Viewing 40 posts - 12,121 through 12,160 (of 15,383 total)
  • Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.
  • Kryton57
    Full Member

    Assuming android will be similar.

    Theres no such setting in Android.  However I discovered that – because the USB ports are at the back of the all-in-one PC the device itself was shielding the wi fi dongle from the house.   A quickly delivered pair of M-F Amazon basics 3m USB extension cables and I’ve got 16-30Mbps again and my ANT+ is next to the trainer aka no drops.  Job done, 2hrs ridden on Zwift today with no issues.

    So now rather than the 13″ 2 core I7 laptop balanced on a stepladder I’m rocking a faster 4 core i5 with graphics card and 1080p 23″ all in one in front of the bike on a worktop – a bit like Poopscoops setup a few pages back.  Saves a lot of faff/prep every time – switch on and go – and the bigger screen makes a whole load of difference.  Got the Dell all in one from Gigarefurb for £198.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    I got a Dell optiplex 1010 refurb off Amazon for 130 quid with SSD and 8gb ram.

    Hooked it up to an old telly…..which died….so I procured another for a case of beer.

    Zwift on the Big screen

    Well worth it if you have the space.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Yes mine’s an optiplex 9020 with 8gb ram, graphics card and 256gb ssd upgrade.

    Not sure what im going to do with the other 240gb…

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
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    J-R
    Full Member

    My wife was out for a few hours on Sunday so I thought I’d try something different: the Fun in the Sun 70km race on the Big Foot Hills course. This features the Volcano climb half way and a couple of small kicks before and after. I was interested to see how well I could keep going for 2 hours and whether it would be too boring.

    In fact I found the focus involved in racing made it an engaging 2 hours and it wasn’t boring at all. Listening to previous advice on this thread I tried not to go too fast at the start, just enough to keep me in the front half of the bunch rather than near the front. The pack split in two on the first climb, Titan’s Grove but I was in the front bunch. But at the next climb over “Forward Climb” the acceleration from the front guys was just too much for me and by the other side I was in a select group of 3, which was soon 2 minutes behind the fast guys and 2 minutes ahead of the slower bunch.

    Everything stayed stable for the next hour, and I got the impression I was a better climber than the other two but they were as good or better on the flat – probably big guys with good power but not as good on w/kg. But I thought there’s no point getting away on a climb if they were going to catch me afterwards, so I just wound up the power on the climbs to keep them working hard but let them keep catching me. On the flats I was a bad group member and successfully spent 95% of the time at the back.

    This worked really well so that for the first time ever when we got to the last 300m I found I had a good sprint in my legs and got 6 seconds off them over the line and came in 9/21 on B in Zwiftpower: https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=256909

    Not a bad result, but nowhere near troubling the better Bs.

    Looking at the stats afterwards for the other 2 in my small group I see I was totally wrong, they were both lighter than me, one of them just 60kg, so they must have been riding their legs off on the flat while I was taking it easy on the back. I feel now like I was quite mean to them – but I guess that’s racing. Overall it was surprisingly enjoyable but I know now I could have gone harder and maybe should have burned some matches to hold onto the front group.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    I gone done a race, EVR Europe tonight. Entered Cat D as I’d never done a Zwift race before, won it by quite a lot, in fact came 3rd in C 1 second off 2nd and top 20 in B 🤷🏼‍♂️

    Zwift Power promptly binned my result and bumped me straight to Cat B 🤦🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️

    kelvinshuffle
    Free Member

    I know you’re all mainly on the racing side of things, but I’d like some advice on what plan to go with next.

    I’ve been sticking to the plans mainly because the ~1hr session fits well with time I’ve got to ride and my FTP/WKG means I’m not going to be troubling even the lowest cats in races.

    Main objective at the moment is to drop weight, I was 92kg at 170 CMs and a combo of Zwift/Less Beer/Longer dog walks/Avoiding Sausage rolls I’m down to 82kg. I’ve been creeping up the FTP to 216w and the KGs going down has helped the W/KGs figure.

    I’ve been doing the 4wk FTP Builder with the odd free ride and a few extra ramp tests to see how I’ve been getting on. But the 7 days a week of that schedule hasn’t really worked for me. I’ve been doing more like 4/5 a week depending on if I get an outside ride as well.

    Getting towards the end of the programme so wondering what to do next.

    I’d been riding sporadically once a week with a weekly run for last couple of years but nothing structured or that high intensity. So already a fairly big step up in volume but enjoyed it and it’s helped with the motivation to eat better.

    I’d really like get down to >70KG by next summer which would put me in the healthy weight zone.

    The weight loss is the main goal but secondarily I’d like to get better at the ups at Surrey Hills Trails, have a go at the South Downs Way in a day next year and maybe the London Duathlon.

    I’m considering either the Gravel Grinder or the MTB Absa Cape Programme

    They feel sensible? Should I be looking at something else or because I’m starting from a fairly untrained state will it not really matter as long as I stick with it?

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    Anything that’s planned and you follow fairly closely and regularly will help. Something else might be better but it’s not going to be by much. The key is working in effective zones and doing it regularly. Remember the FTP number isn’t the only thing. Think about how you’ve improved getting through some of the sessions especially when they increase the time of them. Weight loss will become harder and even though you are working hard at some point you’ll plateau and again don’t hang yourself on the ultimate number.

    For me where 1 1/2hour session looked like madness a couple of years ago it’s now the norm to push 1 hour sessions out towards that to gain further time at a sensible level.

    J-R
    Full Member

    Kelvin, as Tom says just choosing a program and sticking with it will probably help your fitness rather than worrying too much about exactly which one.

    But you should now be able to enjoy an occasional race: at 216W and 82kg you are 2.6 W/kg which puts you well into C. You may not win any races but you should be able to keep up and enjoy it. And if you get down to your 70kg target you’ll be right at the top of Bs. As a fellow Surrey Hills MTBer I’d suggest aiming for races with hills, because maxing out on your W/kg for 10 mins at a time to hold onto the pack is great training for slogging up Leith or Pitch. But if you are serious about doing the SDW in a day you’ll need to build a capacity to ride 10-12hrs off road, and I suspect that means focusing on progressively longer slow MTB rides outside when Spring comes – such as 30->40->50+ miles around the Nivarana Killer Loop plus a detour to Box Hill and Headley for good measure.

    kelvinshuffle
    Free Member

    Thanks both, reassuring that what I choose won’t matter too much, might go for the gravel one as has some cadence drills in there and at the moment I’m prone to lag behind some mates spinning 100rpm up the trails while I’m nursing 70ish rpm.

    J-R this the Nirvana Loop you’re talking about?

    I’m down on the coast in Worthing so not far from the SDW to do a bit of practice on the middle 30 miles when things dry out.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    Waiting on @weeksy to report why a 60kg rider beat him in the sprint for 3rd ;0)

    weeksy
    Full Member

    Well that goes down as VERY interesting…

    Had 2.5 days withouot cycling coming into this race. Can’t recall the last time i had that long off. I’ve also been down with a bit of lurgy, but we won’t get into that.

    Anyway. Greater London Flat, Dirt Cup series. As i join the pen i see the notorious bath Salts in there ! Sheesh. The undisputed king of C racing LOL.

    We go off and the legs feel great, up the slight inclines i’m sitting in the lead bunch, due to the series it’s a C only bunch which helps me lots. We go up the first climb after the right hander and Salts wallops it… .i’m hitting 650w to get after him as are a few others. His tactics worked though as we went from a group of 17 down to 9.

    We’ve now got 9s on the goroup behind and we’re working well, although only 3 of us taking turns on the front. Me being one of them, which i’ve not said in quite a long time. Down the underpass i’m thinking “this is it, this is where i get canned..that kick up then the 3% false flat kills me…. but no, i’m still there over the line into lap2 and the final lap.

    I’m taking my share of turns and even pressuring the group a couple of times… Mostly flat so going well…. Down the underpass and up the other side i’m still in the group, we’re now a 6 group from 9 a people have been shelled out..

    Then onto the 3% and Salts kicks at 900w… Bumer… i don’t have that and it splits into 2 groups of 3 with 1.5km to go.

    They pull out 5-6 sec over the last km and we shell one of ours out, so we’re a 2… But he beats me to 4th so i end up with 5th place.. Brilliant, way happy with that.

    FTP increase to 276w too which is also nice.

    https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=259403

    J-R
    Full Member

    J-R this the Nirvana Loop you’re talking about?

    Almost. I ride it clockwise and include the tops of Holmbury and Pitch Hills, which makes it over 30 miles and gives some useful additional climbing. When I get home tonight I’ll check what the actual laminated map from Nirvana Cycles says.

    One plus for the Nirvana route is plenty of food stop opportunities.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    Waiting on @weeksy to report why a 60kg rider beat him in the sprint for 3rd ;0)

    In simple terms, i waited, waited, waited…. oh… Too late… he went and i missed it LOL.

    J-R
    Full Member

    @weeksy how does this race work? You guys in C were around 46 minutes for the race, which was significantly less than the time taken by A and B.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    Their race was 3 laps, C/D race was 2 laps.

    They didn’t show on our leaderboard etc, but we did catch a few of the Bs and they jumped in our group a couple of times.

    J-R
    Full Member

    Ah, thanks @Weeksy

    the notorious bath Salts in there ! Sheesh. The undisputed king of C racing LOL.

    Are you aware he was DQ’d from a race series a while ago, for having an A group person (Choppa) ride with him in C as somebody to draft. It is a very interesting read:
    https://www.zwiftpower.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=5218

    weeksy
    Full Member

    Yup. Personally i have no issue with him… I think if he tried 100% all race he’s a decent B. But how he rides, he’s a very good C. His tactics may be somewhat unfair, but it’s all fun in racing for me 🙂
    He’s also chatty in races which i like along with being prepared to put a shift in to get a few shelled out..

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    Nice one. I’m racing that later which is why I saw you were doing well in the Live.
    His mate Choppa get’s binned out of Dirt races regularly for some historical spat from what I can tell.
    Only raced Salts once and I was having a bad day round Yorkshire and somehow pulled them all the rest back after he dropped them for second. I might hunt ranking points after this series has finished which means seeking out the higher ranked racers.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    What does puzzle me is how does he keep his watts so low.
    Today average Watts
    Salts 249watts 90kG (NP 300w)
    Weeksy 279watts 89kG (NP 290w)
    Essentially finished on the same time.
    NP is very close and I think from looking at a race file he pulses big power. So rather than keeping a constant effort he stops regularly but has probably shot through the group then backed off. Maybe.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    If I get the time tonight I’m going to have a crack at the EVR Europe Race again, but enter C and see if I don’t get booted from that, but looking at my stats from the last race I had an (somehow) averaged weighted power of 3.45W/kg over the race.

    The C race is 2.5 to 3.2W/kg and the B is 3.2 to 3.9W/kg, so should I just gun it and go for B and get a right kicking?

    nixie
    Full Member

    @steve_b77 what cat does your zwiftpower profile indicate? Drop a link to it in here and we can advise.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    @nixie

    I’ve only done one race and this was it; and as a result my ZwiftPower profile says Cat B at 3.35W/kg so just inside B. As it was my first race it could be a “fluke” output, but then again it could be bang on, so I guess that sticking with B is the best idea to get a decent average over a few races instead of a sample of 1?

    I’ve only been Zwifting for a couple of months, so still getting used to it all really.

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    Zwift takes your best three 95% of 20min MAPs (from the past 90 days?) to form an average and then assign you to a category. If you are new to racing in general, not just Zwift, I’d be inclined to do two 20min+ races at sub 230W for 20mins MAP… If I haven’t had a maths fail, that will put you in C and give you a few more races at least to get a feel for Zwift racing.

    Still not done much “proper” racing in B that I’ve been thrown into, but did a handicapped Watopia Waistband TT on Monday (cat groups head off in reverse order every 5mins). I had to mess about with trainer difficulty (slope feel) several times to try and keep my power somewhere near 275W and hr under 168bpm (my LTHR) with the 16T sprocket until the very end, but quite happy to complete in ~43mins20secs with ~270W average.
    No idea why the times don’t match the position list, it looks like times might be based on when group D set off, as there’s 5mins added to my time https://zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=258941

    Struggling once again to get going today on a day off, woke for an hour around 0300 and then slept in until gone 0800… Need to pop out to get some supplies so doing the Sand & Sequoias TT at 1435 won’t happen, but might see if I can get back and be warmed up for the 1505 mad 1lap dash around Laguardia… Been meaning to try one of these “super sprint” events for ages!

    nixie
    Full Member

    I’d be tempted to go with B with that power. If it was a fluke you’ll be regraded in two races but if it’s not then you risk DQ from a lot of events.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    What does puzzle me is how does he keep his watts so low.

    In simple terms, because of his crazy 15s or even 1min power he can risk sitting at the back more than others like me, if i start to struggle on a slight incline and lose the group of even 5-6 riders, there’s no coming back from it, once you’re gone you’re gone. But he’s low enough in his HR and max power that if he lost the tow he can squirt it up and back in he comes. So he can sit further back and do less work.
    I tried 2-3 times to break the group, i even got a 3s gap on them on my own, but i was putting out 400w to do it and they had me even if i’d have tried, so was just trying to soften them up.

    Interestingly the guy who finished 2nd was also highly ranked as were a couple of guys behind me, so i picked up 16 ranking points which i’m more than happy with.
    I was happier though that i seemed to find some form.

    Even if it does mean that i have to tell Crosshair he’s right and i do need a few days off sometimes 😉

    weeksy
    Full Member

    I’ll deffo be concentrating on C races though i think, when i and others go off with the B/A riders it puts me too far into the red and i never recover, but racing with pure C riders gives me a half decent chance.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    You’re a B.
    To get downgraded you’d have to do 2 races under 3.13wkg which is unlikely IMO.
    I’d really like to be able to do 3.35 in a race. Maxed out this year at 3.19 (1kg lighter) and generally about 3.15 in races which I’m on the podium in a competitive field.
    I think in most C races you’ll also be auto DQed as you are officially a B.

    steve_b77
    Free Member

    @nixie @tomlevell guess I’ll go give B a go this evening then and see how I get on, if I do I’ll report back on here whatever the outcome.

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    You’ll probably turn yourself inside out and be further away from C than you think you are :0)
    Race experience over time will also make you better for the power output you can put out.
    Good luck.

    kelvinshuffle
    Free Member

    Thanks to the pep talk earlier did a race rather than a workout today, Same one I’ve done previously 3R Sand & Sequoias – 1 Lap (20km) as a D.

    Load quicker than last time round, FTP bumped from 216 to 222 which was a nice perk as well!

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    You’re a B.
    To get downgraded you’d have to do 2 races under 3.13wkg which is unlikely IMO.
    I’d really like to be able to do 3.35 in a race. Maxed out this year at 3.19 (1kg lighter) and generally about 3.15 in races which I’m on the podium in a competitive field.
    I think in most C races you’ll also be auto DQed as you are officially a B.

    This kind of talk confuses me.   Tom’s constantly on podiums (well done!) but I race at 3.35 or thereabouts and am top third mostly, although I’ve a few “C” medals.

    Que?

    nixie
    Full Member

    Maybe you work more which ultimately results in a higher average.

    dirtyrider
    Free Member

    been a quiet couple of weeks, just 2 zwift rides in, no races, but i did hammer myself up the Epic and the Volcano, so no bimbling really, and then todays race,

    3R Sand and Sequoias 1 Lapper, knew with the short lead in and 10km flat i could stick with the front group until the first “hill” which i did then it all splintered, i nearly stayed with them, but i was too gassed to chase on the downhill, kept good tempo up titans grove and got caught by a bunch of 4 near the top, managed to hold onto them on the rollers on the way down, thought id be able to have them in the sprint as i recovered on the flat, however at the bottom we got caught by a huge fast moving group, 20+ dragged a couple of stragglers in, last 1.5km a group of 4 had 15 seconds, the group managed to haul all but 1 of those in, heartbreak for them, like a proper stage break being caught,

    last 2.3km as the segments called was fast – av HR was 187bpm for the last 3 minutes peaking at 197 so i was working hard, however managed to drag some sort of sprint out, going with 250m to go just missed Bronze by a knots cock, 1st and 2nd were up the road with a 4.1w/kg av, 14 riders split by less than 2 seconds, and happy with the result that i was 2nd in that lot

    https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=259434

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Thought I might do a race tonight – first one since February and 2nd one in 2019

    I used to be a B. Do I just go with that or do I have to find out my official category somehow? (how?)

    w00dster
    Full Member

    @steve_b77 – be interesting to see how you get on. I’ve mentioned it on here before that I’m a lower end B, only done 3 races, got moved up to a B after my first race. I can sit in at 3.6 w/kg quite comfortably, but get done in on the 45/50 second fast climbs (6-7w/kg). Was a bit demoralising getting dropped from the main group of B’s on the second lap of a 5 lap race. Got to pick and choose my events more closely.
    Tempted to do the Classique Flat Race at 2030 tonight, but have done two tough training sessions in a row this week, tonight is supposed to be a rest night……

    n0b0dy0ftheg0at
    Free Member

    I might be a bit sore later and/or tomorrow, 130TSS over 3 events…
    https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=259436 (1505 1 lap super sprint Laguardia)
    https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=259260 (1530 ZA Tri 2020 Workout #5: V02max Development)
    https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=259444 (1700 2RR ITT Bologna)

    The workout was a killer after the sprint race, trying to do multiple 300W intervals of up to 4mins was a real struggle. Thought I was then going to call it a day, but I had a recovery shake and then left it very late to decide to finish my legs off up Bologna.

    Tomorrow will be a very easy bit of spinning!

    weeksy
    Full Member

    I used to be a B. Do I just go with that or do I have to find out my official category somehow? (how?)

    When you look on Zwiftpower.com it will show your current Cat in your profile. As you’ve not raced for 90+ days i’d expect you to be uncatagorised.

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Cheers, yeh, all looks a bit blank weeksy – I’ll try B and see how hard I can get my arse kicked !

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Ho Ho Ho !

    dropped like a red-hot turd before the end of the lead-in 🙁

    well done to ??Mossimus though !

    tomlevell
    Full Member

    @kryton57 remember it’s 95% of your best 20 minutes that counts. Yes I’m at a similar average depending on how the race goes. I’d say I’m good at hiding and I’m far better than I used to be at recovering from an effort or 3 than I used to be so I can normally make the group hurt up the short hills and be ok for the next one or reduced sprint. Not toniight though :0(

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