Any cyclists? - UKGSer now on Strava
- Thread starter MasterDabber
- Start date
Doing Fred Whitton this year, need to get my arse in shape, lose the beer gut and make it over Hardknott without walking.
I need a mineral water
I need a mineral water
Anyone on here using Zwift?
Fred Whitton!!! Possibly the toughest sportive in the UK. Respect, and good luck with the training. And those hills would be tough to walk up in cycling shoes.
Joined strava
MasterDabber
Registered user
Welcome inda... that's 50 of us now.
Thanks mate. Just started cycling again.
I’m Ruislip West London, might be looking for cycling buddies. Sure fire way of getting out on the bike.
I’m Ruislip West London, might be looking for cycling buddies. Sure fire way of getting out on the bike.
Walowiz
Registered user
I'm looking into this too.
After seeing the difference its made to a mate's cycling and he's only had it a few months - I'm definitely going to go down this route. Have yet to have a go on Zwift, but looks good from what I've seen.
Bit more expensive for me to get into, as I've only got mountain bikes, so I'll have to go buy a road / cycloccross bike, and the turbo trainer and zwift, I'm assuming turbo trainers work with disc wheel setups.
The other virtual ride setup is BigRingVR, which I know is used by at least one of the guys in the ukgser strava group.
BigringVR is okay but it's gets a bit lonely to be honest. Zwift on the other hand is very interactive and the training programmes are first class.
Although a smart trainer will give you total virtual immersion, you don't need one. I used a dumb trainer on Zwift for twelve months before I made the switch.
Depending on the model trainer you decide to go with, you need to check that it is disc compatible.
Although a smart trainer will give you total virtual immersion, you don't need one. I used a dumb trainer on Zwift for twelve months before I made the switch.
Depending on the model trainer you decide to go with, you need to check that it is disc compatible.
MasterDabber
Registered user
I guess it depends on what you want from any of the programs. If you want a more social, head to head racing then zwift is probably the one to go for. I haven't tried it myself (and guess I should sometime) but I prefer doing real rides on real routes with lots of different routes.
I use BringVR a lot and I'ved used it to prepare me for some of the big climbs that I planned (and have done) in real life.....
The Tourmalet - a fabulous ride and everything I expected of it after doing the virtual ride.
Luz Ardiden - just beautiful and hard work but worth it.
Hautacam - a right bastard of a climb
All of these I'd done virtually and the real life experience was very close
I like the way the mentality of doing these big climbs means you just have to stick at it with little or no relief for a long time. It's a mental thing as much as physical.
While I agree with some of what you say, and lve used BigRingVR a lot when it was in beta format, yes it's great to experience sone of the classic climbs but you are still alone and have nothing to gauge your efforts against other then the numbers on the screen But it also depends on the smart trainer you have and the percentage of gradient that it will replicate.
Some will only do 7.5% no matter what it is in real life, while others will do 25%
But you can try Zwift for free, but it's so much more than just racing or social for that matter. There are a mass of training programme for all sorts of differing training requirements. Sone are nothing short of brutal!!
That said the racing is very good if bloody hard work And it certainly takes you out of your comfort zone.
Some will only do 7.5% no matter what it is in real life, while others will do 25%
But you can try Zwift for free, but it's so much more than just racing or social for that matter. There are a mass of training programme for all sorts of differing training requirements. Sone are nothing short of brutal!!
That said the racing is very good if bloody hard work And it certainly takes you out of your comfort zone.
MasterDabber
Registered user
All fair points BTBR...
Btw, you can add other riders to ride (race) against on BRVR which are represented on the elevation profile as coloured dots plus time deltas and w/kg out put in a seperate window. Also you can add a "coach" set at whatever ftp you choose to race against. The coach will do the whole ride at a constant ftp. So, this works in different ways depending on your personal strengths..
eg. lightweight (like me) you may do well against the coach but lose out on flat/downhill sections where maintaining higher outputs is often the strength of the bigger, heavier rider.
Btw, you can add other riders to ride (race) against on BRVR which are represented on the elevation profile as coloured dots plus time deltas and w/kg out put in a seperate window. Also you can add a "coach" set at whatever ftp you choose to race against. The coach will do the whole ride at a constant ftp. So, this works in different ways depending on your personal strengths..
eg. lightweight (like me) you may do well against the coach but lose out on flat/downhill sections where maintaining higher outputs is often the strength of the bigger, heavier rider.
Yes l tried it by adding others, you can do the same with TDA from Tacx, so yes it does improve it.
Rouvy is another one to try.
Every now and again l will go back to BRVR just for a change but now that Zwift gives you the choice of two world maps its much better.
Watophia
London
Innsbruck
Richmond
New York
And l understand there is another one in the making.
But it does get very crowded on there, the other night there were over 9000 riders on the Watophia course!
Rouvy is another one to try.
Every now and again l will go back to BRVR just for a change but now that Zwift gives you the choice of two world maps its much better.
Watophia
London
Innsbruck
Richmond
New York
And l understand there is another one in the making.
But it does get very crowded on there, the other night there were over 9000 riders on the Watophia course!
What I don't like about Zwift is the ability to cheat in the racing. So your FTP is based on your weight and what your power to weight ratio is.
You have to manually add your weight in your profile, and when you see some of them going up the climbs it's simply not possible.
You have to manually add your weight in your profile, and when you see some of them going up the climbs it's simply not possible.
I joined up this morning. 
Not been on a push bike for the best part of 25 years so I won’t be making an appearance on the leader board anytime soon!
. Just gonna ease my way back to fitness.
Not been on a push bike for the best part of 25 years so I won’t be making an appearance on the leader board anytime soon!
. Just gonna ease my way back to fitness.
MasterDabber
Registered user
I joined up this morning.
Not been on a push bike for the best part of 25 years so I won’t be making an appearance on the leader board anytime soon!
Welcome Udders... as you say, just take it steady to start with and .... enjoy!
Welcome Udders. What matters is making a start, distance and speed come later. I like the “back to fitness” that gives you an advantage over those of us who were never fit in the first place. 
degsey
Registered user
Joined up
Similar threads
- Sticky
