This seems like a great way to get a video of you charging into the room just too late as he falls off the furniture.

@zilog6128 said

Zwift/WTRL racing league details released

Looks simple enough.

bump. still noone signed up for this Thursday…

I don’t actually know why I can’t

The rule exists (this is true, but don’t panic…) to eliminate the risk of you passing abnormal prions to the recipient of your blood and so giving them vcjd. The risk is miniscule, but it can’t be screened for.

That aldi one was actually pretty good. But it has recently been replaced by a new design. The new one is rubbish.

The entry is in for next week. 7:40pm on Thursday.

3 laps of Volcano Flat Reverse, 37km in total. This is a new course for this event, but I suspect it will be a fast one.

Sign up to category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1092711

I’ll be back with nudges and eventually a start delay later in the week.

It is a minefield – there is less choice than on the road, and they cost more. I gave up.

Crank – stages do one that would fit. It’ll be 2x the price of a road stages. I don’t think 4iiii do one that’ll suit you. Ditto avio (although if they do, it would be a bargain because their pricing structure is so flat).
Spider – power2max like @ac282 said. expensive though, especially with the “pay for accuracy” add on.
Pedals – they’ve been imminent for ages, but still vapourware for now. the iqsquared ones might be great one day. the SRM ones (launched, but hard to get?) are very expensive. at least they’d move easily between bikes. that assioma hack is quite popular on the internet.

Road powermeters really are a normal consumer product now. MTB isn’t quite there. And, like @richardk said, the utility is less obvious than on the road too. If you do get one, can you post back? The internet is awash with info on the road, but there’s much less about MTB about…

@mrhoppy said

It’s a good job these are off zwift power otherwise half of us would be getting cat upgrades for a shitz and banter race series.

I used to marvel at you lot reporting new power records / segment PBs on the social rides thread achieved in meetups rather than races. And now my own 15/30 second and 1/5/20 minute bests are all in the meetups from this race series and so excluded from my zwiftpower profile. Apart from the 1 minute, they aren’t dramatic (a few watts here and there) but it is getting more out of me.

One thing I like about robbo’s handicap system – which is impossible to replicate in a more open event – is that the stakes are never over. If you lose a wheel in a normal race, it’s rational to manage the effort and drift backwards in the gap, maybe even settle for joining the group behind. The time loss doesn’t really matter. But in this series, the time gap to the people leaving you behind and to the group chasing you matters until the end.

OK, updated start list for tonight (everyone’s STW tags in this list are correct):

@tpbiker

@phil56

@zilog6128

@haloric

@robbo1234biking

@retrorick

PLUS I think @dangeourbrain is threatening to join in as well (as I read his message, his definition of “things not going as planned” in Cambridge seems to be the opposite of the rest of his TTT team).

If you think you entered but you aren’t listed above, check your STW tag.

To confirm: start time is 19:40 plus 6 minutes

See each other in the pen!

Yes, @retrorick there is space. The instructions for new riders are just above (http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-team-time-trial-thursday/page/6/#post-11396532)

@robbo1234biking can you amend my ftp to 262 from now on? Ta.

OK @kirky72 there’s a small amount of hassle involved first time. Full info is here: https://wtrl.racing/ttt/TTT-Rules-and-Info.php

But basically:

1. Enter the event. Category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1080949

2. Attach yourself to our team by tagging your “rider name” in zwiftpower. Go to Zwiftpower –> Zwift Profile –> Settings and then add (STW) to the end of your rider name. [if you don’t have a zp account, you need to get one…]. you don’t need to change anything in zwift itself, just zwiftpower.

3. Get on a road bike and dress up as a bumblebee. Do the same in the game as well. Then join the event by the event start time. So 19:40 tonight. But that’s not our start time…

4. The start: when it says GO, you MUST NOT GO! Stop pedalling entirely – you need zero power so you don’t roll forward – and wait patiently in the start pen for our start time. Tonight that’s a 6 minute wait. So we’re actually off at 19:46:00. Then, you can go!

5. Comms (including a countdown to our start) are on the STW Voice channel on discord. Here: https://discord.gg/qyeruR – it is possible without (just join the group as everyone rolls out at the start time) but it’s better with.

I think that’s everything. If anything is unclear just post in here and you’ll get an answer…

Yep. We have a team and a start delay for this evening.

Start delay is 6 minutes. So in the pen by 19:40 and we are off at 19:46:00.

The start list at the moment is:

@phil56

@zilog6128

@haloric

@robbo1234biking

Plus, I think @kirky72 might join as well. I’ll do detailed instructions in the next post.

There’s still room for more if anyone else is interested: sign up to category A here https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1080949.

It’s definitely OK to join in @kirky72
Our strategy is very informal: Join the blob, do what you can. No structured pulls at all. And if you get dropped, an effort will be made to cajole you back on.
Have you ridden the TTT before? The logistics at the start are weird. I’ll explain them properly if you need.

robbo that’s great news.

weeksy has a specific suggestion for a suitable flat course I believe…

Another possibility to add to your list is making a custom course by moving the finish line a long way from its usual location. I’ve seen “big foot hills” used as a 35km course which means a summit finish on top of the volcano, for example.

Great news @haloric. There’s still space for you – and for anyone else interested in riding this week.

Sign up to category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1080949

I’m not going to be able to ride for a few weeks because of Thursday evening family commitments. I do plan to return though, and I’ll keep putting in the entries, stalking the results and nudging this thread until I’m riding again.

These races are brilliant. That was a tough outing.
I rode to my plan: go hard to the top of the first hill, settle into a group at the top, hopefully having gone hard enough to land in one with mainly better riders than me, and then hang on to the end, maybe try a cheeky attack on the volcano switchback if there’s any point by then.
And as it turned out there certainly was a point – I knew that @kirky72 had a 15 second handicap advantage on me so I had to try something to get rid of him. It didn’t work but at least I tried.
I felt on edge from the moment @phil56 joined our group – he obviously hadn’t bridged across like that just to sit on our wheels, and I was near my max the whole time so really worried that when he went if anyone went with him I’d be left behind. In hindsight, I spent too much time watching his power. I could have stolen those 15 secs from kirky if I’d held phil’s wheel – even for a bit – when he did go. But when that finally happened, I was fading (to be honest, I was really on the ropes) after my own failed attack.
Really enjoyed it – thanks to everyone in our group – @J-R, @w00dster, phil (when he was there!) and kirky (who beat me fair and square in the end) for a great ride.

Can you buy all the components separately across several shops? It’ll probably be a different item missing in each shop leading to the long waits. This worked for me a few weeks ago (yes it ended up costing more, but not much more).

I got one of these and added a sticky garmin mount to the back: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B018I3KBTK?pldnSite=1
It was great while it worked. But that was only for 3 weeks.

Expected stock dates are slipping everywhere that posts it. Availability on one cube bike I’m watching has gone from next week, to mid December, to May 2021 (!) in the past week yet plenty of sites still say 10 days or soon or similar.

And Evans are being just as conservative about the Arkose as about branded bike availability. The listing were posted but taken down again.

So on this occasion, Mike Ashley’s other vices duly acknowledged, I suspect Evans are being honest. There’s no stock for suppliers to be reluctant about.

OK, not yawn. Wrong again. Like a mini classic now.

Would that be the same sociopath recommending 2 minute TTT pulls on the internet?

Stock is still a problem, which knocks on to used prices. Over the summer, when there was nothing in stock anywhere, ebay prices for used trainers went higher than the price of new ones for several weeks. It’s got better. I’ve not looked closely but I still think it might be a while yet before used prices return to normal.

Elite Zumo (back in stock now exclusive to Halfords) is usually the cheapest direct drive new. But they are charging £479 now. Wiggle have slashed the price of the whisperdrive mk2 to £449. That might be a bargain. Or there might be a good reason for the price drop! I genuinely don’t know.

So unless used prices settle down, £300 for a direct-drive is a big ask. Your best best is probably getting lucky and someone selling “collection only” near enough for you to go get it.

Wheel-on on the other hand is easy at that budget: elite novo smart from halfords (stock still an issue?) or tacx flow from elsewhere.

The entry is in for next week. 3 laps of the Reverse Hilly Course, so 27km.

I’ve put us in at 7.40pm again. Enter cat A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1080949

Nice ride. We finished in 52:32, ave speed 39.85km/h
That left us 148/434 overall and 81/144 in frappe.

I’ll keep saying this: passes are the hardest part of this event to get right. What’s frustrating was that we lost @haloric on the last real pass we had to make (there were a couple more, but both involved teams on the crossover part of the lap so about to “turn off” anyway) . Yes, @eat_more_cheese I was watching the km counter tick down towards the end. Why did it change so slowly when we were riding so fast?!

Yawn. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll sit in front of the TV and do that yawning. But still yawn.

Breakaway win, surely? Winner possibly someone whose been in break(s) already but not yet won.

Was this the very first TTT course we did or am I making that up?

It was.

Good morning everyone. We are all set for his evening. Here are some details:

Our start delay is 4 minutes. Banner drop is 19:40, so we are off at 19:44:00. Comms on discord, if you are cut off just watch the clock and follow the bumblebee blob out of the start pen.

The start sheet looks like this at the moment:

@dangeourbrain

@phil56

@eat_more_cheese

@savoyad

@zilog6128

@haloric

That’ll do me, but there is still room for more. Join category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1068230

See you in the pen!

I know the later roads today well. I’ve been excited about this stage.
Prudhomme obviously wants to make Glieres a feature which counts in the race. Last time (2018) it was a mid-stage boring procession to test the principle, animated only briefly by an inconsequential Froome puncture. It’s hard to make it decisive because there’s no obvious finish point nearby. La Roche sur Foron is an OK first try I guess. It’s a bit far away though, and the col des fleuries means there’s an extra difficulty in between glieres and the finish line.
I think Glieres + Fleuries (which would likely be cat 3 on most days but is uncategorised today) will animate the race for the stage nicely today. There have been a few “hard climb then easier climb then finish” stages this year and they haven’t disappointed at the front of the race.
I hope I’m wrong, but it’ll be a day off for the GC riders though. They could split up and over glieres, but it won’t be hard to get it all back together on that long run in.
A finish on top of glieres (at the end of the gravel?) would be excellent in racing terms, but probably hard to make happen in financial/political terms. I’d expect to see another experiment like today, perhaps with a closer finish (but where?) in the next few years though.

I agree with @phil56 (if only there were some clue about his age in his username!).

Val – it’s a shame you feel like that. Noone can force you to enjoy it though. I do think you’ve misread the situation. From 76 participants (?) there are only two riders who have beaten you in all three races, so accusations of cheating based on consistency are a bit surprising. And you are in the top 10 in the overall classification at this point, so you are setting a pretty embarrassing threshold for moaning about being beaten (esp in a handicap race). The handicap system has succeeded in creating races which depend on the chaos of mixed ability groups riding with different objectives. You were a pretty significant part of that dynamic on Tuesday (the only time I’ve managed to keep up with you, so my only example). I had assumed you would be in future too.

@zilog6128 – ah yes, I remember him pondering that on the race thread now (here it is!).

Definitely need more riders then… any takers?

There’s just three of us on the start list for now (me, @zilog6128, @eat_more_cheese).

Any other takers? Note new time (7.40pm Thursday) and sign up to category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1068230

(or if the new time is an obstacle for you, speak up!)

Also changes are afoot. The official announcement doesn’t mention it, but the promo piece on ZI (https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-racing-league-announced/) seems to suggest that the TTT will be somehow incorporated into the new Zwift/WTRL racing league. Full details on Friday I think.

Thanks Robbo. That was excellent. My most enjoyable zwift ride for ages, possibly ever. The time gaps went up so fast when people went out the back of the lead group. I had to laugh when Robbo tried to start a conversation as we approached the hill for the final time (“Are you lot on the last lap?”). We weren’t exactly going at “let’s have a quick chat” intensity!

Road to ruins is indeed very different. Not just because it has proper hills. It can land you with a long grinding ride back from the jungle if you lose the group at the wrong moment.

Did you get your turbo sorted out?

Not exactly. It’s in bits, and I have a couple of 24 hour waits for adhesive to cure ahead of me.
I’m pessimistic about making the Tuesday race but optimistic it’ll be ready in time for the TTT.

I’ve put an entry in for the 7.40pm race this week. I hope that change is OK with people , although I’m happy to revisit it – straight away, or after we see how it goes for people over the next few weeks.

Enter category A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1068230

The course is 3 laps (=35km) of the Astoria Line 8 in New York. That’s the flat roads in the park – it rolls a lot, but no proper climbs this week.

If they are in strava, star them in strava and they will sync straight to your garmin.
If they are already in garmin connect, don’t use star, use “send to device” in connect.
Starring them in garmin doesn’t push to device.

Make sure it’s enabled etc if you are doing it direct from strava: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000919304–Syncing-Strava-Routes-to-your-Garmin-Device

Congrats, that’s a great ride. Gutted I missed it. You’ve taken 2 minutes off our last ride on that course. We’re weirdly consistent on repeat courses, independent of personnel, so that’s quite the margin.

live stream with commentary? 😃

The only problem is that the entire potential audience for that, except me, will be riding. Maybe I’ll provide commentatary on the discord channel. I imagine you’d all appreciate that.

Details for this evening:

Our start delay is 5.5 minutes. So in the start pen by 18:30, and we’re off at 18:35:30

The startlist at the moment is:

dangeourbrain
phil56
eat_more_cheese
zilog6128
robbo1234biking

I’m pretty sure my trainer is not rideable. So unless I hear otherwise from elite in the course of today I’ll be missing this week. There is still space for others to join: category A here https://www.zwift.com/events/view/1055240

Good luck, I’ll be cheering you on.

Pens are:
A – Latte (no higher than B)
B – Mocha (no higher than C)
C – Espresso (teams with any A+)
D – Frappe (no higher than A, or 3 Bs)
E – Vienna (Ladies only teams)

So that empty looking pen is for Espresso, the teams with A+ riders. We are sometimes Latte, sometimes Frappe – it depends who shows up from week to week. That gives us a choice each week, but I have to make it in advance. So basically I’ve tried chopping and changing between pens A and D to shorten the delay. It doesn’t seem to have much effect though.

The advantages of A/Latte is it starts 3 minutes ahead of D/Frappe AND we’re more likely to catch other teams than be caught in that group. That’s why we’re there for now. If D gets emptier (I do look each week) we could move back.