Much the same reason it’s Saturday not Sunday for me Craig!
Send me an invite DrP, not sure if I’ll make it but at least it I’ve got the invite I can try!

Oh it seems race mode only allows group only view by the way.

@Dangeourbrain, Brian, don’t know if you have seen but the last part of the Tarmac event is the La Reine route which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday. It takes you up to Chalet Raynard which is 5km from the top, you can complete the rest following the event.

There will be quite a crowd which may help with the pull uphill. It might suit you better for Saturday, although you won’t get the Ven-Top route badge.

Ah I hadn’t thought of that (or realised that that was the route), in which case I’m going to bin off the social and do that instead as I’d be doing that any how and I’m not enough of a masochist to do it twice in under 12 hours.

I’m in for 18.30 tomorrow if anyone is interested.

Can’t make tomorrow evening but will probably have a go over the weekend at some point.

Don’t think you get the ven top route badge if you do la rein as they start from different places. If that doesn’t matter and you just want to ride to the top then go for it!

You definitely won’t get the Ven-Top badge, it’s given only if you select the specific Ven-Top route.

I’m less bothered about the route badge than about not having to repeat the experience whilst my bar tape is still squishy.

I’ll give the specific route a go another time.

I’ll take an invite please DrP. I haven’t ridden with the stw guys for a while. My name ends with Ten. Ta!

all sent…

DrP

see you bright and early!

Ah didn’t properly read the time. I’ll not make that. I can only do evening rides UK time.

Apologies for the no show this morning chaps, my youngest was up all night not feeling well so sleep became a premium before work!

Hope it was a good one.

no worries.. hope the nipper is OK 👌…

just me and kelvin…. he’s fast!

my cast absolutely honks now!

DrP

Haha. Sounds like it would have been a crazy fast one for me…probably best I wasn’t there 🙂

Ha, sorry I didn’t make it this am, my legs are still a bit done from Wednesday and I didn’t fancy the commute on top of a zwift this morning.

Seems I’ve been volunteered for exercise with mrs brain this evening so stage 3 of the tarmac will have to wait, when were you thinking of picking it up Craig?

I’m thinking I may chicken out of the big hill and do the shorter route instead, which is Casse-Pattes, same distance but only the flat France route and the Petit KOM, not a long killer hill. I have a lot of work to do on the house over the weekend so don’t want to take all my energy away haha!

I’m on the 9-30am Shorter ride tomorrow if you want to join me.

I don’t think 9.30am is likely for me Craig – I’ve signed up to about 6 iterations over the weekend in the hope I make 1 but it’s a weekend of poorly timed plans so I need to be done by 10am both days really

Haha You and me both, if I’m awake I’ll do a 6am one, I can’t do any later than the 9-30am one myself. Zwift are still using the weird times for this event over the weekend, hardly anything early morning, then every half hour in the evening!!

It does seem very odd. Especially since Sunday has all three stages to allow you to catch any you missed but they’re not running at (roughly] the same times Nope, “ohh 8am, that would suit, oh its stage 1. Oh ffs, stage 3 is 9.30.” it’s not even as though they’ve allowed enough time to do them consecutively unless you’re actually Peter sagan.

I am not Zwifting this weekend and probably not next week too as a few bits on..

I’ve got a plan to do either a Zwift 100 miler or the Four Horseman this weekend. This is based on the assumption that I get up early enough, and Mrs. 10 doesn’t freak out when I explain that I will probably be riding for 5 hrs. If anyone has any interest in joining me you’re welcome to. I’ll most likely be starting at mid-day your time.

I did Road top the sky one morning followed by 3 sisters as Sunday Hills, someone was fool enough to accompany me (I can’t remember who sorry!), it worked out a bit shorter than 4 Horsemen but covered the same climbs.

Took about 3.5hrs I think (1 for road to the sky and 2.5 there abouts for 3 sisters I think)

You should be done in plenty under 5 😉

anyone up for Sunday morning hills tomorrow am?

DrP

Lol what’s the obsession with hills in this place.

it’s the view from the top…..

😉

DrP

Going down the other side!

right….i think tomorrow am I’ll either do the surrey Sunday, at 0745… or the Belgian flanders endurance 100km…. at 0815….

anyone fancy joining one of those?

DrP

I might join you for Surrey. Though at this precise moment in time I have no desire to get on my turbo tomorrow.

Everyone was right about that climb. It was not fun.

I’m on the tarmac stage 3 in the morning as I didn’t manage to do it today. Enjoy surrey hills, I’ve done it previously and quite enjoyed it.

Monday I’m starting the MAAP event.

Weeksy…Sunday is all about the hills, sprints and flats for the rest of the week 😉

How was it Brian? Hurt much? Haha

How was it Brian? Hurt much?

1hr 12 for the ride, Just under 1.40 under the arch I think.

I screwed up the start, everyone on a go slow it seemed, all bar one sitting at 250w ish so I chased onto the solo and paced with him for a bit, I could hold his coat tails just but he was constantly 4.6-5w/kg.

He dropped me at the bottom of the climb where he held the same all the way up. Last I saw him he was 5 minutes up on me on the climb.

Got picked up by a group about 25 minutes in, sat with them at about 300w for 5min or so but mistimed drinking my coffee and they left me on a down slope as my power dropped and I started to spin out a bit – it’s quite interesting seeing the folks who (I assume) have trainer difficulty set to zero as their power output doesn’t flinch when the gradient changes, very noticeable when you’re in a small bunch and two of the four gap you every time the road goes up or down a bit at all. The three of them finished about 2 minutes up on me.

Oddly I was passed by a couple of riders on the climb who were consistently lower power and w/kg than me. Every time I looked at the board they were down on power but gaining seconds on me which was odd.

Both of them caught me whilst they were low 3s and I was high 3, one of them pootled past at 3.4 and even at 3.8 I was losing ground
The other about passed me about 600m from the end. With about a k to go he was a bit down on power but was gaining (turns out he’s only 1kg heavier so no real numbers difference) got to about 10m, I put in a good kick of 450W or so for about 30 seconds, he didn’t respond at all, stayed at the same effort of about 260w, lost about 20m to me, then crawled back at the same effort but gaining about 1m/s, put a kick at just over 4w/kg which would have been about 320w, and shot passed like a rocket, i kicked hard to try hold 5th place and couldn’t match his speed even at 600w he was riding clear so I just scratched my head, sat down and rode home.

Not a nice route. Way too lumpy at the start then the climb is just monotonous with, as someone rightly said, no real indication of where you are or anything.

Some strange numbers there, how are they catching if you are putting out a better w/kg?

Yeah it’s a tough climb and not one I find myself wanting to do again soon, that middle section really puts me off.

Anyway, well done for getting up it in a decent time!

Some strange numbers there, how are they catching if you are putting out a better w/kg?

There were a few comments about bouncy time gaps – people would seemingly gain or lose massive chunks of time on the time gaps here and there so I’m not sure the reporting was right. ZP has both the strange riders at lower output than me on every split though 🤔

well I’m ready for the 0815 Belgian endurance one!

DrP

well that was actually really fun…

early on I got in a group with 3 others. bit of bants.. lolz..
then one of our 4 dropped back for a bit, and then came through like a chuffing rocket up box Hill…
but… he stayed 2 min ahead for a bit, then must have blown up as disappeared..

another one then had to drop out after about 90 min..

so me and another chap carried on for the whole 96km… pace/power dropped a bit as time went by… but we came in at (i think) 2nd and 3rd pace over all…

they’re WERE a few more people ahead, but I think they failed to pace properly and had to call it a day..

would be good for a STW swarm one day!

DrP

Anyone fancy a Tuesday evening sprint session, we’ve not had one for a while (or not one I’ve been invited to)? Was thinking the reverse Champs loop.

I’ve got circuit training Tuesday sorry hoppy.

I could be up for the sprint fest in Tuesday. I’m going to see how my legs feel tomorrow, I did the PRL full this morning and it was definitely up there in the list of my most uncomfortable rides. I’m hopeful that I manage to get the recovery better than I got the eating on the ride!

I’ve set up a ride and sent out invites to those I’m following for 7.30pm tomorrow on Lutece Express.

Anyone who hasn’t got an invite and wants in follow me Chris Hudson STW (BRT) and I’ll add you to the ride.

@mrhoppy there was an invite – but it’s gone now?