Thanks Kelvin. Same to you (and to Tom and nixie and garry and the other people I’m overlooking who ride for various other teams!).

Hi Ivan. Yes, TTT is on. 6.30 tonight. All the info is in the other thread https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-my-journey-my-weight-and-my-fitness/page/355/

Yes, there’s still room in the team for tonight. There are 6 of us on the start sheet so far (dangeourbrain, phil56, tiger6791, me, trail_rat, zilog6128).

@ljarch – sign up to cat A here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/847415 (cat A whatever your normal cat, the TTT doesn’t use the categories like normal, they are more like start pens)

then go to zwiftpower.com — settings and add (STW) to the end of your Rider Name (not on zwift, just zwiftpower).

then join the discord server: https://discord.gg/PGyyvm

@weeksy how are things going for you? Are you planning to ride with us this evening?

And I think @IvanDobski was pondering joining us over in the meetups thread as well.

I’ll post some actual concrete arrangements (with patronising precision probably) later rather than tangling them up in this mess.

Have you asked her?

We’re entered in this week’s TTT. Thursday, 6.30pm, 1x 31km lap of Greatest London Flat.

Riders – please enter category A (yes, we’re back in pen A) here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/847415

Then make sure (STW) is appended to your rider name in zwiftpower settings.

I’ll be back with start time, more details, discord link if necessary, etc later in the week.

“Premium Microfibre Full Slippers” from Matalan. Honestly.
https://www.matalan.co.uk/product/detail/s2681164_c270/premium-microfibre-full-slippers-navy

OK the TTT looks like this tonight:

– in the pen by 18:33, our start time is +2.5 minutes, so 18:35:30. That’s a nice short no-pedalling delay for once.
– there are 4 of us on the start sheet at the moment (me, phil56, tiger6791 and zilog6128 ). the link is here if you keep meaning to join us this evening – https://www.zwift.com/events/view/822309

see you on discord / in the pen.

OK, so far there are 4 of us signed up for tomorrow. No start time yet.

Weeksy would make 5. On the other hand, I don’t blame dangeourbrain for bringing up the prospect of riding outside in the sunshine.

Anyone else tempted to sign up? When do people need to decide be (e.g if your alternative is a morning ride, we can hardly wait until lunchtime…)

In that price range, the Boardman HYB 8.8 is good value. But that might basically be what he’s already riding…
Alternatively, maybe a Pinnacle Neon 4 or 5 but I’d prefer that boardman.

Just use the online chat to ask BT to match the Now TV price. They almost certainly will. Worked for me with the cheapest price off a comparison site for what I wanted, even adjusted for cashback. You’ll have to browse this forum or whatever in another tab while they disappear to “ask their supervisor” but it’ll still be quicker than the hardware changeover if you move. And it eliminates the (OK, slight) risk of a mess up or service degradation at changeover.

I’ve used my gravelking sks on lots of different surfaces and in lots of different conditions. They are great. I wouldn’t consider anything else for my gravel bike now.

@spooky_b329
yep, I’m sure it’s all level. Bike looks straight. The wheel does sit off centre on the roller, but there’s nothing I can do about that as one side (the non drive side) of the wheel clamp is fixed, so the offset from there is the only place my wheel can end up laterally. It could be frame flex, but once it settles in, it just stays there i.e. I sometimes put the bike on the turbo and spin the wheel and it looks fine, but once I pedal properly it slips laterally, then once it’s gone it doesn’t flex anymore, just stays wonky.

@pdw
Vertical dropouts. It’s just my normal road frame.
Bearing play – not obviously. Wheel seems fine off the bike and on the workstand. But unless it’s the rear triangle I guess the movement in these circumstances is telling me that there must be.
The turbo does stress it in a way I can’t manually. Maybe it was an obvious question but I needed someone to ask it. I hate faffing with bearings. I’ll have a proper look now.

Thanks both.

Entries are open for next week’s Team Time Trial at 6.30pm on Thursday as usual.

Enter category D here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/822309

Then, if you haven’t ridden with us before, append (STW) to your Rider Name in zwiftpower settings.

It will be, um, 2 laps of the Harrogate UCI Course. This is my favourite course riding solo. It’ll be an interesting challenge together but we genuinely did an OK job on the hills of Out and Back the other week. The following four weeks will include Greatest London Flat, Waistband and Tick Tock so the flatlands will be back.

I’ll be back with a more precise start time on Weds evening.

Some TTT results from yesterday:

We took 44:13, which was 39.27km/h.
That put us 286/530 overall, and 30/147 in our category (which this week was Latte). Those are pretty satisfying numbers.

@weeksy I found it hard to follow myself tonight, sorry! I lost it in that spell when we struggled to get through the other team – surging then not quite recovering before trying again – and that left me hanging on for the rest of the evening…
Still fun though, thanks all. I’ll get an entry in for next week and paste the link up over the weekend.

The only forerunner which properly supports cycling and has background maps is the 945.
You might also look at a few of the fenix range – the various 5x and 6 models are the ones with maps.
Other watches with maps mean cycling sacrifices (the running focussed ones basically) or support cycling but lack maps (older forerunners 920XT, 935, 735XT).

Make sure the maps do what you expect them to.

TTT Update…

Our start time tomorrow is +3.5 minutes. So in the pen by 18:33 and then just a short pedal-free wait until we set off at 18:36:30. We need to allocate timing and countdown responsibility to someone.

There are six of us on the start sheet at the moment:

dangeourbrain B
phil56 B
weeksy B
tiger6791 C
savoyad C
zilog6128 C

So two places are still available. Sign up by entering category D here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/793924 and adding (STW) to the end of your rider name in zwiftpower settings (not zwift). If someone who hasn’t ridden with us before signs up I’ll post more detailed info in this thread before the start. Otherwise, see you in the pen…

@ivandobski it’s really not that big a climb you know. Stats say 2.5km @ average 1.8%, most of the climbing is concentrated in two short ramps. We went up it at 30km/h last time it featured in the TTT.

Magnificent 8 is often described as a flat route (OK it was included in the “rolling hills” category of the tour for all but that was mystifying).

@weeksy it’s not totally clear but I don’t think so. I think it was resolved. And if there is a problem, it won’t kick in quite yet. Just sign up on zwift.

Entries are open for this week’s Team Time Trial. We are riding at 6.30pm on Thursday, exact start time TBC nearer the time.

– Enter category D here https://www.zwift.com/events/view/793924

– then add “(STW)” to your Rider Name in zwift power settings.

It’ll be one 29.95km lap of the Magnificent 8 – round the flat part of the volcano, up the reverse KOM (we did this admittedly a little scrappily the other week, but that was after the volcano climb and it comes earlier this time), then miles and miles of flat desert to the finish.

I’ll post detailed instructions later in the week, including a discord link if any new riders want to join us.

The road version of the triban is in stock. It’s basically the same bike marketed differently. You’d have plenty of change from £1k to spend on changing the tyres.
The only other differences from the “gravel version” off the top of my head are colour scheme and flared bars. If I’ve missed a difference it’s insignificant.

This was psychologically easier when I did it because there used to be a price difference meaning I still came out ahead. Still worth it now though, nothing else gets near that spec for the money. Brakes are fine. I love mine.

“quite well”. Nice one nixie. We can watch you on youtube while we warm up for our slot (EDIT – apparently not!).

I wasn’t lucid enough by that stage to realise that the team overtaking us was one we had previously caught and passed. The tractor beam effect is particularly unwelcome at that stage in the race (we were rounding the volcano on the final lap).

Advance warning – we are entered for the 6.30pm slot again next week, 1 (yes, just 1) 28.85km lap of The Magnificent 8. Zwift sign on isn’t open yet. I’ll post the link when it is.

What model is the talk talk router? You should be able to just use that with your plus net credentials.
“Locked out” as in you lose your talk talk account – yes.
But “Locked out” as in you can’t use the hardware any more – very unlikely.
Plus net settings are here: https://www.plus.net/help/broadband/broadband-connection-settings/

No it’s OK. We’re all there in the lists that matter.

TTT update:

We have a full team of 8 riders down to start this evening, everyone is entered and tagged correctly so we’re ready to go:

kelvinshuffle A
mooman B
dangeourbrain B
phil56 B
ivandobski C
tiger6791 C
savoyad C
zilog6128 C

Be in the pen by event start time which is 18:33. Our start time is +6.5 minutes, so 18:39:30. During the delay (i.e. once the race starts), we mustn’t pedal because if you do, you roll forwards. Like I did last week. If you insist on pedalling, go to the pairing screen first. Someone will take responsibility for timing and counting us down in the pen.

For comms, join the discord server here: https://discord.gg/fug5CQ we normally use the voice channel “STW Voice”. Push to talk is best.

It’ll be 3 laps of Volcano Flat (37.46km). Our result will be taken on the 4th rider to cross the line.

I think that’s it. See you all in the pen.

It’s great: the functionality all works (and there’s lots of it), I find it easier to use than previous generations, with less convoluted menu structures etc, it’s pretty stable (mine has crashed, but only once), the battery life is brilliant, the screen is easy to read.

BUT I am still not sure I made the right decision choosing the 530 over the 830. I don’t care about the extra nav functions. But I wonder if I should have gone touchscreen. Interacting with it during a ride is just a bit bit clunky – not just the map zoom and pan, but generally pressing buttons on one side without accidentally pressing those opposite seeking leverage. And when winter comes, I fear I won’t easily distinguish between adjacent buttons through my gloves. It’s a big price gap for a touch screen. But after some time with the 530 I’d think about paying it.

TTT update. I’ll post again tomorrow:

– we have 7 riders signed up so far. room for one more. sign up to cat D here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/759124
– our start delay is 6.5 minutes (in the pen by 6:33 I think, so that makes 6:39:30 our actual start time)
– IvanDobski you need to add the (STW) tag in zwiftpower rider name

OK, the team time trial entry is in for Thursday. We are in the 6.30pm slot after all (the consensus seemed to be that later was OK but earlier better if anything, the 7pm slot is just as likely to be busy as 6.30 and I think it’s fair to hope that the new 6.05 slot will take some time off our delay. let’s see…).

This week it’s three laps of volcano flat, 36.8km.

Riders:
First, enter CATEGORY D here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/759124 – you must enter category D.

Then, make sure your zwiftpower rider name ends (STW) in zwiftpower…profile….settings..rider name.

Finally, see you in the pen by 6.30 on Thursday.

I’ll post more precise times, our start time (and therefore our non-pedalling delay), the discord link and the info the non-pedalling delay if anyone joins in for the first time etc later in the week.

Looking ahead, some good news: next week has apparently been knocked back to just the one lap of the Magnificent 8 so there is now no prospect of a 60km effort for the time being.

Yesterday evening’s TTT was fun (kind of). Great teamwork and real support from the stronger riders, thank you.

I’ll get our entry in for next week (36.8km of volcano flat) but before I do…there was some talk of choosing a later start time in the hope that would mean a shorter delay sat in the pen. So any objections if I choose the 7pm slot this time?

Final result yesterday: our 1:07:11 at 37.86km/h put us 283/520 overall and 156/197 in frappe category, our 5 riders were categories ABCCC.

Here are the instructions for @tiger6791 (and anyone else tempted…):

– enter the event on zwift. It’s category D (you must enter D) here https://www.zwift.com/events/view/713952

– tag yourself in zwiftpower by adding (STW) to the end of your rider name (in zwiftpower – zwift profile – settings – rider name). This is how the TTT system picks you up as a member of the team

– follow dangerourbrain’s discord link above. there’s a text chat channel and a voice channel in there so we can hear each other panting.

– make sure you are in the pen by 18:30 (maybe 18:33 but to be on the safe side). Before the event says GO, you must stop pedalling completely (!) and we’ll spend 17 minutes sat there watching other teams set off one by one. Don’t pedal during those minutes or you’ll roll over the line (the workaround is to go to the pairing screen but get back out in time for the start if you do that)

– At our start time one of us will count us down to go. The rest is easy.

That’s all. See you later.

The 17 minute wait will start at 18:33. Pen D is just delayed slightly behind pen A (where we were the last couple of weeks).

The organisers’ site is showing our team for this evening as:

kelvinshuffle A
dknwhy B
phil56 B
savoyad C
zilog6128 C

Time would be on the 4th from 5.

Did anyone else plan to ride? I can’t see any bad tags or people in the wrong category. @mooman? (are your tech issues solved)

How are you people watching it? I know it’s on eurosport and gcn – but is there a way to get it (preferably on my tv) with gcn in the UK? Or do I need to subscribe to Eurosport

@julians and @P-Jay – it’s still not actually confirmed. The uncertainty is because early reports indicated there would be quarantine for arrivals from the UK, but the French government rowed back (in comments to the press) on that the following day: there’s a good account here: https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/05/02/quarantaine-stopcovid-abandonne-verbalisations-les-precisions-du-gouvernement-sur-l-apres-11-mai_6038464_823448.html

The proposed law itself is here: https://www.scribd.com/document/459488341/Projet-de-loi-prorogeant-l-etat-d-urgence-sanitaire-et-completant-ses-dispositions#from_embed. The quarantine stuff is in article 3. It provides for quarantine for arrivals from “zones where the infection is circulating”, but leaves it to the government to subsequently make the list of where that means. Their reaction to those early news stories is a good indication they don’t intend to put us on the list. But they will have the power to and nothing is decided yet. So wait and see is the only sensible policy.

Also worth noting that France is following a geographically variable approach to this – some departments being classified according to their epidemic charactistics as “red” (where stricter controls will continue) and others as “green” where the lockdown will be eased more. 74 (i.e. Morzine) is orange on today’s map – a colour that won’t exist when the final map comes into force, but also a pretty good indication that it’s early to be anticipating international tourism there early in the summer.

It’s notoriously unreliable.
This is unlikely, but two variants of one way to get your symptoms are: start outside home, with your phone connected to your home wifi (perhaps still in the house), then ride off with no mobile data (or leaving the phone behind).

@weeksy android is very smooth, but has limited connectivity over ant+ – in particular it can’t connect the controllable trainer (fec) profile, which is fatal.

I don’t trust my trainer over bluetooth, so I don’t know if that’s better.

I’ve noted people’s reluctance about the wisdom of doing a TTT on Out and Back Again. I share it.

Anyway, the team entry is in: same time as last week: Thursday at 6.30pm. All welcome, up to max 8 riders.

Riders, please enter here: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/713952 This week, enter CATEGORY D (whatever your normal category, we are in pen D so enter category D). This is a change as we’re in the frappe pen rather than the latte pen this week; it doesn’t affect the results as they are automatically rearranged according to who rides anyway.

If you haven’t ridden the TTT before (or if you’ve disassociated yourself from the team since your last ride) append “(STW)” to your zwiftpower rider name at zwiftpower.com…zwift profile…settings…rider name. I’ll check these tags nearer the day.

There’s a discord link and if anyone signs up who doesn’t have it we can paste a working one here in due course.

Looking ahead, next week will be a bit more sensible again (Volcano Flat) but after that there are a couple more tough weeks to come (first Magnificent 8 58km, then the lumpy Harrogate circuit). Let’s see how it goes from here.

The site has now corrected/updated to show next week on Out and Back Again.

The wtrl site (and zwift itself) is now showing a course change for next week … to Greater London Flat like yesterday.

42:38 I think. We rode latte, but I think we had 4x category B riders which will mean recategorisation into frappe when the results are finalised.

37:06 is at the top end of espresso isn’t it nixie?

For normal races, they use 95% of 20min power in that race to approximate everyone’s FTP, and then give some leeway against category wattages – it used to be 0.2w/kg I think but in the last few weeks it has been tightened to 0.1w/kg.
For races under 20 minutes they can’t do the first bit. So I thought they used a modified formula (some other % of some shorter time) to approximate riders’ FTP. If they do, I don’t know if it’s publicised what that % is or how long it’s taken over.

So in your race they’d use some formula a bit like .95 of 20mins to generate an FTP, then WKG everyone at 4.1 and above. I don’t know how those two riders who averaged 4.3 for less than 20 minutes got away with that today. nixie’s answer might be fairer (and would bin those two, and maybe some others, but wouldn’t help you…). They might disappear when the minute-by-minute data pulls through. (Which might make nixie right after all!).