Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

well done eemy - not just the win, but getting up in timne for 8am racing 😯

I watched a little bit of your (and Leeroy's) race yesterday nath. Actually looked like the other guy who was away with Tim Cartwright was really comfortable just following all his moves. Didn't see the end but clearly he broke him down eventually (in fact he didn't finish second either and I don't recocgnise anyone in the list as having been him, though not absolutely sure what the name was. Wonder if he DNF'd)

Not me racing yesterday 'Scaredy'. Although I was trying to do 30 races in November and all was going to plan....until yesterday, when I had some beer and crisps instead. Might try and do two races in one day later in the month to catch up.

BOOM ! Good work EEMY !

WKG 3 sisters league race last night.

Strategy of not going out too fast and a freebie bag of Haribo on the epic decent seemed to pay off. 6th!

[img] [/img]

84 mins at race pace.... ouch !

Not me racing yesterday 'Scaredy'

Hmmm, lovely crisps

Well done Eemy,cracking result.

Another gold and silver to tell you about.

Had an interesting race this morning, the WBR 4 lap of watopia flat (its not flat). I was in such a rush to make it i had 33 seconds to change socks and get my shoes and get on the bike. I made it to the bike with 3 seconds to spare and went in to full sprint mode, sadly i still hadnt done my shoes up,aaargh! It took me all the way to the tunnel to buckle them up right and then i had to sort the fan out which was oscillating in the wrong direction. Eventually i felt all sorted and realised i was still in the lead group of mainly A riders and stw Bigfoot. I knew i wouldnt stay with them so thought i would see how long i could domestique for Bigfoot, i was a terrible domestique as i was hanging on for a while. I made it to lap 3 but then dropped off on the flats and very slowly went backwards, meanwhile bigfoot looked like he was still on the pointy end and going very well. I pushed really hard to see if i could finish in under an hour and managed by nearly a minute and bagged cat B SILVER! looking at the results Bigfoot took the win and GOLD, i am sure he will come on here and thank me for my services and what a fine team member i am for sacrificing myself for the cause. Well done bigfoot,great race.

Heheehehee, nice report and cracking result 🙂

well done to you both - I'm sure he couldn't have done it without you, blader

Today, I will mostly be doing
... day 2 of a zwift workout programme

DAMN YOU, CROSSHAIR !! 😆

Yep Crosshair has got me looking at the FTP builder workout or a variation of it. Most of my zwifting once my leg is better will be based around that. I don't know why but I feel like I'm letting Weeksy down by typing that 😀

Was thinking about the difference between cat A and B now i had a taster of life with the A’s. The pace isnt actually much different to the lead B’s but the big difference to me was that it was always a high pace in A. There is no let up where you can rest a bit, you always seem to get a lull in cat B where you can recover but in A its really hard to recover from the big efforts up the hill. I think i could have lasted longer today but the rush to the start and having to do it indoors when it was 21c made it hard to maintain the high tempo. I dont think for one minute i would have lasted to the end but i reckon at least i could have made it to the end of lap 3. Obviously this was only based on todays race, i would guess it could be massively different on any other day.

Aye, I'm "doing" the 4wk one as an experiment; I mean, you can't dismiss it 'til you try it, right?

FWIW day 1 was a doddle; I'm sure it's all part of the science an' that but felt like I could've done it all day

(they "demand" specific outputs at certain revs - I normally hate erg mode but I think I may have to use it next time as I'm forever buggering about withthe gears to get "180W at 85 rpm")

ha ha dont worry about me Muggo, the training thing clearly works.

Just because i dont do it, i dont care what others do. This thread inspires me too, on many levels. Even if you all went training, id still enjoy the updates and improvements 🙂

I'm resting today. 3 hour+ outdoor ride tomorrow so saving some legs for it

blader, I think you're wrong ! 😛

Perhaps you don't see it as you're a strong climber but IME the As (and ded strong Bs, possibly including you) just ride away up the hills. You may be right about them not needing to recover so much afterwards as well but it's those "max" efforts over 5 minutes that defeat me every time

I'm tempted to enter a C sometime at say 80 kg to see how id do if i could drop the weight. I could use my sons login for it to save screwing my own data

Well I have good intentions Weeksy, but the reality might be somewhat different. Hope to do at least one or 2 races per week as opportunity to ride outdoors during the week gets less during the winter months, so I'll be spending more time on Zwift.

I'm tempted to enter a C sometime at say 80 kg to see how id do if i could drop the weight. I could use my sons login for it to save screwing my own data

If you were 80kg at the same ftp though Weeksy- you'd be a B.....

Cheers guys, crosshair what's your name on zwift I'll look out for you

Scaredy , it's true I've joined team btr but I'm still rocking the Stw tag
I guessed I could do with the help

"A.Shutler (TFC) TFC B" mate.

Welcome to BRT leeroybrown - missed the FB announcement it seems! I still have STW in my name on Zwift too!

I think the cats are overexaggerated a bit, maybe built up in peoples heads?

For instance:
-In last nights race coming down the hill towards the start/finish we picked up 4/5 cat C riders and they happily kept up with us right up to the hill. Maybe a flatter route could have seen them stay with us a lot longer?
- I've been in races were there is only 3/4 A's and a lot of B's - we've always struggled to lose all the B's, in fact I've almost lost out to a B cat a couple of times.

Nice to see coach Shutler's words of wisdom are being heard 😆

I don't think the pointy ends of each Cat are exaggerated Nath. I may have been able to hang with the A's on the flat on Tuesday but I wouldn't have stayed with many attacks.

so you join a team and then what - you actually have a tactical plan for the races 'n'shit ?
Do you communicate during races too ?
Do you just ask to join or is there somebody at these teams talent-spotting on zwiftpower/that other site ?

(and no, I ain't getting on no team, fool !)

I'm still wondering if the teams have my correct contact details.

Saddens me I've not been head hunted

I've only done 1 race as a team member and I had no team members with me at the front
So i haven't seen any advantage yet

I think some teams use discord during races

Anyone can join I guess ??
http://www.brteam.co.uk/join

I was only kidding. I wouldn't leave the StW gang!

Innovation seem to be the best team at the moment for pulling off team tactics. I joined TFC after witnessing one of them drop back and tow another member away from me!! About the last time they bothered using tactics sadly 😆

Unless you took it in turns to waste a race for someone, it's hard to do much that amounts to being useful.

Eric Minn (Zwift founder) was on the podcast this week and stated that there has been no change to the draft in over a year. Yet every one of the big hitters and many others besides has noticed the change in the racing so something else they updated has altered it.

Crosshair - what change have they noticed?

I'd say it's the much bigger packs that form now and their relative speeds compared to small groups

Faster bunches with nobody really having to do the necessary wattage. So fifteen guys doing 320w ish will reel in a 550-650w sustained breakaway that would have previously gone well clear.

Personally, I think it's more realistic in a way- breakaways in real life are brutal so outrunning a 27mph bunch should be very tough.

I suppose it might just be coincidence that grops are much bigger now but I think even I've noticed a small change - after losing the front of a race I'm definitely waiting for the next bunch now, rather than going solo TT as that seems not to work for me any more

Tonights thought until the results are up is do people normally switch off the ERG function on smart trainers when racing?
It would probably account for me shooting past at the bottom of the climb and struggling to stay on over the tops. Well account for some of that :0)

Did the ZHR Up and Down Race. 18th out of 31 starters. Solid mid-table obscurity.

Kept with the front group until the start of the epic KOM, then just settled into a rhythm. Overtook a couple, got over taken by one or two. Managed to finish a minute ahead of the next person and 45 seconds behind the one in front.

I quite liked it, more a test of sustained power than any tactics or drafting being involved (apart from the first 5 mins). Very different to the other races I've done that tend to be more bursty.

I didn't know that erg function worked during races - I think you've probably effectively been riding a dumb trainer with a power meter. Those folk normally get dropped on the climbs and go faster on downhills though, so who knows !

(as an aside, I can't get on with erg mode for workouts - today it kept telling me to simultaneously increase cadence but decrease power. Surely the point of erg mode is that I take care of the cadence and it sorts out the power ? Otherwise I'm using gears just like on a dumb trainer)

yeah, I've had a few of those beej - esp when the race fields were smaller. I reckon pretty much all lone riders get mopped up by groups when it's a big field

It's bad but I can't even imagine racing the mountain lately!

Last time I did was the day after I had met Timothy Tiermont in real life at the CVR London thing. Having seen the guy in real life, it made me feel like he shouldn't be dropping me (he's actually a great cyclist but my arrogant side took over 😆 ). So I hung with him at a few too many Watts and despite being determined to stay with him, got cramp which I NEVER get 😆
So I stopped, calmed down, let the cramp subside and then finished mid pack I think.

I found out afterwards that he was thinking the same so it was proper Mano v Mano stuff with both of us chucking pacing out of the window and letting rip! Sadly I popped first.

Actually, it sounds good quite fun now 😀

Ref ERG mode- it's not relevant for bunch races as you'd miss out on recovery in the pack if nothing else. It could be useful for TT's though but I'm not convinced it would be quicker than riding against the course- i.e. overpowering the climbs and recovering on the descents.

It definstely works. Uphills get harder and I'm downshifting a lot. Downhills get easier. Not looking for an advantage but think it's making it harder to race in a pack.

That’s not ERG mode. ERG mode holds a constant power.

Terrain difficulty slider in settings will determine how much a smart turbo will simulate slope.

Ah, that's not ERG mode. That's sim mode.
ERG mode is when you set your output to a fixed wattage and the trainer keeps you there regardless of your cadence.

There is a slider to adjust the level of response you get up the hills.

Sorry yes I see. Yes seen the slider left it in the middle. I'll try it off next time I race and see how that affects it.

Dying with a cold, quite enjoying have I got news for you and yet still I'm now heading out to the garage. Addict.

Uphills get harder and I'm downshifting a lot. Downhills get easier. Not looking for an advantage but think it's making it harder to race in a pack

Setting the slider right off doesn't fully remove the effect but definitely reduces it. Setting to fully on is a bastard when on a steep hill (worse than real life I think, somehow)

@scaled - go steady; your avatar won't get sick on your behalf if you overdo it. That bit's for real 😀

Wow you learn a lot on this thread.

I've had a poor week due to feeling incredibly tired for most of it. Although yesterday I did the road to ruins ride not expecting much and had a really good ride - go figure.

I have tossed up about doing something structured but at the moment still being relatively new to all of this, I am still seeing small incremental improvements anyway no matter what I do.

BTW scaredy I am a very similar vintage to you and my heart rate is almost identical to yours. My max is 170ish and the highest I've managed on zwift is 168. The difference though is if I go over 160 I am generally toast. My sweet spot seems to be around 150.

I really enjoyed reading what everyone has been up to lately. Some great results!

Tried Zwift with my HRM on for the first time today, shook the manflu off pretty quickly and feel much better for a proper effort after a bimbling commute home.

I'm still not sure about the numbers off this turbo (elite turbo muin b+) I've torqued the tension up to 2nm with a calibrated torque wrench as instructed so other than borrowing another PM i've no idea how to ensure it's accuracy.

I just clicked ride and got 2nd in one of the sprints and got to wear a polkadot jersey for a bit 😀

BRT have a team car on discord that’s rolled out for major races. By which I mean a couple of team members will be watching and giving instructions/encouragement .

But I’ve not been a part of it yet, I’m usually racing solo..

The difference though is if I go over 160 I am generally toast.

I'm basically the same. Your aerobic capacity must be better than mine though since you are a decent B grader and I am an average C.

small warning for the workout-curious, day 2 of my "plan" was quite a lot harder

45 seconds at 175% FTP, repeated 6x every 4-5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes or so rest and then 5 minutes of 95%. Clock was running veeery slowly towards the end

Tomorrow, some variable sprints that don't look too bad but with pretty short intervals. We'll see. Luckily working all day Sunday so won't get on at all, I think

jk, my "race FTP" has gone up by about 0.5 w/kg in 10 months. Depends on how fit you are to begin but my guess is you'll improve if you've not been on there for long

What's a "U" on Zwiftpower folks ? (asking for a friend)

jk, my "race FTP" has gone up by about 0.5 w/kg in 10 months. Depends on how fit you are to begin but my guess is you'll improve if you've not been on there for long

That is the plan. I haven't raced enough to get a decent gauge of where I'm at yet. I'll be reading your workout reports with interest.

Weeksy this will make you feel better, I absolutely killed myself on Thursday evening.

How many points? http://www.cycligentrankings.com/vcr/client/result/14530/39676/2017r11/all/elite/1/0/0/1/1

Lol! Unlucky Nath 😆 At least you know why though hey 😉

BRT have a team car on discord that’s rolled out for major races. By which I mean a couple of team members will be watching and giving instructions/encouragement .

just followed nath's link and did a bit of clicking

Sir Tim Cartwright raced last night, came 2nd

Lost 39 points - now that's a tough crowd to please 😯

Lol indeed, although when he wins he gets 150+ which helps too.

I'm waiting to see if my mate comes over for our ride out, it's raining a fair bit. If not, I'll be finding a race event for sure

sticky bottle would be a great occasional power-up, eemy - gain 20 yards on the bunch at the press of a button

Ha, it’d be good for those efforts where dropped off the back of a group.

100km ride this morning. Easy pace so managed to sort the dog out, get back on the turbo and catch up with the group quick enough.

Not sure how I’ll feel at 75km but I’ll ride what I can. On the lemsip for man plague as well.

Brave man with an arse of steel!

You guys were not joking when you said this will make you sweat... Its way harder than real life 😆 I got a cadence sensor on order which should turn up Monday/Tuesday and then I will do an FTP test for the first time ever.

I signed up yesterday and did a short 30 minute ride just to get the lay of the land. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to maintain 200W (dumb Kinetic Street Machine zpower 2 W/kg) at sub sweetspot effort. The whole experience was a real laugh especially drafting other riders and at one point I found myself at the head of about a 20-strong pack all drafting me!.

I'll do an FTP test at some point and then try some of the shorter 'D' races to see how it goes. Definitely better than just sitting on the turbo in front of the TV watching a workout video though.

crosshair
Lol! Unlucky Nath At least you know why though hey

Ha yep, I finished exactly where I was predicted to finish. Can't get fairer than that 😆

eemy
Nath - that sounds like it is all getting a bit too serious. That said, it might be quite good fun if you could sometimes drop back to a virtual team car on Watopia for some 'medical attention' and a sticky bottle.

Nah it's just like what Nathan G does but just for BRT riders. It'd be nice to know that the guy who's pulling away from the group, is about to blow up so you don't waste energy chasing etc 😆

I've never actually been in a race with the "team car" though, nor have I ever been in a race where I've had a couple of BRT riders with me. The world champs on the 25th will be different though as that'll be a team race - so very different dynamic!

4th is C last night. 120 riders in all. Bit depressing early on as I couldn't hold onto the front groups as I don't recover fast enough from big initial effort and loads of Cs went past. Almost all of them got upgraded for being massively over the FTP. Eventually got a group to form and picked up some stragglers and dropped the remaining (who hadn't got away over the final climb) in the last 700m.
I'll have to try starting a bit slower and see how that goes but I like overshooting what I'm capable of...

The start is a fine balance of going all out and doing just enough...

I used to be in the all out category and would very often find myself at the very front turning onto the road, heart rate ridiculously high and legs hurting, to be then scooped up by everyone behind....

So now I do just enough to stay in the top 5/10 of my cat.

[b]Top tip for the newcomers:[/b] if the race allows powerups then when starting zwift ride to the start/finish line [b]before[/b] joining an event. You'll have a powerup in the bank ready for the start of the race, or for the first hill if it's say Watopia hilly which will save your legs a little bit!

I'll have to try starting a bit slower and see how that goes but I like overshooting what I'm capable of...

nath - that's my warm-up, sprinting to get over that line before I'm taken to the pen
... only to get 10 extra points 😥

So now I do just enough to stay in the top 5/10 of my cat.

Easy to say if your an A as you just need to be in the top 10 :0)

Tricky when Cat C's are putting out 3.5w/kg or more and shouldn't be in the category. Learn to ignore people who I can't keep up with.

I'll tone it down a bit and shoot for midfield and try and hang onto the slower B's as I'll probably have to upgrade soon.

Brave man with an arse of steel!

I’m feeling relieved to be off the bike that’s for sure.

In the end an easy paced group ride was the right choice as I had to get off twice to sort the dog out and then ITT back up.

Pleased to have done it, but overall it felt pretty easy and I’m wondering what a race of that distance would be like?

scaredypants
nath - that's my warm-up, sprinting to get over that line before I'm taken to the pen
... only to get 10 extra points

Re do it until you get the PU you want 😆

tomlevell
Easy to say if your an A as you just need to be in the top 10 :0)

Most the races I've been in recently have staggered starts due to the volumes of riders, so if someone is sandbagging in B/C/D use them to your advantage by drafting them to get away from genuine cat riders.

So now I do just enough to stay in the top 5/10 of my cat.

Easy to say if your an A as you just need to be in the top 10 :0)
Tricky when Cat C's are putting out 3.5w/kg or more and shouldn't be in the category. Learn to ignore people who I can't keep up with

Re do it until you get the PU you want

The start is crucial if you have aspirations of doing well coz if you miss the lead out then you just generally go backwards. I find it awkward as i can generally be in the lead group but that also means its full of A riders and eventually the elastic is going to snap so i either do a painful ITT or have to slow right down to wait for another group. I tend to go for a long sustained 400-450w from the start rather than a 6/700w full on sprint and i generally end up in lead group without burning all my matches, this is crucial for Hilly as the first climb is so soon that there is little recovery time.

Interesting blader, much the same as me. I only do 350-400 at 5 seconds to go now - "always" gets me off with the first few and then tailor effort to what the rest do.
I've never been in a race where a definitive break happens within 400 yards. ACtually, maybe I have and just haven't seen it go 😀

When I used to mash out 5-600 I'd have the lead and a gap and then used to find it hard to measure the backing off but not getting swamped

Yep that's exactly what I meant @scaredy

Never looked at what power that translates into, turns out I'm averaging 475-500w (6.7-7w/kg) for the first 30s before things settle down...that's just to stay within the top 10!! 😐

Nathb and scaredy thats the way i do it, just feather the power so you are towards the front but not at the front. Quite often i can be quite a way back but essentially still in the group but as they settle down i just maintain close to 400w for no more than about 10 secs and this generally gets me right towards the front.

I suppose one risk is that you could get one or wo riders who go off waaay harder than they can handle, then fade really early and create a gap/split in the front bunch - that'd be a bugger to pull back unless there were several strong riders in the 2nd group

50km of mud today! Just constant mud, puddles, more mud, slippery!

Was excellent though, really enjoyed it.

29er was working perfectly with decent grip and high BB helping in the ruts.

Lots of calories, lots of fun. Needed more cake !

Bike is going to need 25 cleans !

Nice one weeksy, sounds like quite a nice mud fest ride but does require extra concentration for those front wheel slide moments. We havent had much rain here in leeds but my bike still came back caked in lumps of mud, it went from very lightweight xc racer to feeling like a steel hardtail and for this time of year the trails are pretty dry!

Couldn’t see much to do so did the cycleclops tour thinking it would be a nice group ride round the new jungle circuit. It wasn’t. Flat out race from the start and the climb up to the jungle is brutal.

Got dropped from the lead group and burnt way to much trying to get back on on the long descent. Got to within 3s but couldn’t quite do it. They were 30s clear by the bottom of the jungle circuit. Started working with a group of 2/3 and gradually mopped up stragglers into quite a big group for a good sprint finish. Looks like it’s on zpower as well although the results look a little odd. My time puts me 28/141 in C but would have been 4th in B..