The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

Shadowness · 15 Dec 2017 at 10:46

haha I do struggle to ride steady when I intend to, there's always someone in the club having a go, hard to resist joining in!

From my understanding, Cat A is > 4 w/kg. I'm currently around 4.5 W/kg, but I bet I'd get blown apart in a Cat A race!

I guess you'd know if the miles on the trainer are taking it out of you if you start to feel it when you're on an actual bike (on the road).

merlin · 15 Dec 2017 at 11:07

With Zwift I'm finding I get very bored very quickly unless it's a race. I like the racing, if there wasn't racing I'd probably just jack it all in and by a 3 month winter pass for the gym to get me through the winter months. There's a load of training plans in Zwift and of course you can just free ride till your hearts content - and that seems to tick a lot of people's boxes - but honestly they tend to bore me pretty quickly.

I think though I seem (from the people I follow on Strava) that I'm the exception rather than the rule - most Strava/Zwift activities coming up in my feed are for people just jumping on and doing a free ride/set training session - I hardly ever see anyone getting involved in the racing (with the exception of Roady). I think with a lot of my "real" miles being on an outdoor track I've sort of naturally been drawn to the racing side of Zwift, even though I'm actually just completely average - it's all I want to do atm.

SDK^ · 15 Dec 2017 at 14:10

Shadowness said:
Come on Wattbike, this is precisely where I could be using it!!

I only ordered at the end of September lol! Should be here before Christmas I have been assured.

One of my riding buddies has had his Atom delivered and he ordered it after you.

Roady · 15 Dec 2017 at 14:15

#Whutbike?

Berger · 15 Dec 2017 at 22:57

Three zwift races this week.

Couple of C grades where I could sit in a bit, good 15 second power, had a good sprint for a few sandbaggy podiums.

Did a B grade today which was full gas, made the front group at the start and when it blew apart on one of the climbs halfway through. Popped with 2km to go. Finished 16th from 60, but 8th from 38 on the zwiftpower results.

Shadowness · 16 Dec 2017 at 07:29

SDK^ said:
One of my riding buddies has had his Atom delivered and he ordered it after you.

I emailed them yesterday demanding an update and 'threatening' to cancel the order if it is not delivered early next week. We'll see what they come back with today (if they are even open today!)

Shadowness · 19 Dec 2017 at 07:16

Well as of yesterday I'm 68 in the waiting list. They assure me it will 'hopefully' be dispatched this week. I'm not hopeful to be honest.

A bit of a joke, over 3 months to deliver a product, they were all too happy to take my payment the second I bought it though! I though companies were only supposed to take payment when the goods are dispatched? Oh well....
I dont think I'll be in the virtual world of cycling this Christmas break!!

Roady · 19 Dec 2017 at 14:32

That's a bit rubbish, especially considering they've taken your money!

Seriously considering chopping in some crypto I've kept (BTC) and using the funds to buy an Elite Direto or a Tacx Flux. Especially as looking at S/H prices my Vortex should sell for £200-250. So it'll cost me around £500 max (depending on deals).

Did a WBR Endurance 100km Ride on saturday morning. 6.50am start was a little keen but with very low mileage for the week, wanting to make a good impression to the club and the rather erratic baby sleep patterns it wasn't so bad. I'd have been tired regardless and at least the early start meant I was around to do chores for the afternoon. Spent the first ~35-40 miles sweeping/keeping and thankfully by the latter half there wasn't a huge amount of keeping needed. I was pretty fatigued at that stage but pushed on through. Made some good friendships along the way and unlocked a couple of zwift achievements so always good! Actually really enjoyed the ride (teamwork, banter & leadership) so may work towards doing 160km (100miles) at some point!

Berger said:
Three zwift races this week.

Couple of C grades where I could sit in a bit, good 15 second power, had a good sprint for a few sandbaggy podiums.

Did a B grade today which was full gas, made the front group at the start and when it blew apart on one of the climbs halfway through. Popped with 2km to go. Finished 16th from 60, but 8th from 38 on the zwiftpower results.

Good stuff, sounds like you're well suited to B! Where those flat/hilly/long/short rides?

See you in a race soon!

Roady · 19 Dec 2017 at 16:05

Anyone racing tonight or plans this week?

I'm going to try and race more, probably the 8pm ones as lil man is asleep and dinner is normally done & dusted by then.

Over the xmas break I'll be doing a bunch of the morning rides (probably more training than racing) as well.

merlin · 19 Dec 2017 at 16:30

Roady said:
Anyone racing tonight or plans this week?

I'm going to try and race more, probably the 8pm ones as lil man is asleep and dinner is normally done & dusted by then.

Over the xmas break I'll be doing a bunch of the morning rides (probably more training than racing) as well.

I raced last night (empty stomach, faded a little 2/3rds in)

https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=32882

Today I hurt.

I'll do another probably Thursday night.

merlin · 20 Dec 2017 at 16:58

Anyone noticed the Zwift stats section on Zwiftpower? It pulls down your Strava data (if linked), I'm just waiting on the server to process mine.

Roady · 21 Dec 2017 at 10:08

Noticed it several weeks ago and I would've clicked it then but mine is still not showing any data. Kinda ignored it since I saw the message before!

I didn't get on last night but only working till 2pm today so intending to jump on this afternoon. There's a WBR Flat at 15:05 and WBR Hillys at 16:15 & 17:15 so probably one of those as no training rides until later.

@merlin & @Berger you're both reaching a similar racing level as me (mid-B cat), if at any point you catch me racing or happen to be on the same time as me over the Xmas break then I'm more than happy to rice with you, either giving you a tow so you can maybe be at the sharp end of a race or just working together to place higher. Happy to do anything as I always find myself happily working for/riding with other Zwifters I know/teammates rather than my own placings. I'll predominately be in WBR races and training rides (when there is a choice) but happy to swap around/ride others. Just gimmie a holla on Zwift, I'm always riding with the mobile app & very chatty! Even during races lol :cool:

merlin · 21 Dec 2017 at 10:33

Noted and very much appreciate the offer. I'm not sure when my free moments will come over the Xmas period but I do expect to be on Zwift here and there - gotta shift those mince pies somehow, will certainly give you a shout, but will also check here and post here if I spot a race & know for certain I'll be free & can give appropriate notice to everyone.

Truth to be told what I'm really hoping for is to get out in the real world not the virtual world, it's gone mild so there's suddenly opportunities to get out, subject to family/kids etc.

UTmaniac · 23 Dec 2017 at 16:15

Would it be a waste, in terms of very little online activity, to do the Zwift free trial week during Xmas week?

My Direto arrived while I was at work today, after getting lost midweek between DPD and Hermes, I had resigned my self to not having my new toy until at least Wednesday.

Lethal` · 23 Dec 2017 at 17:38

It may have expired but I think you can get a longer zwift trial through British Cycling or perhaps it was something else.

Berger · 25 Dec 2017 at 21:40

Hey Roady, we have guests over this xmas from Australia so doing a bit of traveling with them so I won’t be zwifiing too much and if I am it won’t be planned ahead sorry! Be good to try and catch up in the new year though!

Shadowness · 28 Dec 2017 at 18:16

Well I'm finally a Zwifter! The Wattbike was finally delivered yesterday, and I've clocked about 6.5 hours on it so far (lots of xmas food to burn off!)

Really impressed with it so far, it's a doddle to set up, although easier than I anticipated!

I'm syncing my rides to the Wattbike Hub app, which records your pedal efficiency and balance etc, and riding on Zwift too.

I'm slowly getting the hang of Zwift, although there are many things I dont quite get yet....

- if you pass a huge bunch of riders, is that some sort of event/race?
- why do some riders have a weird screen thing in front of them, and others dont?
- I dont get drafting at all. I dont know if my rider is drafting or not. It says 'close the gap', then nothing happens....
- why is there no count down to the sprints etc? I had a bash at one properly today and saw my name 7th out of 1000+ at one point. How often does it reset?

I'll probably think of more questions when I ride more!

I'll have a go at a race sometime soon, but I want to get as many miles in at the end of the year

BennyC · 28 Dec 2017 at 20:08

Shadowness said:
Snip

Pls.

https://zwiftinsider.com/category/getting-started/

(For example: https://zwiftinsider.com/workout-hud/ )

Yes, normally a large bunch/peloton will be a group ride or race.
See link above.
What are you expecting to happen? You should be able to maintain speed or sit in with a slight reduction in power output. (Drafting doesn't have any effect in workout mode)
Not certain on the last point / never cared

Derek W · 29 Dec 2017 at 20:51

Thought I'd do something daft and get on my bike again tonight

https://www.strava.com/activities/1332166325

Shadowness · 30 Dec 2017 at 07:38

Thanks Benny.

Still getting to grips with it all, I noticed the course changes today to Watopia. I'll have a crack at that tomorrow, heading out on the real bike today