Zwift - Cruzbike Activities (races and group rides)

[RojoRacing]

Did another race last night and netted another win over a rider who even though I opened a 10 second gap on the first climb he hung on tough till the bitter end and kept me honest. It really feels like evenings on the west are the worst time to find other people to race against, it was much easier in the afternoon when I got off work 3 hours earlier. That makes 4 race wins in a row but you don't get faster by winning you get faster chasing other who win.

 

[RojoRacing]

How tall are you?

 

[CruzLike]

interesting video Rojo
I went from being fat shamed at 210lbs to now include height shamed at 6'1". That now explains why I'm so slow and you are so fast.

Okay, just a little bit of it.

 

[RojoRacing]

Yeah I’m 5’10” but identify as 4’8”.

When I was adjusting my weight a few week back to do the stage 6 group ride I noticed my height was wrong. I know I set it correct originally but somehow it got change at some point. I don’t remember if it was tall or short, but if it was short I guess I should have left it.

 

[Pollock]

Cool! I can blame my lack of speed on my 6’ frame, not just the 190# and lack of power

 

[Pollock]

Calling all Zwift racers!

I see many of us on Zwift at different times. It would be great if we had a way to compete against each other...

There are a few race formats that allow us to compete across racer categories. The ZHR Hound & Hare is one such race.

There are two weekly races that could make sense.

• Sunday’s @ 1PM ET / 10AM PT
• Wednesday’s @ 7:25PM ET / 4:25PM PT

The Wednesday time is viable mostly for East coasters and the Sunday time might be better across time zones.

So, @CruzLike , @trplay , @LarryOz , @Jim Parker , @RojoRacing ; any interest is racing other CruzBikers across divisions?

 

[RojoRacing]

Maybe sunday 10am, it depends on if I want to explore more of my local area after 160 miles planned for tomorrow.

 

[Pollock]

Hopefully we will see you Rojo. If not this weekend, perhaps next!

 

[LarryOz]

There are two weekly races that could make sense.

• Sunday’s @ 1PM ET / 10AM PT
• Wednesday’s @ 7:25PM ET / 4:25PM PT

Sorry guys, all those day and times I am generally at a church function.
I pretty much only ride from 5-7am (longer on Sat) if I can't ride outside.
I work during the day - 8-5'sh, and am usually busy most evening. Sorry.
...
Trplay - Not that I don't think it would be a good idea for all of us bent riders to ride together in Zwift. I think it is great no matter how we all get together. But how will the Zwift community know that we are recumbent riders? I sure wish Zwift would create and allow a recumbent in their lineup. I was part of the Beta testing group and asked them back then to consider it. But I do not think it will ever happen because if they did it correctly the bike would smear all the other bikes for speed to power ratio (like it does in the real world). I think all the other upright makers that have bikes in Zwift have already put appropriate pressure on Zwift to make sure that does not happen.

 

[RojoRacing]

Sorry guys, all those day and times I am generally at a church function.
I pretty much only ride from 5-7am (longer on Sat) if I can't ride outside.
I work during the day - 8-5'sh, and am usually busy most evening. Sorry.
...
Trplay - Not that I don't think it would be a good idea for all of us bent riders to ride together in Zwift. I think it is great no matter how we all get together. But how will the Zwift community know that we are recumbent riders? I sure wish Zwift would create and allow a recumbent in their lineup. I was part of the Beta testing group and asked them back then to consider it. But I do not think it will ever happen because if they did it correctly the bike would smear all the other bikes for speed to power ratio (like it does in the real world). I think all the other upright makers that have bikes in Zwift have already put appropriate pressure on Zwift to make sure that does not happen.

Yup Larry's right, no one is ever going to know what kind of bike the Recumbent Dork was riding when he out sprinted them to take that win, no one.

 

[RojoRacing]

technically zwift already had a bent in game even if it was only for a limited time, can you remember what style bent it was?

 

[Pollock]

Larry, I totally understand. Ride time can be hard to find. I only ride at 5AM if I commute to work

I would love just to have a bent bike in game with no change in handling / aero. We are all indoors, so aero effects are simulated only anyways.

 

[RojoRacing]

There are a variety of reasons people use Zwift. I think using the term “correctly” as used above is a mistake. This implies Zwift is suppose to match outdoor road cycling. Road cycling is the one thing Zwift is not. Zwift is a huge cycling community connected by the apps fantastic fitness tool. The beauty of Zwift is you can bring the machine that you want. Surely of all riders, those riding recumbents are open to this concept. If you want a lower cda advantage earn the tron bike. Lots of things aren’t “fair” in Zwift. Sandbagging, weight doping, un-calibrated trainers. But if you don’t get bogged down in those weeds you’ll find the good far exceeds these shortfalls. Its a great place for recumbents. You can join now or join later but at some point its inevitable. Well maybe not

You're not implying that recumbent riders are practicing some kind of reverse bikeism against zwift because they can't have a virtual bent in game are you? That would be hypocritical of them right?

 

[RojoRacing]

Looks like Jason has signed up for the race so we have two in the D cat and one in the A cat. We need some C and B racers along with a pot full more D's to help josh and myself stay in front of Jason. If you don't ride at least drop in on discord and heckle a minute or two. Wonder if we can trick Jason into adding another 150 pounds to his weight?

I already add 150 miles to my weekend, that and your 12 min head start is all you're getting

 

[RojoRacing]

Hey @tryplay do you also feel the gradient changes in NY seem a little off compared to the other world locations? It's like they are extra abrupt and down right off time with the NEO changing too late for some and not releasing the resistance for others for far too long. It's the only location I reduce my trainer setting to about 70% to smooth things out.

 

[RojoRacing]

I'm so tired, I think I'll do my part to make sure we catch all the other groups and let someone else take the win, I just want to go take a nap.

 

[RojoRacing]

How close of a race could you have between riders the caliber of myself and guys like @trplay? Well how about after 55mins Trplay beating me and everyone in the A race by a mere 1 second. Yes Henry finished 3rd overall, second in class and only 1 second ahead of a hard charging group of 12 A racers.

 

[benphyr]

I tried, but by the time I figured out that my power meter was connected to the wrong device and needed to be disconnected and restart Zwift... D was gone, C and B were imminent and I had not changed nor had shoes, then A was gone. And I would probably be be low C/High D anyway. Next time...

 

[Pollock]

The ride started off fast for the cat D riders and seemed to stay that way! I think I spent most of the time at 2.3+W/kg which is way faster than I normally ride even in races. The course had a few hills that ground me down after a while. I think I held on for about 30 minutes or so and then got dropped on a 10% incline. All the sudden I went from in the pack to 40 seconds behind!

For the race results, take a look at https://zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=157178

Now, for the fun bit. Hanging with stronger riders pays off! I push my FTP from 181 -> 194W! I think that is the biggest gain I have seen at a single time since joining Zwift 14 months ago. I no longer recall where I started, but I think my original FTP was around 135-140W. The races with @trplay have really paid off! Let’s see if linking an image will work.

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[Pollock]

I tried, but by the time I figured out that my power meter was connected to the wrong device and needed to be disconnected and restart Zwift... D was gone, C and B were imminent and I had not changed nor had shoes, then A was gone. And I would probably be be low C/High D anyway. Next time...

So, same time next week! We will be looking for you. Don’t forget to jump on Discord with us.