shovelhd

I was just doing LSD. I can't go slow up the climbs but I'm loafing it on the flats. 1:45 while watching The Jackal. Classic flick. RL from NY doing the ZTR A flew by me solo at 5.2.

globecanvas

Dude gets a lot of play in the BF zwift thread.

shovelhd

Yeah. He had two chasers, who I did not know, but the second chase group had some good local riders working together at 4.6.

globecanvas

20m @ 5.5+, 1h10 @ 5.1+.

gsteinb

biggest BF man crush since Gramecy and Mike M.!!

carpediemracing 

Finally back on Zwift thanks to a fixed computer (MacBook Pro). Also got my SRM back up and running just prior to that. Took the opportunity to put on the 170s instead of 175s (Cannondale SI so the arms come off, and must come off to service the SRM spider). Been sick and all that so didn't really do much.

Not sure what Zwift said but SRM said I broke 1100w last night while a bit crampy, so that's pretty good for me on a trainer. Blew up 5 seconds before I crossed the line (blew at 19s, crossed at 24s). Also did about 450-500w for the last bit of the hill although that just gets me a 4 minute time, which is good for me.

Fun to rev the engine a bit but right now I'm pretty weak and rough. I have to pedal higher rpms with 170s, not sure if that's a good thing for me on the trainer. I may try to get my rocking trainer set up finished to see how that works.

grwoolf

I tried the Richmond race last Thursday night. I tried the "c" group, thinking Id be ok since the target ftp is 2.5-3.2 w/kg. I've done the Sunday am rides a few times (get dropped), but this is my first "race".

As we approach Libby hill, I'm already averaging 3.2w/kg for the lap, sitting in the draft on the flat sections. i don't know if I'm doing the drafting wrong or what, but the people around me seem to be putting out similar numbers so I guess that's just what it takes. I blew up near the end of the first lap, I'm not even sure where since it was all strung out.

I enjoy zwift and the group rides (and one race) are great workouts. At the cat 4 level, I'm a pretty decent TT guy that can generally sit in any cat 3,4, or even masters open field without getting dropped unless its a really hilly course. I had a teammate with me who is a strong cat 3 and former state TT champ. He was dropped on first lap as well.

It was a good time and I'll be doing it again, but I was blown away by the effort in the c race.

carpediemracing 

I think in the training races (ZTR, etc), add 1.5 to 2.0 to what they say it's for. THe Cs... the front riders are pushing 4-5 w/kg for much of the lap. I watched two guys pulling at over 5 w/kg, and they were Cs. The sandbagging is pretty bad.

For me I basically get shelled in the warm up. Even the C is really hard for me, like I can't make more than a few minutes after the start before I'm gone because I'm maxed out in the neutral.

My real life race averages are in the 2.2-2.4 w/kg range (Cat 3, flatter race, in 2015 it got me 1 win and three 3rd places); doing 3 w/kg is basically end of effort for me.

shovelhd

Welcome to Zwift. My real power is in the high B/low A range but I race C on Zwift, and can still get dropped if the course is crowded. As a rule, I add 1.0 ewang to every published ride category. If they say 2.5-3.2, that means 3.5-4.2. It can be lower, but more often than not it is significantly higher than advertised. Just realize this and deal with it. Remember also that you are racing in a worldwide event where other riders are in different seasons than you. A lot of riders have power meters but do not have smart trainers, so they don't get the effort feedback that I do. This hurts my chances but I'm not playing this stupid game to win. It's a workout.

I'm doing the BTW ride at 20:00 EST. It is advertised as 2.0-2.5, so I'm ready for 3.0-3.5.

If you're looking for me out there, I am in my club kit.

Enthalpic

I did two laps, it was 2.8 - 4.5 for me, lots of time at 3. How do you get club kit on zwift?

level 14 zwifter, you haha?

shovelhd

Not quite, high 13. Soon enough.

The club kit was obtained through the club. I don't know how they did it or what we paid, if anything.

Athens80

If the question is, how do you get the existing club kits already built into Zwift, then: Zwift promo code - Jerseys - TitaniumGeek

edit: here's another listing of kit promo codes, at zwiftblog

hubcyclist

Tried an early bird ZTR race today, except I thought crossing the finishing line meant the end of the D lap. Nope, only halfway. D'oh!

JoesInBoston

I did the Zwift TNW East Coast "C" Race last night......I did it last week for the first time and was dropped after 15 minutes. This week, I knew when the pain was coming and was able to stay with the front group and roll in for a top 5. Ended up averaging 237 watts (I only weigh 139) for 45 minutes and earned a new FTP as a result, haha.

As people here have already said, I've never done a real life C race that was this hard. I'm going to try the B race next time I do one, but since they also roll out with the A's......I'll end up OTB and riding solo pretty quick, I think.

Alaska Mike

I never seem to be able to link up with the Zwift race starts because of my schedule and the time difference, but I've been on there more than a few times when they're going on. Always interesting to see the power being put out by the fields and comparing it to the advertised ranges. I think the ranges are more applicable in the neutral roll-outs than the actual races. Not as bad as some of the 2w/kg group rides, though. Every Cat6 and his brother wants to be the big dog.

dz_nuzz

I haven't touched zwift since last year and probably wont this year.

From everything I have heard it sounds like they need to do something that forces you into the category of race that applies best to you. Take the average W/kg of all your previous races and force you to choose between one that is "Just Right" or higher.

spdntrxi

once my free strava premium was done.. I didn't re-up. Been riding outside even in a little rain. I might re-up eventually or just wait for Nov/Dec which are my free months.

gsteinb

why? they're not races, really, but training rides. If your program calls for a ride at 3.5 why should you be forced to chase a 5.0 ride? Seems like people need to be encouraged to actually maintain a decided upon pace, more than anything else.

carpediemracing 

Zwift training races are like club rides. "B" pace, advertised at, say, 13-15 mph, can end up 17-18 mph. I could barely hang with the ZTR-C group in the warmup.

THe Sub2 groups are more my speed. Target at the front is 1.5 w/kg, with 2 w/kg getting a lot of tsk tsks. Only the last hill or so gets some 2.5-3 w/kg. In Richmond, which finishes on an uphill, they were doing 3.5 w/kg and I got massively shelled.

carpediemracing 

One good thing about Zwift is that I first started looking at peak 23s power only because of Zwift. I've lost 100-150w 23s avg power, mainly because I blow up early. I've been blowing up 3-5 seconds from the sprint line recently.

shovelhd

I don't know which Zwift races you've done, but I've done plenty of them, and they are races. Not training rides. There are attacks at pinch points, chases, everything but blocking and covering. Sprints. Posted results.

The complaint about categories and power is no different than the animal Cat5 on the road that blows through to Cat3 in a season or less. People ***** about them, too. Instead, just do what I do and add 1.0 ewang to every posted category. I don't mean you specifically Gary, anyone that is interested in Zwift racing and wants to seed themselves appropriately.

BTW the STL races will be street sprints on Watopia Flat for the next few weeks. Tonight is the underground race at 9:30.

gsteinb

I haven't done any.

The point is making it so that someone with a big FTP can only do a ride with big FTP guys is going to be a pretty big limiter to participation. If you're saying there are races and rides and they're different then so be it.

shovelhd

There are, and they are. The trainer, in general, is unforgiving, and rewards steady state power. That's more of an indoor cycling thing than a Zwift thing. When I was training, I derated my indoor power targets by 7%, but 10% felt more like it (I still had 7% targets, damn coach ) Add the draft effect in Zwift and you get penalized for slacking off a lot more than you would on the road. It makes for great training, though.

carpediemracing 

Zwift tonight, solo. Took me almost an hour to do my first lap, and I pushed a bit at the end of it. The fast laps are about 25 minutes. I think my best is 39 minutes.

Then, because aero power up = I want to sprint, and I didn't know if the left turn at the beginning was a short cut, I took the left. Nope, it cut out the sprints. So I rode another 50 odd minutes to get to the green jersey sprint point, because at 70-110w that's how long it takes to do the hill side of things.

At least I got the green, cramps and all. Sat up few seconds before the line but it was okay.

I certainly would not have stretched out the already stretched out ride if I didn't have Zwift; ride was 2:44 long.

Wylde06

there was a cdr sighting today, and to no surprise he was in the green jersey