de Zwift twice.... I'll be riding it bloody slowly but your welcome to tag along/overtake me! Lol