The Cycling Thread

Yeah I hopped back on Zwift a couple of weeks backs as it was chucking it down. I missed loads of club rides over the summer with holiday, work and illness so I havn’t felt like going out on Sunday mornings as I don’t fancy blowing out my arse for a few weeks. So just plan to slowly build my fitness again and Zwift is ideal for that.

I should be out this morning … but I’ll go out tomorrow instead 😂. Properly lost the discipline to get up and go out. To be fair my work week is wed - sat, with summer being stupidly busy the last thing I’ve been wanting to do is get up fairly early and go out on my First day off.

I have signed up to ride London next year so hopefully that gives me the impetus to get out.

Saddles are weird- I tend to stick with Fizik Arione as they’ve done me on six hour rides with just a bit of discomfort towards the end, but possibly my most comfortable saddle is an “EC90” brand cheap thing from aliexpress. All carbon, 130 grams and…. £20!

Thread got sexy.

Ha! Join ussss.

Never won a race on Zwift, been trying for 3 years, haha!

Now that they auto-cat everything I basically get fit enough to have my average power dump me in B cat and restrict me from everything else below that.

Not got a chance in B really, just happy not to come last.

I think the auto-cat stuff has stopped some weight doping, but signing up for zwift power to get the slightly more likely results is definitely required. At least it tries and expects heart rate data to guage actual effort.

Haven't raced since covid fucked me over at the start of the year, but hope to again if i can ever get my lungs functioning properly again.

My best result was a 3rd, first was apparently a 'kid' as they weighed 30kg and did 3W/kg+ all race- so 90Wish. Oddly enough, they didn't make the cut on zwift power. 🤣

I sadly had to put my genuine weight of 75kg, which was a brutal moment on the scales

I’ve really slowed down the last couple of years and can feel recovery is a lot harder. I used to be able to easily push a bit and hit a plus 30kph average ride in my mid 40’s. If I kill myself I can just about hit 28 now.
But, at the same time, I’ve stopped caring. I’m not racing or doing competitive club stuff anymore and I’m just trying to use cycling as fun stress relief. I still want to be fit but I can’t be arsed with training programs over the winter at this point so just general miles will have to do.
Funnily enough, my weight has always hovered around 80kgs, and despite different intensities, it’s still there. I’m sure it’s 90% diet, the exercise is good for you in other ways.

Booze is the only thing that does me in, I eat well and avoid most junk so it drops off pretty quickly when I’m in good habits. Was too busy with work for the last few months and haven’t ridden, plus drinking most evenings to unwind so not been a great combo. Target weight is 70-72kg so not really much to lose, not going to break my balls for 68kg ever again, I was slower at that weight anyway

That was the in-laws, how was the cycling though?

Good luck!

Hopefully won’t take too long to come back. If I’m near 300 by the end I’ll be well chuffed

I did two winters of TrainerRoad a few years back but I’ve never rated it- it was horrendously punishing sweet spot stuff workout after workout. I think it was about marketing more than efficacy- people are time poor so just sell the product on lots of short hard sessions. Of course you’ll see gains if you beast yourself for 12 weeks but it’s all artificially inflated. I was fast but I had no endurance. They eventually had to capitulate and added in some more polarised plans when they got called out by a Dylan Johnson video and it caused a stink… and then “Coach Chad” or whatever he was called left soon after.

Really rate TrainerDay, have used it on and off for a couple of years, hugely rate Xert, especially if you have a power meter on your bike so you can be riding with power all the time- it’s the most like having a proper coach of all of them. It constantly plots your power curve from max 5 seconds to “all day power” and defines you as a rider. You can develop from there into any type of rider you fancy from that point (working on 30 second repeat power for a Crit rider, or 20 minute power for a time trailing etc), improve where you are or chose to sit in maintenance mode if life’s getting in the way. There’s never a plan- it’s factoring in any outdoor riding you do and then, when you sit down on the turbo you say how long you’ve got and it pumps out a workout, it’s bloody algorithm magic.

Ok, so having had a quick shuftie, it's phone based or garmin head unit only is it, or have i not dug deeply enough?