Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

@savoyad That’s a shame, thanks again for organising though!! Hopefully see you back again next week!

This is a 43″ 4k Hisense. Tbh, is happily use it as my main tv. They are excellent value for money. You really feel you are “in” the game.

@weeksy – thanks for jumping on board
@savoyard – thanks for organising – shame you can’t be part of it tonight!

I’ll do the stop watch thing – everyone be on the discord channel or you won’t here the ‘GO’!

This is a 43″ 4k Hisense. Tbh, is happily use it as my main tv. They are excellent value for money. You really feel you are “in” the game.

cool, I might just go for the biggest one I can find at a reasonable price! Can always slide the turbo back a bit if it’s too mahoosive (will try to avoid any cupboards 😂)

Possibly a bit late but given the issues with comms when you’re dying on your arse is it worth having a shorthand for the messages?

U – speed up (I won’t use this one I don’t think)
D – slow down (But this one I will)
S – steady
G – go, leave me, something’s gone pear shaped!

If nothing else we might look even more pro…

Should be able to remember that! Tbh if the sound q is crap again I’d be tempted to give one of the other services e.g. teamSpeak a go next time

I’m throwing my bike in the bin.

zilog6128

cool, I might just go for the biggest one I can find at a reasonable price! Can always slide the turbo back a bit if it’s too mahoosive (will try to avoid any cupboards 😂)

Yep,as long as you have the room to move the turbo back all is good. Worth mentioning I need to move my head a bit to look at different stats on the screen. Tiny annoyance during a race. I can’t move the bike further back due to space issues.
It’s a slight annoyance but the “immersion” makes it more than worth it.

Are you driving the screen/game with with a PC? if you are porting it from a tablet the big screen will really a amplify the sub par graphics.

I’m running mine on a slightly dated gaming PC I built up so it can handle Zwift in 4k (and it’s dated but totally functional graphics) no problem.

I ported my android tablet to it once and it looked horrid.lol

I’m throwing my bike in the bin.

what happened? You really should treat yourself to a road bike given the amount of time you spend on zwift!

Are you driving the screen/game with with a PC?

have a 4K Apple TV lined up, they were doing them cheap a couple of weeks ago!!

Dunno mate, I lost the wheel then suddenly was 3s behind and then 4, then had to work back, that just finished me off. It’s weird, my HR isn’t hitting the 183 peaks of racing but I can’t seem to hold power as much as I want. In the first 20 mins I was doing ok, taking turns, pushing on, but then the legs just never had it.

It’s weird, my HR isn’t hitting the 183 peaks of racing but I can’t seem to hold power as much as I want.

Thats fatigue, take a few days off, just a few light spinning rides, no more.

I’m tired too, a below par performance today with a Zwiftpower time of 1:03 and a Strava of 55 mins.  I found that relentless, no rest or changes of power just remorseless power output.    This was the last effort of a four week Build for training, having ridden 1500km of training in two months.

Luckily I have a few days off now with just an easy MTB mess around on Saturday.  I need it.

I’m talking WTRL though, you are doing BC?

Sorry it didn’t go as well as hoped weeksy. Thanks for stepping in though, I’m still working so very grateful to you for picking up the baton at the last minute and making sure we got in.

Cheers, have a thank you beer on me.

Anyone doing the 3R Sand and Sequoias at 4.15pm tomorrow?

I suspect it’ll be another “blind” race where you can’t see the other riders stats/ names on the right hand panel? Either that or there is a new bug on Zwift?!😁

Still, it’s my favourite route on Zwift as I used to freeride it a lot before I got into the racing.

2 laps, just over 40km, 356m climbing so fairly flat.

19th overall folks, well done!

19th wow! It was bloody good fun. Really enjoyed tonight’s TTT, one hell of a workout.

Pleased with my fitness gains and the TTT helps, I seem to dig a bit more…

Massive thanks to all especially @savoyard for organising 👍👍

Yep, cheers Savoyard!

I just lost the pace on that last little climb about 2km out so pulled the plug to let you lot fly – well done guys!

Yeah tough ride, nowhere to rest on a flat route! I was on the limit most of the time just hanging onto the back 😂 great result though!

Had a quick flick through the YouTube stream, couldn’t see any Latte coverage at all so guess we didn’t get any screen time 😭

It’s a difficult balance between being organised and taking it too seriously.

Apparently the last man is the 2nd hardest spot after front.

Stronger riders should cover the front and last man and shield the middle.

We don’t do that we pull from the front and try to scoop if anyone drops. However we don’t take it too seriously and that’s a slippery slope to making it not fun. Maybe we should just bear it mind for future runs without having to plan.

I would always favour enjoyment/fun and inclusivity over results 👍

I’m sorry I missed that. It was a great ride (within a minute of another PL invite).

Weeksy don’t be so hard on yourself. When the gap opens, it opens unbelievably fast (I’ve seen this more times than you in this format!). I find it different to a “normal” race because there’s no point where the group is at all relaxed – more fatigue, more chances for that gap to open, the gap is always to a group going full on . Get that bike back out of the bin.

The webcast was all frappe and up, mainly Vienna and Espresso. But kelvinshuffle was there in the youtube chat nagging them – unsuccessfully – for updates on stw/latte (thanks Kelvin!).

The entry is in for next week – 29km of Magnificent 8 which has the reverse hill near the start, then lots of flat to the finish. Back to our normal 6.30 start time. I’ll put all the proper info in a separate post.

Can someone explain to me why this is?   I’ve spotted you guys in the Premier league, but was amazed that your time was 10 mins faster than mine thinking “wow some awesome power” only to see that wkg was comparable to mine on average.

a bit of snooping at Phil’s strava (sorry Phil) reveals we rode it within seconds of you, the difference being the pen waiting time, which for us was 10:30 after “go” in Mocha at 18:30

Why is the pen waiting time added to your ride for these TTT’s?

Isn’t that just how Zwift works? And this whole waiting in the pen is just a workaround.

If you set off 10mins after the ‘Go’ you just deduct 10mins from the Zwift time???

Where are you looking at the results?
They will be forever wrong on zwift.com as far as I know.
Zwiftpower doesn’t know teams’ start delays (or categories) to start with. Some data pulls back through eventually from the WTRL results site – it definitely updates the category to your coffee class after the fact. I think the times on there get corrected for start delays at that point too.
The results are accurate on the WTRL site (live, then once they appear finalised – they take a while to fully process, and sometimes, like right now, they go down just after the race has been done). Once that’s back online, fairness will be restored.

Weeksy don’t be so hard on yourself

I’m alright mate, but in honesty i expect and expected better from myself on that layout. I was trying to put in 30s turns on the front for the first 8km, with 2 mins rest and i think at the time i was putting in a shift and working well. But sometimes i wonder if sitting on Phils wheel is the way forward, but i don’t then feel like i’m contributing, so can’t accept that. So need to try and feel ‘worthy’ and put in a shift.
At times we were kinda messing ourselves up as i’d hit the front just as Tiger hit the front and we both ended up screwing up eachothers ‘turns’ because we were both pushing at the same time.

But really, i shouldn’t be getting dropped on that layout, it’s the sort of course that suits me more than any other. My power average was only 268w for the 21km i rode with the lads, which isn’t bad, but at my best i’d expect closer to 280-290 for that time. My HR average was 166 with a max of 173, there’s been plenty of times when 173 should be my AVERAGE for that length of time, hence my disappointment.

Yeah, my organisation and discipline needs work. Phil is just solid.

In other news I’ve screenshot this cause it made me smile….

Yes I know it’s not real…

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Matt RV (@fantasticmrmatt) on Jun 19, 2020 at 12:59am PDT

Yeah, my organisation and discipline needs work.

I’m not blaming you in any way mate… we’re just a bit of a rabble 🙂

Went up the Alpe this morning, head was a bit “shall I, shan’t I?” for going for a new pb. Set off too fast at the bottom and by halfway I was done so I just tried to get to the top and not worry about a pb. Finished 3 minutes slower but I was ok with that as I backed off.

As a bonus I got the wheels for the second time (sorry @Zilog6128) so 1000xp for that. Only been up 6 times and wheels twice is a good result.

Always feels so hard going up that hill, not sure if I have a sub 1 hour in me, possibly if i lose another 10kg 🙂

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Isn’t that just how Zwift works? And this whole waiting in the pen is just a workaround.

If you set off 10mins after the ‘Go’ you just deduct 10mins from the Zwift time???

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Where are you looking at the results?

Zwiftpower, but thats the point of listing people/teams ranked by a time that includes waiting around?

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Went up the Alpe this morning, head was a bit “shall I, shan’t I?” for going for a new pb. Set off too fast at the bottom and by halfway I was done so I just tried to get to the top and not worry about a pb. Finished 3 minutes slower but I was ok with that as I backed off.

As a bonus I got the wheels for the second time (sorry @Zilog6128) so 1000xp for that. Only been up 6 times and wheels twice is a good result.

Always feels so hard going up that hill, not sure if I have a sub 1 hour in me, possibly if i lose another 10kg

Are you going up at your zwift ftp oop north? Zwift can inflate this a bit for big men, if it’s taken from a 20 min effort where you are likely disproportionately stronger. At least that is the case for me, and I can’t sustain my zwift ftp on the Alpe. Even 10 W too high on your average readings could have you struggling up top on that climb I reckon.

But if you’ve been up six times I guess you know the power number that can realistically be put out.

At times we were kinda messing ourselves up as i’d hit the front just as Tiger hit the front and we both ended up screwing up eachothers ‘turns’ because we were both pushing at the same time.

that one is easily solved with a bit of comms! Doesn’t even need to be organised, just say/type “Weeksy taking a turn” etc, then everyone knows not to push hard (which is just wasted effort as you say) while you move forward to do a couple of minutes at the front or however long. Then just announce you’re done or just drop back & tuck in behind Phil 😎

Apparently the last man is the 2nd hardest spot after front.

My overall average effort was a bit below my FTP, but there were regular bursts of way above FTP where a little gap had opened up and I desperately closed it to avoid being dropped, which does take it out of you (that’s my excuse anyway for not doing any turns on the front). Definitely have to be on your toes on the back, if you don’t react quickly and a gap of more than 1s develops it can take a serious effort to get it back unless the group slows down for you! (Not complaining, made it a bloody good workout 😂)

I was trying to put in 30s turns on the front for the first 8km, with 2 mins rest and i think at the time i was putting in a shift and working well

The dropping back for a rest bit is very hard to get right.

I certainly don’t catch draft as I’m moving back so I need to judge what’s going to get me on second wheel then hold that for 30sec or so until I drop into draft them start easing off.

In terms of guessing where that is Phil makes life easy for us, he’s metronomic in his power output so I know holding the group is 310-320W until I get draft then I can drop to 250 ish and sit in group. Dropping off the front at anything below 300 sees me drop out the back.

If tiger or I are on the front guessing where to be to hold the group is much harder because we don’t have that steady output that Phil does so holding the group until you’re in draft might actually be a 350W effort or it might only need 250w.

Trouble is if you’re hammering for 30seconds and get that slide back wrong you need to be able to go again immediately to catch on or the gap just gets bigger and bigger.

It’s why the good teams pull from the back not 2nd, no one eases off to fall back until they’re in draft of the rider coming through already so your efforts look more like 10 seconds *hard* to pull from rear to front, 20 seconds waiting for 2nd wheel to stick, 30 second turn, 10 seconds letting last get infront of you, 20 seconds finding draft, relax. So it’s really 10 seconds very high, a minute pull, then relax even though you’re only on a 30 second turn.

It’s also why it’s best we don’t take it too seriously!

I’m sorry I missed that. It was a great ride (within a minute of another PL invite).

And within seconds of of two other PL entries from this week’s race.

Great effort folks

Trouble is if you’re hammering for 30seconds and get that slide back wrong you need to be able to go again immediately to catch on or the gap just gets bigger and bigger.

this is where a line rather than a blob is really handy as you have a lot more time to sort yourself out before you get thrown out the back! Also maybe we need to get some posters printed up or something & start a recruitment drive – an extra 2 team members would also be really useful 😂

Looking at the splits there were a few teams who finished ahead of us who were well behind on all 3 splits… I guess meaning we slowed down a lot when we dropped to 4 riders? Either that or they sacrificed a few bodies to really speed up right at the end?

Are you going up at your zwift ftp oop north? Zwift can inflate this a bit for big men

Garry, my FTP is 271 and I know I probably need to be doing 300w or more to get under the hour for my weight (88kg). It’s hard to keep that all the way up the alpe for me and often I’m around the 250w mark as I tire. First couple of corners today I was at 400w which was probably too ambitious and led to my collapse at the mid way stage. I need to learn to pace it better.

Strangely I found it easier and recovered from about turn 7 onwards at around the 8% or 9% gradients, so I just need to get it right lower down where there are some higher percentage pulls. Definitely weight loss would help to get that w/kg improved and move me faster, I’ve dropped around 15kg since I started in January so I’m on the right path.

this is where a line rather than a blob is really handy as you have a lot more time to sort yourself out before you get thrown out the back

It’s 6 and two 3s really. In a blob you travel faster for less effort on the front. In a line you can relax more at the back for a given speed but have to pull harder on the front when you’re there.

Depends what you’re comfortable with really but for the same speed it’s either putting out a steady “300” ish all the way round in a blob or having to do “375W” pulls on the front but with “200w” relaxes on the back.

So yeah, easier to sort your self out but the trade off is you need to fully beast yourself on the front when you are up.

Either that or they sacrificed a few bodies to really speed up right at the end?

From what I can tell the really serious teams have the weaker riders pulling as hard as they can at the beginning and then dump them when they can’t hold it any more so they get quicker as they progress and their strongest riders are really only having to work the last half but they’re putting out a pace the weaker ones can’t hold anyway by that point.

It’s all about the cups not the camaraderie!

Garry, my FTP is 271 and I know I probably need to be doing 300w or more to get under the hour for my weight (88kg). It’s hard to keep that all the way up the alpe for me and often I’m around the 250w mark as I tire. First couple of corners today I was at 400w which was probably too ambitious and led to my collapse at the mid way stage. I need to learn to pace it better.

You’re not too far off then, 2 or 3 kilos off the weight and even a slight bump of the ftp to 280 say would have you there or thereabouts. Don’t go 400W early doors though!

Congrats on the weight loss – trying to shrink a bit myself and slowly making some progress.

From what I can tell the really serious teams have the weaker riders pulling as hard as they can at the beginning and then dump them when they can’t hold it any more

Not just the fast teams either – the team behind us last night we’re killing a guy called ‘Cookie’ on the front – and then when he said ‘I need a break’ they dropped him like a stone!

And I’m not sure the theories of TTT hold up when you’ve got such a diverse group – and long may that continue.

I would always favour enjoyment/fun and inclusivity over results

This.

Last night was brutal, I was on the rivet throughout and i loved every moment. I tried my best to do a couple of turns on the front to at least feel liked i had contributed, and even had a nose bleed and an FTP increase! So all in all a successful evening session in my book 🙂

And I’m not sure the theories of TTT hold up when you’ve got such a diverse group – and long may that continue.

i would always favour enjoyment/fun and inclusivity over results

Indeed, very easy to take these things too seriously and I rather enjoy the TTT for being a fun race and part of that is having a diverse group rather than 8 people within a W of the category limit.

and even had a nose bleed

Pro tip: Always make the wife dinner before you race.

and i loved every moment.

That’s what matters – well done