The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

I thought it might be a bit much, will just see how it goes and throw in a few easy rides if i feel off.

August last year i was just shy of 250 at 12st3 then I got married and didnt do much till Feb. Did an FTP in Feb i was at 190 but 14St Did a zwift ramp test begining of march and it had me at 227.

To be honest I want to be in a situation where I’m not actively avoiding hills. Which I seem to do a lot, at my current weight and power I feel like I’d struggle to get up most.
 
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Berger said:
Do you think your lightweight is working against you?

The bigger 70-80kg riders will be pushing a lot more watts but I’d have thought you can hide in the draft a lot more on zwift and it does factor height in a bit too.
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I am honestly not sure. On the fence really.
I've had weeks where I have average the same w/kg as the lads winning. But I put that down to not recovering and sitting in the draft with the same knowledge or "craft" that those guys have from experience.
Their 1 & 5 mins are typically a good bit better than mine. So it looks like I could sit with them on hard long efforts. But with surges and sprinting they have the ability to put out larger short term power/stay in contact.... then sit easier in the draft which equals me on overall average as I put out a more constant higher power without so much big surging.

I think though there has to be something to the game which is favouring the heavier guys. Mostly it is courses used for races. No real constant climbing or long climbing apart from the odd time (two rounds of entire KCL for example, meh!). The climbs done are all 5min efforts or less really. If it was 80% of the rounds had 10-20min climbs for example I am sure you would see the lightweights with much better results in general.

There is always, always guys finishing ahead of me with much less w/kg average and even less 20m values for the race sometimes. How much of it is due to somewhere favouring slightly heavier riders or how much of it is pure knowledge and expertise of the draft in the game, no idea! :p
 
Sgt_Pepper said:
I thought it might be a bit much, will just see how it goes and throw in a few easy rides if i feel off.
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Apologies for the delay. Yeah, I mean certainly start like that and see how you cope. To me it looks extremely intensive and I'd be reintroducing myself far more gradually - getting more base stuff in before suddenly loading your system with intensive high fatigue stuff.

Your numbers and weight are interesting. When I first started I was around the 11.8 st mark but probably only around 200-220W FTP. That was probably late 2015. Autumn 2017 I got down to 11.3st (72kg) and around 270W FTP (outside) . Last autumn (less riding due to baby) I focused on the turbo (where I've found around 5-10% increase over outside FTP - but consider that differences between my PWM outside and smart trainer). So at the start of 2018 even turning out some big numbers (300W on zwift) I was around 77/78kg it didn't translate to any real gains outside.

Now things have stabilised with the little one my riding was getting better/more frequent but I have taken a hit to my FTP. Currently around 250W and my weight hovering around 75/76kg with very little consistent training. I should be able to realistically get back to 74kg and 270W FTP this summer. Anything more will be an unexpected bonus.

xdcx said:
I am honestly not sure. On the fence really.<snip>
There is always, always guys finishing ahead of me with much less w/kg average and even less 20m values for the race sometimes. How much of it is due to somewhere favouring slightly heavier riders or how much of it is pure knowledge and expertise of the draft in the game, no idea! :p
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Zwift is very power driven. For the majority of guys they're power riders, you really don't see many competitive lightweights on Zwift racing but that could be the market it's aimed at - those middle aged guys with fairly expensive set-ups (trainer/equipment prices), wanting to 'get fit', so those short on time for more specific training and more likely to be carrying some additional weight.

There's a large part of it also being the 'skill' of Zwift racing as you mention. So many tricks to sit in the draft to save energy while others surge. Racecraft. Can see why the surges hurt you, at a guess your lower of peak power mean you drop wheels easier than others, losing the draft. But being lightweight it does mean others don't get much draft from you - but that's only useful if you're the one surging and on the front! :)
 
I rode the Alpe tonight, wasn’t feeling amazing but went OK. First 35 mins going good but then went pretty flat, just ran out of energy, had an early lunch so just no fuel I think.

Still almost identical time/power to what I achieved this time last year so I’m in the ballpark!

Oh and I won the gloves... AGAIN!
 
www.rgtcycling.com

New name for RoadGrandTours, download link on URL for various screen devices and the mandatory companion app.

Free use as with old builds at no.

Old RGT builds don't auto update to this one, existing beta users can use their old login details.

Had a very brief look on my gaming PC, now downloading on Surface Pro 4 I use to turbo with.

Few changes, including this French hill I've never heard of. ;)
 
Finally got on for a long overdue session. Hadn't got any particular plan, just wanted a good 2 hours of base, but also quite fancied burying myself to kick some real fatigue into my legs. Got on a bit later than planned, but did mean and early dinner was long digested. Finished watching Catalunya while just spinning away. Couldn't find any short races that fitted into the time I had, so the only thing that cropped up was a hilly race on 3 sisters. Such a brutal course I expected to run out of time/call it and DNF.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2270180604

Got a good start, riding the coat tails of the front group, but obviously shown the back door on the first real ramp (Zwift Island climb - 300W). Settled in as riders scattered everywhere. Got picked up by a couple rolling well together and worked with them. Picked up a few more so hit the bottom of the Epic KOM quite hard. Distanced a bunch of them by the village so eased to form up with the remainders for the rest of the climb. Spent the second half chasing wheels of 2 guys, then over the top 2 others caught us on the rolling sections. I'd eased just before so was able to follow. I rested as much as possible in the wheels and sure enough soon had that sinking feeling when we turned left to the radio mast...! The climb up here was brutal, a couple of B riders and other C's on their wheels had caught us so a huge selection was made. The 3-4 C's smashing each other on the steep slopes while I just tried to hold wheels. Chasing like that really hurt, but I did find myself off the front on the steep right hand bend before the finish. Was able to ease and get lots of respite over the top before regrouping with 2 others on the descent. I was much heavier than them so got loads of rest in aero. But I did need several big digs to close gaps on the ramps and then a little chase down at the base before settling in again. I was feeling pretty empty at this stage but able to keep pace, could see several chasers so just worked to keep that gap as there was no way to close down those in front. As we turned onto the Volcano I could see the chase closing up, 3-4 riders and I knew one of them. When my legs started to go I tried to rest so I could follow when they came past. Lost my 2 compatriots but really couldn't recover my legs, so when they came past I just hadn't got anything to grab any wheels. Utterly spent I just spun to the top, keeping an eye on the guy behind, then a measured pace down the descent and flat to the finish. Brutal race! Really surprised my legs held out as well as they did, really enjoyed it! Especially with some of the power I could sustain when climbing! A nice surprise considering the lack of fitness I feel from less volume...! :D

Came away with a 5th on ZP which is really even more of a surprise! Guy in 2nd was one of those I was riding and descending tower with, guy in 3rd I know and was one of the chasers who caught on the Volcano (as was 4th - would hope to grab their wheels normally!) :D

https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=176745

Maccapacca said:
Tweaked saddle as the other thread and did 2hrs 10, feels good, still sore ass but not as bad as it was, adjusted handlebars as well

D1ZSi6Z.jpg
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Needs a bigger image ;)

Berger said:
Oh and I won the gloves... AGAIN!
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Haha, I'm the same with the helmet! :rolleyes:

xdcx said:
KISS Community League Round 8 round up - https://dcun.co.uk/kcl-round-8/

Possibly the last week of the league.... But who knows?!?!
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What's the drama about it now? I'm out of touch with the politics side of it for a month or so.

UTmaniac said:
www.rgtcycling.com
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Let me know when you've had a blast. Have been meaning to give it or FullGaz a blast. Will probably do RGT providing it's stable after the changes?
 
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Roady said:
Let me know when you've had a blast. Have been meaning to give it or FullGaz a blast. Will probably do RGT providing it's stable after the changes?
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Had some pairing issues yesterday, not just from the hrm that will need a fresh cr2032 very soon, mainly with getting ANT+ to work. But this afternoon, good as gold for a 90-odd minute session https://www.strava.com/activities/2275018882/analysis

I used to think Alpe Du Zwift and RGT's Stelvio Pass were severe pacing challenges, but Ventoux's ~5250 feet took me to the limit despite thinking I was comfortably pacing the first hour... So much of the following ~32mins was in 34/32 and still struggling to maintain 80rpm+ cadence! :eek:
 
I have followed a couple of plans on Zwift, the basic one to start, an FTP builder and then some normal rides but I’m not sure where to go next....

I want to ride outside as much as poss as the weather is better but I’m trying to build up fitness and see Zwift as usual for this, I use an iPad with Tacx vortex trainer and spare road bike with turbo tyre (my old road bike basically, desperate need of some maintenance) but not sure where to go now. I found the ftp builder handy as it made me do things most days but that’s a pain sometimes around work so wished it was more flexible without fixed deadlines at times but it didn’t really push me outside of some basic cardio and bike fitness - ERG obv just making me hit watt goals so no hills etc!

Any pointer, I’m not a racer and generally need to build fitness for some sportives coming up!?
 
Not sure how to help there are you're very vague, there's not even a question really.

Enter a few races maybe? There good for a workout and they are very frequent. Doesn't matter if you get dropped, just hang on for as long as possible and you'll soon get better and last longer.
 
Shadowness said:
Not sure how to help there are you're very vague, there's not even a question really.

Enter a few races maybe? There good for a workout and they are very frequent. Doesn't matter if you get dropped, just hang on for as long as possible and you'll soon get better and last longer.
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Yeah sorry, I wasn’t very clear.

I guess I’m asking if there are good training plans to follow or should I just ride some courses solo and treat it as a ride as if I were outside? I hadn’t even considered racing as assume I’m a long way off the basic fitness/ability required!
 
Most races have many 'tiers' of ability so to speak, from D to A (D being the slower paces). You could try a D or even C race and see how you get on. You'll soon find out of it's not for you yet.
If I don't race on Zwift, I tend to ride as if I'm outside and do my own thing. The workouts are really good too if you want to sweat! Others will have to help on training plans, as in my job it's impossible to do any.
 
xdcx said:
Catch up race for the guys that got coned on round 2. Guess it's actually happening -
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=178479
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Good to hear, but equally I think they should've just dropped that entire race from the results. I'm betting many of those top riders won't ride it. They're onto other things and have other plans now the series has finished. The whole thing was done as a showcase and example, but equally also as a bit of a 'test' on just how the platform can be used for that - a large part of that has to be Zwift ironing out bugs like they found. Fiddling the results and adding another stage on due to a platform/system bug just seems a little bit too disorganised to me.

UTmaniac said:
Had some pairing issues yesterday, not just from the hrm that will need a fresh cr2032 very soon, mainly with getting ANT+ to work. But this afternoon, good as gold for a 90-odd minute session https://www.strava.com/activities/2275018882/analysis

I used to think Alpe Du Zwift and RGT's Stelvio Pass were severe pacing challenges, but Ventoux's ~5250 feet took me to the limit despite thinking I was comfortably pacing the first hour... So much of the following ~32mins was in 34/32 and still struggling to maintain 80rpm+ cadence! :eek:
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I've had a bunch of pairing issues and drops recently. Not sure why. I was riding with the Tacx adaptor behind my front wheel so it was clear of many other things with a direct line to the trainer (unsure where the Wifi part of the Flux is) along with only the frame and cadence sensor anywhere near in line to my HRM's signal. Still found lots of drops and some of them didn't make sense - losing ERG, but not the power output from the trainer. Then losing the power output and HRM, yet still having cadence and ERG. I've now moved my adaptor and it's in front of the laptop at bar level. Have not had a drop yet with it there but not ridden a huge amount the last month since I did it.

I think much of it could be Wifi channel hopping as I have the Plusnet hub set on defaults which is to hop. It's solved problems we've had with steaming to the smartTV/NowTV box (although our most recent Samsung 4K TV is absolutely rubbish at maintaining signal to the router). There is nothing between my trainer setup and the router (except an outside wall). Although the power distribution board is quite near 'as the crow flies'. Maybe I'll just run a CAT5/use powerline... But I could never quite get to the bottom if the companion app would then stop working. According to the website it has to be 'on the same Wifi network as the computer running Zwift'.

That Ventoux ride looks nails, putting your FTP at around 250-260W for that ride? That might be accurate due to the pacing problems you had and also recovering from illness. Mine would be around (at a guess) 220-230W at the moment! riding a climb like that really is a different kettle of fish compared to a 20 minute FTP test on the flat... :eek:

Shimmyhill said:
Any pointer, I’m not a racer and generally need to build fitness for some sportives coming up!?
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Where you go next... You've probably hit the nail exactly on what to do next - focus on some endurance on rolling courses, as that's generally what Sportives are! :cool:

Racing is generally threshold work for around an hour, not many are longer. Sportives are generally 3-4 hour affairs at tempo with group/climb efforts at threshold. Depending on your location and sportive will depend how long those climbs and efforts are. You then focus your training a little more for those!

So one way would be to look for some of the multiple hour/100km/100mile/group training rides with efforts. 3R do a bunch of them. You can even hunt down 'races' on particularly rolling or hilly courses like the '3 sisters' one I did above, just don't ride it like a race at threshold for almost 2 hours like I did... ;) :)

Shimmyhill said:
I hadn’t even considered racing as assume I’m a long way off the basic fitness/ability required!
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Depends. If your FTP is over 200 you're probably 'fit' enough to race. It's not about winning and starting out it's not about being competitive (even when you race a lot, not much of it is 'about winning'!) ;) :D

Shadowness said:
Others will have to help on training plans, as in my job it's impossible to do any.
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I found the same, my riding times are just too varied, throw some outside rides in the mix alongside commuting and my fitness/freshness levels where never at the right levels for the rigid training plans. Most of them I got utterly bored with - I had no need for the base Z1/Z2 rides in there, generally getting my base from commuting, so they became a 'waste of time' (what was the point on riding Zwift if I wasn't enjoying it, or pushing myself!). :o
 
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Cheers guys, I live in Norfolk so no idea what a hill is obv!!

I did the ftp test on Zwift today and held 209 for the 20 mins, I probably could have pushed it a little higher but it felt like I gave it a proper go! I will have a look at some races and general courses and forget the training plan idea until winter hits again.
 
Urgh... Did Emily's Short Mix this evening and that was HARD. All the more galling because I had to take two pauses for drinks, too - and it's only 30 minutes! :D

I suspect my FTP test may have alsogiven a bogus and optimistic reading: given my Bushido is also +/- 5%, that must have also ratcheted up the pain very quickly!
 
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