The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

Soldato
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TRON for everything unless it is AdZ or Ventop.
The Tron is tricky to get, but well worth it for this alone. It's just does everything 'well'.

I did probably 50-60% of mine from 'normal' races before we even had the Alpe. There where not even hilly races back then! I did a few rides on Epic KOM and I recall some repeats quite early on but it was so slow going I kinda gave up... Just choosing a hilly course when there was a choice when racing (still generally do as find them more fun).

But now with Ventop and courses like New York and Yorkshire in there it's easier than ever to get a bunch of climbing in. Throw in the fact you now also have the pace bots (some ride hilly courses) with a huge draft from other riders following them (ad-hoc group rides 24/7), also with Drops boosts for other purchases, it's now easier than ever to get the Tron.

Started a race with my boss today in C group, was able to drift to the very back of 250 strong bunch and work my way up through it again.
Sandbagger ;):D

With your outside riding I'd put your FTP at 300W or more mate, your riding looks hellova lot faster than mine. Although I know I'm 'slower' outside than on Zwift, might just be you're faster lol ;)

So many FTP beasts in this thread I hate your youth !
Pffft! There's a bunch of them around but I'm 40 now so not a spring chicken... Maybe shouldn't be doing rides with my HR like this, but then again having a healthy heart is pretty important! My top end threshold seems to have creeped into 180bpm the last few months, being able to go into it and sustain, then back out without blowing. I only really saw it that high when sprinting before and couldn't generally recover! :o

Where are you that fits are only £180? :D

Closer to £350 nearer London!
Local one to me who is good probably in reach for you Dan - http://bikefitsolutions.co.uk/bikefit-services/

He worked in 2 of the local LBS in Hereford and although NFTO had their own fit/team guys I believe he did a full one for each new rider as a starter when they where based here.

Really knows his stuff and well recommended - so good he was just a bike shop guy who did fits, then did his qualifications, then was getting so much business he started his own (while still doing theirs), then went out on his own (when the shop was sold).
 
Soldato
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The Tron is tricky to get, but well worth it for this alone. It's just does everything 'well'.

Yep, I don't know how many ascents of the Alpe on Road to Sky I did on mornings and afternoons over the last 3-4 months to smash this up. But well worth it.

Are there any go to race series that you always try to enter? I'm usually able to jump on by 5ish which seems a bit earlier than most in here. But think one race a on a weeknight for a little while longer will help with training, plus my mental fatigue, always good to get the endorphines and testosterone firing.
 
Associate
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Slow and steady does it. But also if you're riding outside/garage it's worth getting a calibration done.

Hiya, thanks for that. I've recalibrated the power meters and the drop in power is definitely all me :( (if that's what you were suggesting). I don't think there's much of a choice with the 'slow and steady' recovery sadly and am keeping fingers crossed that the virus/chest infection hasn't done any long term damage.

I'm on the trainer bike more regularly now though and trying to push it a bit more, but Tuesday's 45 minute ride was clearly a push too far and I regretted it later that day and yesterday. A more gentle 60 minutes averaging 220W felt fine this morning though, which is encouraging, and comparing to about a week ago I can see HR and watts going in the right directions. When you're trying to take it easy, it's really hard in Zwift to avoid the temptation to do a few sprints, or just push to the top of this hill, or push while it's downhill, or catch that next target :).

Changing subject back to your maximum HR comments above, 'spring chicken' is a relative term - I'm 55 and mine tops out at about 180 (according to the fenix, must try a chest strap monitor sometime) so wouldn't worry about it if everything feels OK.
 
Soldato
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Sandbagger ;):D

With your outside riding I'd put your FTP at 300W or more mate, your riding looks hellova lot faster than mine. Although I know I'm 'slower' outside than on Zwift, might just be you're faster lol ;)

Haha maybe I'm just better at hanging a wheel than you? When I ride with my mate Gary he can about 1mm from my tyre we are that consistent with it. I'll glue myself to someone wheels out of pure hatred for their existence and their whole family.

OR

My 4iiii reads lower than low and my vortex high as ****?

The summer will tell as it feels like I'm getting a good workout. Not looking forward to this TTT tonight :o
 
Soldato
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Hmm I've got like 800k to spend... and need to get something better. Especially because tomorrow attempting sub-40 AdZ with a mate... He reckons we'll need to hold 5w/kg. I've done that for about 7 mins before... eek!
Failed. ~4.8w/kg

Never really even done that kinda effort for 20mins, besides maybe my go up Sa Calobra but I didn't have power on the bike then. I was mostly holding or 3-6m behind my racing snake mate's wheel. Did a few turns for him but even he just missed the sub 40 marker. Perhaps if we had a bigger group. It was just the two of us up the climb.

It does motivate me to actually go and do sub 5:30 Box (real world) this year though. 5:40 before (without power data) and 5:56 at 393w last January in poor conditions.
 
Soldato
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Failed. ~4.8w/kg

Never really even done that kinda effort for 20mins, besides maybe my go up Sa Calobra but I didn't have power on the bike then. I was mostly holding or 3-6m behind my racing snake mate's wheel. Did a few turns for him but even he just missed the sub 40 marker. Perhaps if we had a bigger group. It was just the two of us up the climb.

It does motivate me to actually go and do sub 5:30 Box (real world) this year though. 5:40 before (without power data) and 5:56 at 393w last January in poor conditions.

Decent! I can't even picture doing 5w/kg for 40 minutes!

My wee baws wrote checques my legs couldn't cash haha. So much for 20% above FTP on the front, I was sat at at 4w/kg on the wheel a lot whilst he's sitting at 5w/kg soooo much. Could in theory go as low as 3 when he was at 5. Good bit of a pull out but really wanted a bit more power but tired legs stopped play. My HR sort of shows the tiredness as it was shown mostly tempo with a bit of threshold. My HR monitor decided to show 214bpm for a while so I have a fair bit of anaerobic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4808765223/overview
 
Soldato
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Failed. ~4.8w/kg

Never really even done that kinda effort for 20mins, besides maybe my go up Sa Calobra but I didn't have power on the bike then. I was mostly holding or 3-6m behind my racing snake mate's wheel. Did a few turns for him but even he just missed the sub 40 marker. Perhaps if we had a bigger group. It was just the two of us up the climb.

It does motivate me to actually go and do sub 5:30 Box (real world) this year though. 5:40 before (without power data) and 5:56 at 393w last January in poor conditions.

Great effort that.
 
Soldato
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Failed. ~4.8w/kg

Never really even done that kinda effort for 20mins, besides maybe my go up Sa Calobra but I didn't have power on the bike then. I was mostly holding or 3-6m behind my racing snake mate's wheel. Did a few turns for him but even he just missed the sub 40 marker. Perhaps if we had a bigger group. It was just the two of us up the climb.

It does motivate me to actually go and do sub 5:30 Box (real world) this year though. 5:40 before (without power data) and 5:56 at 393w last January in poor conditions.

Failed but awesome. Great effort.
 
Soldato
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Hoping to actually head outside today, but I need to put a small session in as I will unlock 'Working from home' (or whatever the 14 days straight badge is) which is funny, as I'm one of the few that isn't actually working from home right now! I'm also gradually ticking off the map achievements. I think I'm at about 20/25% at the moment. Does anyone else achievement hunt?
 
Soldato
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Hoping to actually head outside today, but I need to put a small session in as I will unlock 'Working from home' (or whatever the 14 days straight badge is) which is funny, as I'm one of the few that isn't actually working from home right now! I'm also gradually ticking off the map achievements. I think I'm at about 20/25% at the moment. Does anyone else achievement hunt?

Yeah, think a few of us do, they’re weirdly motivating. I haven’t got the WFH badge yet, I think it’s 5km per day for 14 days but double check.
 
Soldato
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I don't badge hunt but when/if I ever get more time to 'just ride' I'll probably start it, as I like riding courses and routes I don't know too well!

Are there any go to race series that you always try to enter? I'm usually able to jump on by 5ish which seems a bit earlier than most in here. But think one race a on a weeknight for a little while longer will help with training, plus my mental fatigue, always good to get the endorphines and testosterone firing.
For me riding early is a no-go but so many of the 3R lot race around 6pm there must be plenty of riders around for things, just I never look. For the series' it's usually what the club is pushing, which tends to be WTRL and their own series' rather than many others at the moment. Usually ridden around 7/8pm. I know BRT do a few series of things, I think maybe more crits than anything and they're quite a bit earlier. So for me at the moment it has been TDZ and WTRL TTT. If I was able to ride Tuesdays more frequently it would be then in the WTRL ZRL.

If I'm just jumping on another time without a specific ride/race in mind I'll go for the names which are more 'popular' so tend to be the long standing zwift clubs like ZRL or the traditional races like EVR and KISS although they're not something I specifically hunt, just if they're the right time for me I'll ride them. I'm generally choosing rides/races from Zwiftpower while getting kitted up to ride, choosing those with either the most riders signed up (so it'll be busy enough for multiple groups to ride with) or those on courses I like/want to ride at the right distances for the time I've got (usually 1 hour so 35-50km flatter routes).

Hiya, thanks for that. I've recalibrated the power meters and the drop in power is definitely all me :(<snip>
Changing subject back to your maximum HR comments above, 'spring chicken' is a relative term - I'm 55 and mine tops out at about 180 (according to the fenix, must try a chest strap monitor sometime) so wouldn't worry about it if everything feels OK.
Haha I did hint at that a little but was just trying to encourage you to keep at it and not get too discouraged. We all know what it's like for motivation when the numbers can seem low.

Good work with the HR, it's such a personal/individual thing. I've always found mine quite high compared to riders I'm generally with, but when with club stuff they're generally older (50+) than me. The younger guys (30's) with some of the hill efforts are usually similar HR's to mine.

Haha maybe I'm just better at hanging a wheel than you? When I ride with my mate Gary he can about 1mm from my tyre we are that consistent with it. I'll glue myself to someone wheels out of pure hatred for their existence and their whole family.

OR

My 4iiii reads lower than low and my vortex high as ****?

The summer will tell as it feels like I'm getting a good workout. Not looking forward to this TTT tonight :o
Haha you defo are but you do a lot more group riding than me. When I group ride it's unusual for it to be more than 5-6 of us and always very social so not an absolute drag/effort fest where getting a tow matters! ;)

I'd trust the 4iiii and laugh at the numbers on the Vortex. Actually passed a comment last week when I had high numbers in the TTT and a TDZ ride (the 299W FTP one), with a friend that it was like "riding the Vortex again"! ;)

Failed. ~4.8w/kg

Never really even done that kinda effort for 20mins, besides maybe my go up Sa Calobra but I didn't have power on the bike then. I was mostly holding or 3-6m behind my racing snake mate's wheel. Did a few turns for him but even he just missed the sub 40 marker. Perhaps if we had a bigger group. It was just the two of us up the climb.

It does motivate me to actually go and do sub 5:30 Box (real world) this year though. 5:40 before (without power data) and 5:56 at 393w last January in poor conditions.
Do Box with those numbers mate and it'll be superb! Great effort and a tall ask without some specific training towards sustaining that while on an incline. Huge effort and numbers regardless, well done!

First ride with Windows 10, didn’t crash! FPS seemed a little lower, will have to double check all my graphics settings!
Good! Hopefully that's it solved!

My wee baws wrote checques my legs couldn't cash haha. So much for 20% above FTP on the front, I was sat at at 4w/kg on the wheel a lot whilst he's sitting at 5w/kg soooo much. Could in theory go as low as 3 when he was at 5. Good bit of a pull out but really wanted a bit more power but tired legs stopped play. My HR sort of shows the tiredness as it was shown mostly tempo with a bit of threshold. My HR monitor decided to show 214bpm for a while so I have a fair bit of anaerobic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4808765223/overview
HAha yeah WTF was up with your HRM, looks like it had 6 minutes of madness! :D

https://www.strava.com/activities/4808945695

I had a pretty average ride last night too, but I think the effort was good, just generally the numbers down a bit, but probably more accurate to some of the elevated ones I've seen recently. My legs felt rubbish and just couldn't settle into the effort - I was all over the place, but still quite good at surfing wheels in the group. Closed a big gap for someone and did my turns (only skipped 1 after the chase) but as we had 3-4 strong guys around it was a tough one to just stick in there... Even if my numbers are a little on the low side, I closed lots of small gaps and was recovering well, even when I'd started at 90s turns (far too much for me, so dropped back down to 60s). My first turn straight into the Volcano ramp meant a long drawn out early effort, before then needing to drop back just before my turn and gather Phil back to group (so skipped), the numbers make it look like my legs where ok. Much of our last lap was compounded by a team we caught, they wouldn't ease so we had to put a sustained effort in to unmix the teams, then they split themselves chasing us. A couple of KM before the finish 2 of them sprinted off the front of their group, through us but we just ignored them. My final turn, brief ease before short leadout caught 1 of them as I dragged to the line. Good numbers several points but my overall 3.3 w/kg average further down than I would've liked.
 
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Soldato
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Cheers Roady, I've seen our local DC for TT's are going to be doing weekly TT's on our local sporting courses, so think I'm going to jump on those once they're set up too. Although the first is on Monday annoyingly. Once I have a few more details i'll post here as anyone can enter.
 
Soldato
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I think it’s 5km per day for 14 days but double check.

Thanks. I've just done 50 miles outside, so will perhaps do a steady 10 miles on the trainer this evening, which will be the only 'cheap' day of the 14. All the others are 20+ miles, workouts etc, so I think it's fair :)

Oh, and all this indoor training seemed to pay off today, smashed a few PR's this morning :)
 
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Decent! I can't even picture doing 5w/kg for 40 minutes!

My wee baws wrote checques my legs couldn't cash haha. So much for 20% above FTP on the front, I was sat at at 4w/kg on the wheel a lot whilst he's sitting at 5w/kg soooo much. Could in theory go as low as 3 when he was at 5. Good bit of a pull out but really wanted a bit more power but tired legs stopped play. My HR sort of shows the tiredness as it was shown mostly tempo with a bit of threshold. My HR monitor decided to show 214bpm for a while so I have a fair bit of anaerobic.

https://www.strava.com/activities/4808765223/overview

How'd your TTT go mate, back in lowly mocha we managed 14th, happy with that
 
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