I'll be as close to 0800 as I can, probably a touch tardy. I have team swim 0630-0730. I do know how to shortcut to the ride leader with the "ride with" function
Saturday "ABP" EN ride gathering momentum. Started with @Alicia Chase @Jason Brandt @Maurice Matthews @Sid wavrin @Sheila Leard . Sighting of @Teri Cashmore, who naturally flew by up a hill. Rode with @Robert Sabo and Brian Terwilliger up the Tower rd. Thanks to all, esp @Jason Brandt for pushing me to the end, 115 TSS, 0.81 IF. I might not show the next two weeks, in CO, where I do have Tacx smart, but only a Mtn bike to put on it. Keep it rolling.
I’ll be around next Saturday so whoever wants to pick a route I’m game. Have fun in CO @Al Truscott
At the start of the ride I mentioned having issues with doing the Spin Down. Was it @Jason Brandt that had a tip? And what about Erg adjustment. I need to do my FTP so I want figure this stuff out. Thank you for all the help.
@Sheila Leard I will most likely ride next Saturday also. I will look and see where Zwift has us riding and pick a course and post it to the thread. Your trainer difficulty settings is in the Zwift app under settings. Just slide it to left to lessen the the severity of the hills. @Brian Hagan can help with spin down on your trainer.
Thanks .... that was an easy fix. I went on the Zwift Blog and there is a ton of info ... even how to shift for climbing without power surges when in Erg mode.
Great ride, I was with everyone at the start banner, and somehow lost the group immediately. Not sure what happened, but @Al Truscott@Jason Brandt@Sheila Heard @maurice matthews@Sid Wavrin soft-pedaled for a bit to let me get caught up. Trying to stay Z3, so eventually had to drop off, though I managed to stay just a half min back of @Sheila Leard Great ride, 90 TSS and .78 IF. I hope to be able to join next week. My Dad is having a valve replacement Friday at UVM in Burlington, VT, which is about 1 1/2 hr drive. I’ll be heading over on Saturday to see him, but I may be able to sneak in a quick run for the streak and a Zwift ride before I go.
Thanks for the ride, was able to be with Sabo for a couple minutes and then was dropped somewhere in a volcano. Had some issues with discord so had to leave the conversation. Will probably ride next Saturday again.
It looks like we are in London on Saturday. I suggest we ride the London Pretzel route which has a little bit of everything. I seems as if the 7 AM Pacific start is what everyone prefers, correct? If I don't here otherwise, I will be at the start banner at t 7 intending to ride London Pretzel. Hope to see you there.
I'm in for Saturday. I'll hang with you guys until I go too far above my w/kg. I see that you just posted an event in Group Chat Zwift events. Thanks so much for doing that.
My first Zwift group ride this morning. Had a blast and an hour goes by rather quick! I had a few technical difficulties that I need to work out. Definitely need a bigger monitor and the bluetooth headset doesn't seem to work with Discord (running on iPhone). Got old holding the phone to my ear to hear the discussion Someone said go and I starting pedaling but it took Zwift 10sec or so to get going. I lost everyone rather quick but hung out with @Bill Eckert for the duration...that was cool, thanks.
I think that is everyone that started this morning.
I could see my HR was too high for my w/kg. I started getting behind. Bill drifted away. At 25 minutes I left Discord and put on Oingo Boingo Dead Man's party!! That's how I felt. Finished the ride. Went back in and adjusted settings in the pairing. Did another 5 miles and what a difference. I might have stayed with you longer in the new settings.
Had a good time today and was actually able to ride with some others from EN. Had a good time hanging with @Randy Peene for the ride. I think I have my indoor setup finally dialed in except I don't have head phones or a microphone so I just mostly listen. Got to work on that one.
For sure! Great ride. Also had @Robert Sabo and@Maurice Mathews in there for the ride also. Pretty big group and I think we were all together for a while. Thanks everyone.
@Mark Hickman. Yes for the last couple of weeks we have started at 7. I think everyone is liking that start time. Watch this thread. We usually post the course and start time toward the end of each week.
Let's try the "Road to Ruins" for the Saturday ABP. This is a course we have not done yet and we can get back to the climbing when @Al Truscottreturns.! So select Road to Ruins or choose the "ride with" Function and be at the start line at 7:00 Pacific on Saturday morning.
The bad news: I left CO as I did not want to ski on grass...only one man made run (out of 95) was open, and it started to get boring. The "good" news, I get to ride this Saturday with y'all. While I'm only level 8 still, I have been on Road to Ruins twice in group workouts. I suggest bringing a bandana for the dust. And fenders if it rains...
I listened to Coach P's video chat on Zwift, and heard an interesting nugget which might have value to those who struggle to keep with the group after 20-30 minutes: weightdoping. A no-no if you are racing, it might function like handicapping (adding weight to the faster horses' jockeys) in horse racing. You just lower your weight in the Zwift settings to achieve that same "virtual" w/kg. The software in the game will then have you go the same speed as me, even though you do not have, in real life, the same FTP.
Say you have an FTP of 180 watts, and weigh 60 kg (132#). This gives you a w/kg of 3.0.You want to ride with someone who has a w/kg of 3.25, without working any harder than he does at any given speed. You simply divide your FTP of 180 by the w/kg you *wish* you had - in this case, 3.25 - and plug that answer (eg, 55kg) into your profile settings in Zwift.
Now, one of the great values of riding in a group is that, except for the strongest rider (and that person, presumably, is motivated to not be shown up by a "weaker" rider) everyone has a motivation to work a little harder than they otherwise might, just to keep up. So if the strongest person in our group is, say, 3.5, I probably would not weight dope, so I could get the benefit of beong pushed. But if I were riding in a group who were all 4.0, I might consider weight doping so I could hang with them, at their effort level.
Of course, this is only possible if you know the FTP in w/kg of the people you are trying to keep up with. You'll find mine below in my sig line.
Thanks for that little tip/example @Al Truscott - this makes me more inclined to get up and get on the trainer with you guys Sat am. Was thinking if I was gonna get dropped pretty quick, I'd sleep in an find a different group ride.:o
@Al Truscott I am liking the weight doping idea. Do we need to keep that in the house?
I'm signed up to do a local 5K Saturday morning. Not sure I will do it for two reasons: 1. I would miss you guys and the Zwift addiction even though I only hang with you for 30 minutes. 2. I'm not suppose to be running hard or downhill. (knee stuff).
Just a heads up from Coach P on the GroupMe Zwift channel: Zwift pushed an update yesterday for the desktop app, so if that’s how you Zwift, log on early to give the app time to update.
@Alicia Chase Thanks! That might explain the odd behavior some were complaining about...also I notice Discord got an update for iOS yesterday, likewise Zwift Mobile Link.
Re: Weight doping. If you listen to Coach P's Video chat, he says you can change your weight mid-ride. Yesterday's Zwift Update says that is no longer possible. Gotta change your weight before you start the ride.
Comments
At the start of the ride I mentioned having issues with doing the Spin Down. Was it @Jason Brandt that had a tip? And what about Erg adjustment. I need to do my FTP so I want figure this stuff out. Thank you for all the help.
Thanks .... that was an easy fix. I went on the Zwift Blog and there is a ton of info ... even how to shift for climbing without power surges when in Erg mode.
I'm in for Saturday. I'll hang with you guys until I go too far above my w/kg. I see that you just posted an event in Group Chat Zwift events. Thanks so much for doing that.
If I can get out of work by then I will join.
I had a few technical difficulties that I need to work out. Definitely need a bigger monitor and the bluetooth headset doesn't seem to work with Discord (running on iPhone). Got old holding the phone to my ear to hear the discussion
Someone said go and I starting pedaling but it took Zwift 10sec or so to get going. I lost everyone rather quick but hung out with @Bill Eckert for the duration...that was cool, thanks.
I think that is everyone that started this morning.
I could see my HR was too high for my w/kg. I started getting behind. Bill drifted away. At 25 minutes I left Discord and put on Oingo Boingo Dead Man's party!!
All good. I'm determined. Thanks!
The "good" news, I get to ride this Saturday with y'all. While I'm only level 8 still, I have been on Road to Ruins twice in group workouts. I suggest bringing a bandana for the dust. And fenders if it rains...
Say you have an FTP of 180 watts, and weigh 60 kg (132#). This gives you a w/kg of 3.0.You want to ride with someone who has a w/kg of 3.25, without working any harder than he does at any given speed. You simply divide your FTP of 180 by the w/kg you *wish* you had - in this case, 3.25 - and plug that answer (eg, 55kg) into your profile settings in Zwift.
Now, one of the great values of riding in a group is that, except for the strongest rider (and that person, presumably, is motivated to not be shown up by a "weaker" rider) everyone has a motivation to work a little harder than they otherwise might, just to keep up. So if the strongest person in our group is, say, 3.5, I probably would not weight dope, so I could get the benefit of beong pushed. But if I were riding in a group who were all 4.0, I might consider weight doping so I could hang with them, at their effort level.
Of course, this is only possible if you know the FTP in w/kg of the people you are trying to keep up with. You'll find mine below in my sig line.
@Al Truscott I am liking the weight doping idea. Do we need to keep that in the house?
I'm signed up to do a local 5K Saturday morning. Not sure I will do it for two reasons:
1. I would miss you guys and the Zwift addiction even though I only hang with you for 30 minutes.
2. I'm not suppose to be running hard or downhill. (knee stuff).