Originally Posted by BillyD (Post 22295476)

You had some good cholesterol numbers from what I could see. My total cholesterol is always on the borderline of the acceptable range, but my HDL is good. It’s my glucose levels I keep an eye on, I want no part of that big D.

Originally Posted by genejockey (Post 22295503)

My view is that sugar, starch - carbs generally - are fuel. Just fuel. If you're burning energy, you need fuel. If not, you don't. Fat is also fuel, but slower burning - though more energetic per gram. Important to remember that your brain only runs on glucose - part of why one feels so stupid when bonking.

Originally Posted by genejockey (Post 22295495)

First, when you're in Workout Mode, Erg or not, Zwift doesn't change resistance to match 'terrain'. It's either flat, or in Erg mode it adjusts the resistance with your cadence to match the specified power output for that section of the workout. So, you could be on Alpe du Zwift and it would seem flat, in Workout Mode.

SO, if you did the Ramp Test without Erg Mode, you'd just have to keep shifting gears to increase resistance, just like with a dumb trainer, but your trainer would be providing Zwift with your power output.

The other thing is that you can also change how closely the trainer tries to match the terrain. It's under "Settings" on Zwift. You have to be In Game, in a world. Click Menu, then Settings. Default for Trainer Difficulty = 50%, so it will mimic a 3% gradient when you're climbing a 6% gradient in the game. I generally run it at 100%, since I'm trying to mimic riding in the real world, but if I were to try Alpe du Zwift, I'd probably cut it to 50% the first time.

Two things about Trainer Difficulty - First, even set to 0%, so everything seems flat, your speed In Game is STILL determined by power output, gradient, weight, and aero profile, so if at 0% Trainer Difficulty on a 15% gradient, you might be spinning easy, putting out 150W, and feeling like you're on the flat, but you'll probably be going 2 mph.

Second, on descents, Zwift only mimics HALF of the descending gradient. So a 6% descent is really only 3%, at 100% Trainer Difficulty, and at 50% it would only be 1.5%.

Originally Posted by LAJ (Post 22295532)

Carbs are fuel, but it's no excuse to binge on them.

Originally Posted by genejockey (Post 22295503)

My view is that sugar, starch - carbs generally - are fuel. Just fuel. If you're burning energy, you need fuel. If not, you don't. Fat is also fuel, but slower burning - though more energetic per gram. Important to remember that your brain only runs on glucose - part of why one feels so stupid when bonking.

Originally Posted by datlas (Post 22295293)

I would be super pleased with an FTP of 258. Last time I checked mine it was about 180. Sad.

Originally Posted by MoAlpha (Post 22295558)

True, except you can make your own carbs from fat and protein and the brain only requires something like 30% glucose in the energy mix after a few days of adaptation to carbohydrate restriction. Technically, therefore, you can live on very little carbohydrate, like Shackleton's men, who survived in good health for months on a steady diet of seals and birds and then had the energy to make an arduous ocean crossing in an open boat and trek over the snow-covered spine of an island.

Originally Posted by LAJ (Post 22295523)

Yet Velo Vol was ready to throw dirt on my casket because of a couple of eggs. Protein. It's important.

Originally Posted by LAJ (Post 22295523)

Yet Velo Vol was ready to throw dirt on my casket because of a couple of eggs. Protein. It's important.

Originally Posted by Velo Vol (Post 22295567)

Just encouraging you to eat more healthfully.

Originally Posted by Velo Vol (Post 22295567)

Just encouraging you to eat more healthfully.

Originally Posted by Eric F (Post 22295574)

I enjoy everything in moderation. Including moderation.

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 22295584)

I just did a Zwift workout on the London Loop and just peeked at the leader board. The KOM? I mean, come on. I'm sure that the rider is very strong, but his 2016 ride was 18 minutes and change and his average power for the duration is indicated to be 546w.

Originally Posted by Eric F (Post 22295589)

I suspect an eBike.

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 22295596)

I would think that, in 2016, this was wildly enthusiastic zPower estimate on a dumb trainer. Whatever the case, 18min at 550w just isn't on this side of reality. I mean, if you work backwards from Wiggins' hour record (was that 440w?), you're not getting those kinds of ~20min figures.

Originally Posted by datlas (Post 22295293)

I would be super pleased with an FTP of 258. Last time I checked mine it was about 180. Sad.

Originally Posted by MoAlpha (Post 22295605)

I'm betting that's a low estimate.

Originally Posted by datlas (Post 22295612)

It's possible. That is from Zwift. And when I ride with my friends on Zwift, I am often dropped and once dropped, I can never get back. On the road, I have no problems keeping up with said friends and have no trouble dropping most (if not all) of them on the longer hills. That said, I am not "training" for anything other than fun rides. I don't want or need a power meter for my goals.

Originally Posted by datlas (Post 22295612)

It's possible. That is from Zwift. And when I ride with my friends on Zwift, I am often dropped and once dropped, I can never get back. On the road, I have no problems keeping up with said friends and have no trouble dropping most (if not all) of them on the longer hills. That said, I am not "training" for anything other than fun rides. I don't want or need a power meter for my goals.

Originally Posted by rjones28 (Post 22295585)

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 22295619)

But what's more fun than crushing souls? :foo:

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 22295596)

I would think that, in 2016, this was wildly enthusiastic zPower estimate on a dumb trainer. Whatever the case, 18min at 550w just isn't on this side of reality. I mean, if you work backwards from Wiggins' hour record (was that 440w?), you're not getting those kinds of ~20min figures.

Originally Posted by Mojo31 (Post 22295630)

What's this crushing of souls of which you speak?

Originally Posted by WhyFi (Post 22295572)

He has a point, LAJ - just think of how great you'd feel and perform on the bike if you possessed the vim and vigor of Velo Vol.