Thanks for organising it Weeksy. My first STW group ride and really enjoyed it. Definitely be back to do another when shifts allow. I’ll have to make sure I’m wearing the right top next time. Which one is it ?

Thanks for the invite, going onto nights but hopefully I’ll be there!

Absolutely gutted ! Set up the turbo, logged on then had the blooming Wi Fi drop out 😩 to quote Arnie :I’ll be back 😂

Just catching up on this. I’d like to tag along on a group ride (shifts and training permitting) so I’ve sent you a follow request weeksy. 6.A.Whiteside (WKG Torture) Bit long winded I know but it’s all to do with the team I ride for during the TTT. The number represents what position I am in the team. As number five finishes his turn in front I know that it’s my turn to come through. The WKG part is the team I ride for.

Cheers Weeksy ! Might have to re-evaluate my racing this year and do more races on Zwift. Due to all that’s been going on in the real world I can’t see any TT’s being held this season so might start my threshold training (that I’d put on ice) to help my racing on Zwift.

Did my first race since being promoted to a cat A today. Wasn’t supposed to be doing it, decided to enter the 3R Sand & Sequoias 12.5mile race just 10 minutes before the start. Didn’t have the ideal preparation for it either, was outside at first light this morning doing a solo 50 mile training ride then 20 miles on Zwift so the old legs were quite tired before I even started ! Told them to shut up though 😂 The start was as usual crazy but settled down and worked with a decent group, had nothing left for the final sprint unfortunately but all things considered happy with my result of 15th according to ZP (at an av. of 4.2w/kg 345w for 28min)

https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=448369

This time of the season I’m normally beginning to ramp up the intensity on my workouts but because of the TT’s being cancelled for the foreseeable future there’s no point. I’ll still train, but just keep doing the sessions I’m doing now. Namely tempo and sweetspot efforts on the turbo 2-3times a week and maybe a team time trial on Zwift. I normally do a long Z2 ride outside on a Sunday but the way Boris was talking earlier I think I did my last one today for a while.

Last year, Around 10 hrs in to a 12hr time trial I was in a very dark place. Wondering if I could finish it then “I’m gonna have me some fun” came into my head. Give me the kick up my arse I needed to complete the race. Absolute class film !

That’s a good marker to start with and congrats on your FTP increase! I signed up for the Tron challenge at the end of November so it feels I’ve lived on the Alpe! All my interval workouts have been on it. Up to 90 odd percent now so not much more to do thank God.

weeksy

Now that’s a race !!!

It’s a good one that’s for sure ! Well, that’s if you’re into the long races, a lot people prefer the short crits. Not everyone can spare (or can bear) 3hrs on the turbo.

Always like doing long rides outside so thought I’d do the Slovenian Zwift League race this morning that was raced on the four horsemen route. A 55 mile race taking in the climbs of : original hilly KOM, volcano KOM, epic KOM then the Alpe du Zwift. I’ve ridden the course solo a month ago in a decent time (just over 3hrs) so was intrigued on how faster it’d be in a race situation.
It went really well, stayed with the front group most of the way with a bit of a breakaway going up the Epic KOM but thankfully managed to bring it back. I fully expected it to all kick off at the bottom of the Alpe so made a point of riding it just over SS and not get carried away. To my surprise I was in the top 3 at the top so pulled my tripe out to get a gap before the decent. It worked a treat and because of my heft (all 82kg of it) by the time I got to the bottom I had a healthy 1 minute gap. The rest of the course is my forte, rolling terrain with no big hills so just rode it TT stylee. With about 3 miles to go the chasing pack gave up so I knew I had it in the bag, finishing over 2mins in front of the guy who came second 😁
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=336318

Weight doesn’t make “that “ much of a difference on flat roads. However put some hills into the equation (especially long ones) and w/kg is king

Cheers Eskay ! It was a hard ride! Surprised how much the gravel sections knocked my speed down. I was pushing along at 3.5w/kg on the jungle section and a bloke wafted past me on a MTB doing 2.8 😂

The “team” I ride for, WKG are holding a race next weekend on the four horsemen course. Unfortunately I’ve got prior arrangements so can’t make it. Thought I’d do a solo effort ride around it today, 3hrs at 270w wasn’t nice…..🤮

FB memories popping up on my feed involving Rogue, our first Rhodesian Ridgeback who we lost last September. Crufts show winner, fantastic trail dog but most of all a very important member of the family. Gone but never, ever forgotten ❤️

Got a DQ the other day on my first individual race 😩 Since my broken shoulder blade last October I haven’t dared to venture outside on the bike so Zwift has been my friend these last few months.At this time of the year I’m just doing my base phase of training so I’ve spent all my time doing the Kiss at base Z2 rides along with my own sweetspot and tempo sessions. A mate asked if I’d like to join the group he rides for (WKG) to do the team time trial races so I signed up on Zpower. Because it’s a team event and was able to draft at times I felt they weren’t to taxing (av HR for them had been around the 150-160 mark) so never really went balls deep. Then I entered my first individual race as a cat B rider (as zpower classifies me from my efforts prior to the race) it went well but because this was my first real effort on my own I went well over the upper limit of 4 w/kg for a B rider (actually ended up at an av of 4.2 w/kg for 40min) so i wasn’t officially placed and got put on the unfiltered board 😠 Managed to get a FTP increase though so at least I don’t have to do a test for a while, every cloud and all that 😁

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Spent a great day at the Boarder union Championship dogshow over the weekend. Jimanns The Doctor aka Rossi (RED HOT LINE KEY-TINO CREATIVE AT TUKELA (IMP UKR)x JIMANNS FUN LOVIN CRIMINAL (JW) ) showed fantastic, being placed 1st in his Limit class. He was more over the moon to catch up with his sister #rr_supernova though! . . . . . #rhodesianridgeback #redhotlineridgebacks #rhodesianridgebacksofinstgram #iloveridgebacks #cruftswinner

A post shared by Andrew Whiteside (@grumpyhoneybadger) on Jun 17, 2019 at 4:26am PDT

Here’s our boy Rossi. We lost his brother from another mother Rogue (also a Ridgeback) in September. We’ll probably get another Ridgie in the summer although I have quite a soft spot for shiba inus

@sockpuppet if you’re meaning me there’s not a hope in hell I could do a marathon. Tried doing that running malarkey and was hopeless at it. Within two miles I was blowing outta my arse and walking. Plonk me on a bike and I can do a ton without blinking. Horses for courses I guess.

Not for me this year. A fractured shoulder blade at the end of October has put paid to any plans I had. Shame really, done it for the last three years and always enjoyed the challenge. For the last two years I’ve even managed it in just two rides.

good luck on your recovery Bjj Andy. At least you chose the right time of year!

Yeah it could’ve been slap bang in the middle of the race season so every cloud and all that. This time last year I was bang in the middle of my winter base phase, doing mile after mile outside on the TT bike in zone2 or doing tempo intervals. looking to do the National 12 in August next year so fingers crossed I’ll be back up to speed by then.

@ kryton 57 I was on that ride this morning also. As you I wanted to do a mainly Z2 fasted ride so when, at 10 miles left there was a breakaway (even though it wasn’t supposed to be a race 😏) I just let them go and worked with another five people to the end. Quite enjoying my enforced time on zwift, I broke my shoulder blade (and had it pinned and plated) on my last race of the season at the end of October so riding outside is out of the question until after the new year.

Broke my shoulder blade four weeks ago crit racing and haven’t been on my bike since. This is the longest I’ve been off it in well over ten years 😩. Had it pinned and plated three weeks ago after being referred to Wrightington hospital The original specialist from Lancaster didn’t want to touch it, he said it was to complicated 😳. Out of the sling this week so the physio starts now. Wanted to get on the turbo (kinda resided myself to not going outside until well after Christmas)sooner rather than later but the physio wasn’t keen for me to do it. Trouble is I’m normally bang in the middle of my winter training now so I’m quite behind already. Luckily my main races are from June onwards so I’m hoping I can catch up.

Can the CAAD13 take a guard? Quick look and I cant see that it does. Also has BB30 which might not be great in the winter.

Road CC did a test on them and yes they can take guards. As for the BB30 yes I’ve heard (pun intended) they can creak but a BB converter can eliminate this.

Cannondale CADD13 ?

Had the same problem as the op with regards to my Meindl boots. First pair lasted under 12 months, the soles basically came apart from the uppers. Contacted the importers (who were great to deal with btw) and after sending the boots to them (who forwarded them to Meindl in Germany to inspect) was given a new pair foc. Unfortunately these went the same way, even though I followed the care instructions to the letter. Lost faith in the company and purchased a pair of Lowa three years ago that have been faultless.

Very similar to TiRed on the previous page. As in the occasional crit racer but mainly concentrate on TT’s especially the longer distances. I’ve done ok this season, won a open event, finished on the podium several times and came inside the top ten in all but one of my TT events this year. Done this on between 8-12hrs a week of riding/training. Off the bike I know I could do better. Sleep and alcohol intake being the two main problems. At 45yrs old and a shift worker my lack of sleep really takes its toll (when I’m on nights I’ve done well if I can get 5hrs kip when I hit the sack) The amount of times I’ve finished a 12hr day shift, got on the bike to do a workout and gotten off within 10mins because I’m barely able to turn the peddles I’m that knackard. As for the alcohol it’s a habit I need to get out of. I’m not an everyday type of drinker but when I do (once or twice a week) but when I do it’s to excess. Next year the national TT 12hr Championship is being held on the course I’ve done a couple of times so want to enter and pit myself against the best in the country. I want to do well in it so I know I’ll need to sort out the drinking and try and get more sleep (although the latter might be a problem) I want to finish that race in August safe in the knowledge that I did everything I could to get me in the best shape in readiness for it.

Two years old now but still brings a smile to my face when I get on it.

Got the frame (Cannondale supersix HM) for a bargaintastic £750 brand new (these normally retail at £2k) then scoured the internet for others deals to come up for the rest of the bike. Got a full DA9000 groupset from Planet X for £750 but sold the chainset for £200 (already had a Sram red chainset with a stages PM) finishing kit is a carbon DEDA set. The wheels are LB tubeless rims laced onto DA hubs. Weight all in is 6.8kg. A tour spec bike that cost me £2.2k.

Did a ton around the Bowland fells yesterday and saw all the signage out. Got drenched and crapped up (yes I went by Walker fold 😩)

Not doing it but the forecast looks like a standard autumnal day to me. Might be a bit blowey on the tops depending on the route (not seen a map for it) but it wouldn’t concern me if I was doing it.

Did my first century in 2013 (on a hybrid) and since then I’ve got the bug for doing long, crazy endurance rides. I also race in time trials so although I’ll do the short 10 and 25mile ones I find the longer (50,100 and 12hr) suit me better due to my body conditioned to the longer stuff. Got some big races this summer so I’ve been banging out ton plus rides (on both the road bike and TT bike) nearly every weekend.(22 this year up to now)

Liking that ! Here’s another Vader montage:

Man of the match ?
Front to back, period. Every single one of them stood up to be counted and by God they didn’t disappoint. Warriors the lot of ‘em.

Moved it over for the decent 😉 Was a big day out that. 202miles with 18k of climbing. My arse has never forgiven me 😆

Got up it (just) on 36/28. Had the delights of Wrynose, the struggle and great Dunn fell after this 😳

We give our 10yr old Ridgeback glucosamine and cod liver oil tablets from Holland and Barret. We also feed both our boys a raw diet. Our “old man” is still fit as a fiddle, quite happy to do a 3-4hr walk up in the Lake District. Although admittedly I don’t take him out MTBing now (much to his disgust) Tumaric and black pepper is also a great shout.

Pains me to say it as a Liverpool fan but City deserved to win that game. Sane was the mot the match imo. How Liverpool react to the result will shape their season. City have had their blip, just hope Liverpool’s won’t be as bad. If it is their in trouble 😩

Finished the challenge yesterday with another 160 mile ride in pretty grim conditions. The TT bike was absolutely filthy by the time I got home. All in 2 rides, 322 miles (519km) 11800ft at 20.1 av.

Distance 8699 miles
Time 447hrs 47min
Elevation 351,356ft
Rides 423 (including commutes)
This also includes 32 ton plus rides (and two double century rides)

You do this to yourself the day before Christmas because some marketing bod made up a challenge for their App to keep it’s users hooked?
mental.

Not for me personally, I regularly do 100+ mile rides so seen as I’ll be doing big rides whilst I’m off I might as Well sign up for the challenge

160miles for me today in very cold conditions. Kept to the main roads so they were well salted. Well, apart from 30 miles of back roads that were dodgy to say the least. Knocked seven bells out of my average speed. Doing it on the TT bike after not slinging a leg over it for eight months wasn’t my best idea either, was on the base bars quite a lot because of not being used to the aero position. My neck is now more stiffer than a plank that’s overdosed on viagra.