Author Topic: Zwifting - I think I need help!  (Read 80063 times)

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #675 on: 22 March, 2023, 01:46:15 pm »
I'm massively gaming these (even more than usual) as I'm still in new-knee rehab.

The first one I left my poor mini-me at the side of the road for 3 hours.
The second one I late joined and left her for 2 hours while I iced and elevated.
The 3rd I late joined the same event as Mr Smith was actually riding and for the first time, My Apple TV failed to connect to my trainer. Instead, it connected to Mr Smith's, adamantly refused to recognise mine, after 4 attempts I gave up trying (I still pedalled away with my HR connected) and he powered both of us. Late joining after 20+ minutes dropped me almost at the top of the volcano in position 400(ish) while Mr Smith plodded away in 1300(ish).

My prowess in the runs is worse- late joining after 20 minutes left me with less than a km to row this morning. I ended up rowing extra as I was embarrassed to have got changed for 650m. It's hard work with only one leg pushing- the other still can't bend enough to row, let alone put any power through.

Still, I'm getting some of that double XP (having been stuck at the max level 21 running for a year it's nice to see that bar move again) and will have yet another virtual kit I'll never wear.


Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #676 on: 22 March, 2023, 01:55:34 pm »
... and will have yet another virtual kit I'll virtually never wear.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #677 on: 22 March, 2023, 01:58:40 pm »
Nah, I'm in a team. I always wear REVO kit unless Zwift has taken it off me.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #678 on: 22 March, 2023, 08:04:57 pm »
Re-tried QQ on Tuesday afternoon.  It was tough. At the foot of the ALpe I was 127th and although I got overtaken a few times, so many riders dropped out I finished 103rd. By section 6 I was riding alone, so no pressure fortunately.  I used 3 of the feather power-ups during the climb, perhaps I'd have got more if I had used them sooner.

I was just happy to do it, although I took at least 40 minutes more than a Cat A rider would!
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #679 on: 23 March, 2023, 09:10:58 am »
I'm going to need to get onto a 4am ride to get the Quatch Quest stage 3 ride done before my family comes down for breakfast at 6am.  Alternative would be to do it in the evening and be full-on antisocial with my wife.  I've not done any of the other ToW races rides but QQ is one of the routes I've not completed yet.
I did 'full-on antisocial' last night because Jo had some work-work that she needed to get done.

I managed to hold my own on Titans Grove, and crested the Epic KOM with the leaders, but then got dropped on the descent, ploughed a lonely furrow through the Jungle, and my legs fell off on AdZ, probably in part because of my tough workout in the morning.  Not in a hurry to do that one again.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #680 on: 06 April, 2023, 07:32:25 am »
I've used the upwrong on the trainer for the last couple of rides, rather than the Trice which has been sitting on it - partly because I needed to rebuild the Trice and get outside on it to check it all still works before Hillingdon on Sunday.
Doing the short Sand and Sequoias Tour of Watopia the night before last, there's a section that's quite winding, with rollers making you go up and down quickly. The sort of road I find really good fun out in that huge room with the blue ceiling. It was really quite odd; I know I'm susceptible to it when playing some computer games, but for the first time I felt motion sickness on Zwift. I think it was a combination of the increased movement on screen, plus being on the upwrong meant the slight wobble of the trainer is amplified due to being much higher up and away from the pivot point (to be clear, there isn't much movement, but it is perceptible).

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #681 on: 06 April, 2023, 10:37:51 pm »
I've managed to get through stage 5 this evening, in spite of repeated obstacles. The latest was Zwift brilliantly releasing a mandatory update without warning, just as the event is coming to an end. So I had to do it an hour later than planned.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #682 on: 09 April, 2023, 08:43:50 pm »
Completed stage 5 and got a clip showing me crossing the line but it didn’t upload. I just left my iPad whirring away and forgot about it. Later I loaded up the FIT file to Strava using my laptop and found 6km missing. Still nothing on Zwift to say I’d done the ride. Next day I fired up the iPad to redo stage 5 and it loaded the complete activity from the previous day but showing l’d only just done it.  It didn’t load the complete ride to Strava however. 

Move Faster and Bake Things

TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #683 on: 10 April, 2023, 02:11:44 pm »
It may well have tried to upload to Strava, but Strava may have rejected it as the time of recording and a significant number of datapoints will have been identical to the original upload. Try deleting that and trying again.

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #684 on: 11 April, 2023, 07:53:37 am »
I missed stage 3 ToW and this week is catch-up week but looking at the timetable I can see that there are no times that work for me  :(

There's one on Thursday that I could possibly do but it's really not very convenient at all. I guess I could sit in the pen for 60mins and start when I'm ready? I'd be starting and finishing last  ::-)

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #685 on: 11 April, 2023, 08:51:33 am »
There's one on Thursday that I could possibly do but it's really not very convenient at all. I guess I could sit in the pen for 60mins and start when I'm ready? I'd be starting and finishing last  ::-)

Welcome to my world  :-[

Late join for 30 minutes on all of them?

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #686 on: 11 April, 2023, 09:13:17 am »
I'm going to need to get onto a 4am ride to get the Quatch Quest stage 3 ride done before my family comes down for breakfast at 6am.  Alternative would be to do it in the evening and be full-on antisocial with my wife.  I've not done any of the other ToW races rides but QQ is one of the routes I've not completed yet.

I entered yesterday evening's 17:00 version of the same ride as an 'easy' way of ticking off the badge and to see how the covid recovery is going.  By 17:05 I had my answer  :(

Saturday's 200k audax should sort me out  ::-)

I was still testing positive on the Friday before the audax so gave it a miss.

Finally tested negative on 29th March and did the long version of stage 4 of ToW on 31st.  I got in a decent group, didn't feel too bad and quite enjoyed it but noticed afterwards that my heartrate seemed fairly high for the power I was producing.

Yesterday the forecast was poor so I entered the long version of stage 2 of ToW.  Half way through I was annoyed to see sunshine streaming through the windows and thought that I may have made a poor decision.  Then there was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder followed by a period of torrential rain  :smug:

All the non-sprinty power numbers were remarkably similar to the previous ToW ride but both the max and average heart rates were down by 14bpm  :thumbsup:

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #687 on: 11 April, 2023, 09:55:12 am »
There's one on Thursday that I could possibly do but it's really not very convenient at all. I guess I could sit in the pen for 60mins and start when I'm ready? I'd be starting and finishing last  ::-)

Late join for 30 minutes on all of them?
I believe so. I think I'll join, sit in the pen, go back to work then start riding when I can.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #688 on: 11 April, 2023, 10:40:47 am »
It may well have tried to upload to Strava, but Strava may have rejected it as the time of recording and a significant number of datapoints will have been identical to the original upload. Try deleting that and trying again.

Sorted, thanks!
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #689 on: 08 May, 2023, 08:34:31 pm »
I went up Alpe du Zwift for the first time today. I will not tell you my time, but I was the second slowest person up the mountain :-) But at least I have a "PR" in each of the stages now, should help with pacing in the future.

Coming down was .... interesting. I had to look away from the screen as all the turns, coupled with the smart trainer increasing and decreasing resistance over the humps such that it felt like I was flying at times, made me quite nauseous.
"There are proven ways; play on the certain knowledge of their superiority, the mystique of secret covenant, the esprit of shared suffering"

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #690 on: 08 May, 2023, 09:40:13 pm »
Coming down was .... interesting. I had to look away from the screen as all the turns, coupled with the smart trainer increasing and decreasing resistance over the humps such that it felt like I was flying at times, made me quite nauseous.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like that. Don't think I'd be any good descending a real Alp.

Zwifting can get pretty intents at times.


gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #691 on: 09 May, 2023, 11:52:09 am »
I don't think I've ever actually cycled back down the Alpe but rather jump off the bike and do a bit of stretching whilst my avatar goes into super tuck mode and racks up quick km until it eventually levels off.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #692 on: 09 May, 2023, 01:23:32 pm »
I went up Alpe du Zwift for the first time today. I will not tell you my time, but I was the second slowest person up the mountain :-) But at least I have a "PR" in each of the stages now, should help with pacing in the future.

Coming down was .... interesting. I had to look away from the screen as all the turns, coupled with the smart trainer increasing and decreasing resistance over the humps such that it felt like I was flying at times, made me quite nauseous.

You still did better than me; I tried on Saturday and gave up, exhausted at about turn 10. Managed Epic KOM this morning but suffering now.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #693 on: 09 May, 2023, 05:17:22 pm »
I went up Alpe du Zwift for the first time today. I will not tell you my time, but I was the second slowest person up the mountain :-) But at least I have a "PR" in each of the stages now, should help with pacing in the future.

Coming down was .... interesting. I had to look away from the screen as all the turns, coupled with the smart trainer increasing and decreasing resistance over the humps such that it felt like I was flying at times, made me quite nauseous.

You still did better than me; I tried on Saturday and gave up, exhausted at about turn 10. Managed Epic KOM this morning but suffering now.

The legs were hurting a bit by the end that's for sure. Epic KOM is the first climb on the Four Horsemen right? Did that one on Saturday including a trip to the radio tower, that was steep. Then it goes up AdZ, but I had to give up the ride when I got halfway up AdZ because the legs were gone. That's why I tried that climb in isolation. It's nice to have seen the top.

I have a Garmin heart rate monitor linked up to Zwift, and I find it hugely useful for pacing. So much so I would like to buy a new GPS for the real-life bike that supports it. (Next year, a treat for getting fit).
"There are proven ways; play on the certain knowledge of their superiority, the mystique of secret covenant, the esprit of shared suffering"

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #694 on: 09 May, 2023, 05:39:20 pm »
Coming down was .... interesting. I had to look away from the screen as all the turns, coupled with the smart trainer increasing and decreasing resistance over the humps such that it felt like I was flying at times, made me quite nauseous.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like that. Don't think I'd be any good descending a real Alp.

In real life I don't think you'd get around a 180° bend at 70kph!

Re your tent...outside Zwifting seems a little odd - why not just go for a ride?
"There are proven ways; play on the certain knowledge of their superiority, the mystique of secret covenant, the esprit of shared suffering"

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #695 on: 09 May, 2023, 06:30:00 pm »
In real life I don't think you'd get around a 180° bend at 70kph!

Re your tent...outside Zwifting seems a little odd - why not just go for a ride?
No, but the height is the issue. If you'd got your eyes closed, you probably wouldn't get around that bend at 7kph. I keep watching the TdF and thinking, "I couldn't ride down that!"

Regarding the tent, it was something of a one-off. My normal set-up is on the patio, as we don't have a garage or spare room. If it's really wet, I negotiate for use of the kitchen. On that particular occasion, I'd put the event shelter up for some other reason (I think we had family round or something, maybe even in Covid at the point where meeting was only allowed outdoors). Later, it rained, so I set up under the shelter.

Patio Zwifting has some benefits. Everyone else spends £lots on cooling fans that I get for nothing ;D :thumbsup:


TimC

  • Old blerk sometimes onabike.
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #696 on: 10 May, 2023, 12:16:15 pm »
I think I need mudguards on my Zwift bike - it does seem to rain a lot in Zwift lately!

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #697 on: 13 May, 2023, 06:10:48 pm »
I don't think I've ever actually cycled back down the Alpe but rather jump off the bike and do a bit of stretching whilst my avatar goes into super tuck mode and racks up quick km until it eventually levels off.

Recently rode up the Lutscher and then did the reverse.

The gradients going up should have been a lot more super tuckable going down than they actually were. So unfair >:(
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #698 on: 18 June, 2023, 07:54:19 am »
I got demoted to B when they rejigged the category boundaries, but am back up to A.  I’ve been doing the Zwift Hill Climb Racing Club Series and have picked up top 10 placing (aggregated across all heats) in both of the first two rounds, and power PBs at all intervals from 2 minutes to 4 minutes.

Last night I subjected myself to 60x 5second sprints (every minute, on the minute), all at >1000W peak.  Time passes really quickly when you spend nearly all of the workout time trying to recover for the next effort!

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #699 on: 19 June, 2023, 04:25:20 pm »
>1000w!  You should apply to feed the National Grid..   
Move Faster and Bake Things