Team is entered for Thursday. 1x25km lap of Douce France, so fast and flat.

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E_0I0hulOaE2y34RpjckVCoT2Jks16vypeZ98L_LUw8/edit?usp=sharing

No!
You need the draft @sturdylad. On a TT bike you would be working the whole time.

Start delay 8.5 mins – so in the pen by 19:43 and off at 19:51:30

In: @paino, @phil56, @slowpuncheur, @robbo1234biking, @giggsmaster, @sturdylad and @chrischarles

Plus @mackem who is a maybe…?

What @slowpuncheur said – about @robbo1234biking (who really did tear everyone’s legs off in the first 4km yesterday, As or not) and the series (its creation is an amazing achievement I’m so appreciative of).

And @drp is right – the handicap system is brilliant and adds another dimension to every race.

7 riders so far: @paino, @phil56, @slowpuncheur, @robbo1234biking, @giggsmaster, @sturdylad and @chrischarles

Any takers for that last space?

Here is your racepass: https://www.wtrl.racing/RacePass/?id=NDFibHhJbWxNbDFwQXdlVjhXamRPZz09

I’ll post the start delay later…

Sorry to hear that @dangeourbrain. Get fixed. Hope it doesn’t take too long.

Not just ebay…
https://www.dolan-bikes.com/shimano-di2-btdn3001-battery-3port/

(they’ll do shifters mechs and a battery for £48k. I assume they would throw in the cables).

EDIT £480k. Zeros swimming in front of my eyes.

@nixie dismantled us there. He got away, put time into us when we were chasing the hardest, and then held the gap so he was never in danger of being caught. Sure, the gap in the sidebar got smaller towards the finish, but (and this is the crucial metric haha) I don’t think we believed in the catch for the last half lap or so.

@robbo1234biking pulled the whole race up the first drag and did some real damage. Then @nixie announced his intentions by surging ​around the bend in Beckwithshaw, and I think that shook things up again – @slowpuncheur was one side of the gap…and then the other.
I thought the KOM on lap 1 would be fast enough for the points, so I was relieved the way the race was broken up when we got there lap 2. And I love that finish, and thought my feather might get me away from @drp but I’m not even sure I ever even got my nose in front. That broke me…so badly that he was checking I was OK in the chat after! Thanks @drp and @donnersrider for working together like that. It was a tough chase today.
Congrats @bails. That course is full on all the way round (like @reluctantjumper says even the descents seem hard work!) so the handicap win on there is a serious victory.

Ebay. You can get much better than that (say i5-7500 also with 8GB and SSD) for a lot less (under £100, possibly loads under). That will do what you are asking it to. You might need to add wifi.

Sign ups open and team entered. All welcome. Get your names down: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E_0I0hulOaE2y34RpjckVCoT2Jks16vypeZ98L_LUw8/edit?usp=sharing

It’s 2x Sand & Sequoias this week, great TTT course.

Thurs 7.40pm like usual.

Ruling it out on cost grounds is where I am headed too @nbt. But if I do it, I will always have @onewheelgood to thank for reminding me I need a battery. Oops.
Thanks for the answers @tomhoward. Makes sense now. I’d probably move the existing setup onto another bike so I *would* want calipers, but I wondered why that was Merlin’s default pack.

Verdict – quite simple but extremely expensive.

I liked Crossburn. When we were there in the Autumn we were told (by randoms, not anyone official) that touring pitches were ending there with the change of ownership, but that they would reopen some at Rosetta. I think @tracey has more up to date (bad) news than that though.
It’s a shame for Peebles to end up with no camping.

@paino, @phil56, @slowpuncheur, @robbo1234biking, @dangeourbrain, @sturdylad, @chrischarles, @giggsmaster

Racepass https://www.wtrl.racing/RacePass/?id=QWNXYzFKQ2s1R2VBQmp3M0hhdjl1Zz09

Time delay is 2.5 minutes – so in the pen by 19:43 and off at 19:45:30

@binners will surely be along shortly with his (sound) suggestion that you make your way to FB marketplace.

My 2p:
Get a wheel off / direct drive. The difference is night and day.
If you buy new, don’t pay extra for an included cassette if you aren’t running 11sp (although I think you are?)

@robbo1234biking organises and races (and flourishes) in the STW race series using a bike with gravel gearing. He can tell you the upshot better than me, but I think it only holds him back at sprints.

I can’t diagnose you @scaredypants. I could send a hug but that would probably just hurt. Heal well.

8 riders, 8 places. We’ve never excluded anyone for that reason before @giggsmaster. No-one will come round and force you to ride. But no-one will encourage you to sit out like that either, it’s just not how we work this. And it would be 5B, 3C if you rode. Up to you!

Confirmed: @paino, @phil56, @slowpuncheur, @robbo1234biking, @dangeourbrain, @sturdylad, @chrischarles
Wavering: @giggsmaster

Racepass: https://www.wtrl.racing/RacePass/?id=QWNXYzFKQ2s1R2VBQmp3M0hhdjl1Zz09

Start delay TBC (this evening / tomorrow morning).

Careful with curve (free tier). There’s a spending ceiling abroad, after which extra fees kick in on every transaction.

No need to wait until tomorrow evening. GB v Sweden curling starts in 5 mins (1205 Weds)

That was tight at the front! I think @robbo1234biking nearly sneaked off in the desert, but @donnersrider brought it back. That was the only moment I remember when the race might have unfolded very differently, if he had become a target for people to regroup around. Instead, we got attrition and caginess.
I tried for the sprint points on lap 1, but I doubted it was fast enough to survive a group sprint when we came back round for the finish. So I spent most of the second half trying to make it hard in the hope that the group would split to blunt the finish a bit. It did not work. @robbo1234biking dropped off in the volcano, and then reappeared as we hit downtown. And then @paul-s suddenly popped out of the blue near the finish. Otherwise, it stayed together. Superb sprint @slowpuncheur, you opened a nice gap on us all with perfect timing, and held it as @sturdylad, @donnersrider and @phil56 charged behind you.

@dangeourbrain you were looking comfortable in the first 10km. It was a surprise to see you weren’t there when the selection was made. And @reluctantjumper next week is going to grant your wish!

(or did you mean Mrs Kilo is the cross country skier?) Ignore me if so.

“Mrs Kilo wants to ski” is the key info here. Finland is riddled with XC ski tracks. But you need some in an “alpine” skiing resort, which narrows it down a lot!
So listen to @mmannerr basically.
We’ve been to Ruka. XC was varied and extensive. But I’m not familiar with any of the alternatives.
Northern Lights? When we went to Ruka we never saw the sky. Or anything more than 100m away from us. The murk didn’t spoil it though.

Any nuance you think you manage to express will be lost completely when the agent passes the offer on to the seller anyway.
So just make sure they know the amount, and your position.

Skiing. Enjoy it @cogglepin

We did a one week parapente course years ago. It’s surprisingly straightforward. Our first solo flight was day 3 I think. We got a certificate / beginners licence of some kind at the end but never used it since. I can’t remember anything and would obviously crash into the trees without taking off (hopefully) if I tried it now. Recommended. The most adrenaline came trying to sleep the night before that first flight.

You can join from 30 minutes. Event start is 19:43 (then start delay 10.5 mins tonight)

Pen is automatic nowadays @kirky72

There were errors this morning, so I hesitate to be too sure, but it should just work. Are you in the desert pens (D)?

Yep, all 7 confirmed starters are registered.

Either of @weeksy or @paino fancy making it 8?

Is fb marketplace a good place to sell bike bits? (i.e. those of you who say you use it succesfully, is that one of the things you mean you use it for?)

Hi Chris. You are definitely welcome. And there’s probably a place tomorrow.
I’ll be offline in the morning. (@robbo1234biking and @phil56 can you try to marshal the maybes & Chris into a team of 8?)

Looking good to me.

Definitely in: @phil56 @robbo1234biking @paul-s @dangeourbrain @kirky72 @sturdylad

Plus 4 maybes for 2 remaining places: @slowpuncheur @benman @weeksy and @paino

Start delay is 10.5 minutes, so in the pen by 19:43 and off at 19:53:30. It’s a short one – less than 40 minutes ride time (so you might conclude there’s time for you @paino…)

Entry link: https://www.wtrl.racing/RacePass/?id=ZTh2VjdVNEpGTk5oZS9JdUNVZjFjZz09

I’ve used them a few times, had no problems.

It’s basically painless nowadays @weeksy

1. You need an account at WTRL. If you don’t already have one, click here: https://www.wtrl.racing/registration/

2. Once that’s done, TTT entry is now one-click. I post a link here each week, which attaches you to the team (at WTRL) and enters you in the event (at zwift).

If any of you are interested, this is really an excellent week to try joining us in the TTT.
Waistband is a good team course to do your first TTT AND you get to preview next week’s race.

All the info, and answers to any questions, in the other thread: https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/zwift-team-time-trial-thursday-evenings/page/13/#post-12210624

Numbers are ticking over.
IN: @phil56, @robbo1234biking, @paul-s, @dangeourbrain
MAYBE: @slowpuncheur, @benman

Any other takers? @paino, @scaredypants, @munkeymadness, @sturdylad, @wozza1 ?

That did not go to plan! It was more brutal than I anticipated. No idea why I still fail to predict that happening.
I hoped for a small lead group over the climb – hopefully one from which I could poach the points before we all set about opening a nice gap in the remaining km to do some handicap damage. But instead, @donnersrider smashed the front of the race to pieces on the slopes before the timed KOM even started. He got a big gap fast, and I knew the hill was shorter than advertised, so catching him was out of the question. I was pleased just to get over the top with @kirky72 for company.
We had ~20 seconds to make up coming out of the escalator so I figured 2s/km would mean a catch with time to race the finale. We steadily caught him, but it required a really hard effort for a long time, and I even stooped to naughty psychological warfare in the chat when we got within about 7 seconds (sorry Chris) to try and make him doubt. (I think it worked better than @slowpuncheur’s equivalent attempt in the group behind just before!). I got a bit excited and momentarily and accidentally left @kirky72 behind pushing on for the catch when we were nearly there, but it was always a 2 man effort. Then we virtually stared at each other, and I launched my finish at the moment I had intended to all along (just from a smaller group than planned, with much more tired legs).
So I crossed the line first, but I dropped points at the KOM, and it took recent power bests at 20ish minutes (the climb, the chase, even with that descent…) and also at 45-55 seconds (the end) to get there. These races are demanding.
Superb aggressive riding @donnersrider. Thanks for being there @kirky72. Congrats @msjhes2 on the overall win. And amazing course selection @robbo1234biking – it was pretty finely balanced and that hill could have set up quite a variety of races from this group depending on how it was ridden.

Sorry all, been slow this week. Anyway: team entered, spreadsheet cleared.

It’s 1x Watopia’s Waistband, so short and fast.

Click here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E_0I0hulOaE2y34RpjckVCoT2Jks16vypeZ98L_LUw8/edit?usp=sharing

The My Book you used to use was meant for network storage, designed to plug into your router.
The Elements is a different product – it’s desktop storage, designed to plug into a computer.

The best way to recreate how you used to use it is to buy another network drive (“NAS” for Network Attached Storage). There are ways to get the desktop drive onto the network, but you’ll require a device to connect it to – some routers (but apparently not yours) will do this, otherwise a computer (or a little one like a raspberry pi). But you might not want the hassle.

Ooh nice ride. Great DSing I hear @dangeourbrain (you won’t stay C for long, whatever orifice you are breathing from). I think that course is just right for a short-ish TTT. Teamwork matters, and then the hill is long enough to surprise robbo, but not long enough to really make a mess of things.

What did you do to @sturdylad?

They use bluetooth.

Yep @sturdylad you are in succesfully. Just make sure you are clear (ish) on how the event works. It is odd. I’ll paste my blurb here…

– ride a road bike in-game (NOT a TT bike. You need the draft!). dress up as a bumblebee (again, in-game).
– comms will be via discord. The STW server is here: https://discord.gg/B8aAkFtj and the TTT voice channel is over on the left. If you can’t make yourself heard, just listen. It can work without, but it’s complicated…
– this is the MOST IMPORTANT BIT! The start is basically a workaround. You must be in the pen for the event start time (19:43). But each team has its own team start time. Once the countdown hits zero you MUST NOT GO! Instead, sit tight for the team’s start delay, which tonight is 12.5 minutes. Don’t move. Don’t pedal. Don’t start. Don’t leave the pen until 12.5 minutes have passed. THEN you can start. There will be timekeeping and a countdown over discord.
– there’s no pressure to ride on the front (“pull”), or win the event etc. Sit in, learn the ropes, see how the team works together.
– @robbo1234biking will run things on the road. so if in doubt, follow him or whatever he says!

If there are more questions, just ask and they’ll be answered quickly.

Good luck tonight!