Zee vs. Zwift Games

 The challenge? Ride both sprint races as a points race format. Total sprint time in two stages.

Makuri Madness has four sprint sections, all recorded by the 1000th of a second.

Scotland Smash has three sprints, short, medium, and long.

How is Zee doing in the standings?

Makuri.... First in three of the sprints and third in the boardwalk sprint. (behind a flying Bates and a hot Nyquist)

Scotland...(on neutralized bike) very close to my best time on Brae, a great sprint, and my best on Clyde ever (the third best of the year) It's some very tough segments. All of them are best in a draft. However, if you are outsprinting everyone else, then your nose is in the wind most of the time. I feel pretty good about my times here.

I don't think anyone can come close to my Mikuri total....81.782 (I could do a little better on the Alley. I started to give up, then finished with a time faster than I expected. My previous best had great watts but I started my sprint too late and was too slow at the start line.)

Scotland time (50, 24, 12.7) in total is 86.741 (only my final sprint could be better. Sunday race maybe) Edit: Yes, Sunday's time was 12.241, half a second faster. In doing so, I took the best time of the week. My previous time had me in fifth place after the Elite finals. So, I knew what I had to do, hit the start line at 60 kph, and I did. Smash!

My Zwift Games total (with a chance to do one more race on each course) is.....168.523! then: 168.018!

I can't wait to see how the elite racers do in the final. I'll be watching.

Wow, the Zwift Games Sprint was wild. Several riders making the basic mistakes, used their power-up at the wrong time, started their sprint too early and others, too late. Several big attacks that just wasted energy and cost them that precious match when they really needed it. I saw Lou Bates attack super hard and I just shouted, "No, way too early" She was hurting bad when the start line appeared and Kate tore up the sprint and got her right before the line. Lou did 10 (TEN, not a typo) w/kg for a minute, which would put her sprint in the top ten of the men's race. That effort would have won the final sprint. I was really rooting for her today. Some others were missing (Langham, Verharren, Gamst.)

I noticed a huge number of riders did not run in the practice races this week except for Bates and Van Houeling. No Fuhrer, Guerra, McCarthy. Gardner would have known that her attack would fail, she came in 42 or 43 place. Although, it worked in race two. You had to be in the top 10 to make the final. Kate came in tenth and only made the final because of bonus points for the early Mikuri sprint. (But that sprint probably took some teeth out of her Scotland finish) KK Kulchinsky was the sixth place finish (5th and seventh) who had to sit out the final sprint lap. Guerra also took a bonus on the brae climb.K Fuhrer took bonus also with only a ninth and fifth finish, yet made the final. Soderstrom had 7 and 2, while Holdcroft did best with a 3 and 4 finish. 

When the dust settled, I took a look at the "key segments"from the entire week of Zwift Games 2025.

1. Tide Pool Reverse:    my time (19.268)   McCarthy (19.032)  I placed second behind Kate

2. Boardwalk Sprint:     my time (14.937)   McCarthy(13.690)   I placed 24 place

Total                               Kryder (34.205)    McCarthy (32.722)

3. Brae Climb                my time (50.020)   McCarthy (50.768) I placed first, Kate was 6 place

4. Champion's Sprint      my time (12.241)  McCarthy (12.420) I placed first, Kate was 2 place

Total                                Kryder  (62.261)   McCarthy (63.188)

Sprint Total                      Kryder 96.466      McCarthy 95.910

I didn't know at the time, so I attacked them all and...

#1 time...Alley Sprint Reverse Zwift Games

#1 time...Tower Sprint Zwift Games

#1 time...Clyde Kicker Zwift Games (I had this one by a huge margin...3 seconds)

#1 time...Champions Sprint Zwift Games

#1 time...Brakeaway Brae Zwift Games solo effort at 499 watts and won over Fuhrer 0.13 seconds

#2 time Tidepool Sprint Zwift Games 19 seconds at 11 w/kg, my best effort of the week.

It felt like old times, like 2018 or so. Thanks all for making me go so hard. It was a great week!

This is (as expected) one of the times where I got beat by McCarthy (four sprints and only 0.546 second) But then, she beat all the top riders. 

And then, right before I went to bed, I thought about something.....make-up races in two weeks. I just need a number to beat on Boardwalk Sprint. And that magic number is 14.380.....And now, it's stuck in my head. Why not? One more chance at glory. One more chance to shine. One last sprint. 

...........to be continued!

 I got two QOM's this week. One was Scotland, just beating Etienne by a hair. We're the only two under 12 seconds at 11.2 and 11.4. But, after the Big Spin is a favorite of mine, Sasquath Sprint. I bettered my time by two seconds by sprinting full force before the line carrying a lot of speed. Boom 19 seconds. Only two guys have broken into 18. A lot of 19's. It was a blast and good for my ego, if I do decide to attack two more ZG25 sprints.

January 2025

 I'm still working on my Climb Portals. I hit over one million meters climbed on January 8 2025, I was once the leader in climbing, but I focused on sprinting for a while and fell behind with K Kulchinsky getting way ahead of me. Good for her. I have to do my thing and not worry what others are doing. It isn't a competition after all. I'm also happy for Cat in hitting 300,000 km of distance. I still have a long way to go to hit 100,000. (I;m only reaching 80K this month)

December Madness

It is a bit crazy, mad, to be cranking out maximum watts on every climb portal. I have done almost all of the short ones. I rode Willunga Hill today, smashing the best time by almost a minute. My former time was 11:19 and today at full power, 292 watts, I put in a 10:31. I rode the last 7 minutes at 300 watts.  

Next, an attack on Beleach or whatever it is called. I only know two things, only a few have cracked the thirty minute mark and foremost, that I'm just chasing Gardner. Illi is at 24, Asa at 26, Jenny at 29. I'm aiming at 26 with hopes of 25. If I finish at one minute or less from Illi's time, it will be a victory. I have a few Q's indeed. But, none of those climbs were held by Illi. There is one climb held by Verharen, also out of reach. We'll see how close I can get tomorrow. It is a climb with a fiendish finish. We need a few feathers.

Bealach na Ba is a very tough climb with a bunch of steep pitches. My eta timer was not working on this climb. I had a great start, strong and fast. But, then it got to be a struggle as the red segments loomed up ahead. I tried my best. My power was virtually 250 watts with a little respite here and there. But, I couldn't recoup my power in the final four sections where I really wanted to shine. At least I gave it a good shot, finishing in third overall. However, I trailed Asa by almost three minutes and Gardner by almost five. So then, third place is not too comforting. 28:57 

Honda is the last of the under 20 climbs. I had a real battle to keep it under 18, despite a fairly good start. The climb is almost all orange. I was going under 17 when I really hit the wall and had to recoup before the line. I did a fairly good 17:05. Second place is at 17:04 (Really?) I rode at 263 watts, just good enough, but below my great day potential. Illi has the bar set pretty high at 15:19. Her times are real but super human. I could do better, maybe even hit 16, but 15 seems out of reach. All part of the game and part of the hunt, right?

Today, I took a break from long climbs to do some testing. My 10 second sprint was 823. Anything over 800 is great for me. I ran a one minute, three times. The second attempt stopped with 15 seconds to go. My legs were shot from the first effort....482 followed by a 501 minute! I'm back, like my 504 that I ran in August for the Academy pro workout. That's pretty sharp. I may give it one more attack, just not sure when. Then on another day, my ten minute power was 282 (for me about average). I just felt weak instead of strong. I didn't eat most today, just so busy. I paid the price. I can get close to 300. It just wasn't to be today. I did 289 for the first five minutes. Sad emoji.😞😞😞😞😞😞😞 

Next is the 20-30 minute climbs. I'm missing the Platz. The Ordino was not full gas, Negra was done after a race, and Peyresourdes should be better wattage than 245.But, I went for the combo Turbie and Eze, doint the Turbie in 22:34 at 253 watts. Then onto the Eze at 268 watts in 5:18. The total ride at 35:01 was a great time as I would have been happy at 36 flat. I hit the finish hard barely finishing in a heap at  and the Q! Hopefully, Illi won't ride this anytime soon. She probably would cut it down under 33. She's just that darn good.

Did a one x 19 effort, aiming at 293 (10 minute pace) and higher. I averaged 318 (310 with two strong efforts to finish). I also want to do some sprint repeats at 500 watts and work toward 520 goal.

Eight Year Anniversary on Zwift

 From humble beginnings to high level racer and back. It has been quite the ride. Leading group workouts, winning a few titles, working a bit for Zwift, beating some of the best, over-training, super early racing, it has all been some of the best times. Right now, I'm still working out vigorously but without a clear goal. I have done about all I can on the Alp. The truth is, it is just a bit too long for me. On a great day, yes, I can race the Alp with the best of them. I reached my goal. Really, I was thrilled by Illi's stomp on the Alp. Anyone that can beat her time is probably tricking their ride. Zwift has exposed a few riders over the years. I can't reveal their names, one has a jacked meter, we know that for a fact. There are so many people with wattage data infractions, just totally impossible wattage. Strava doesn't seem to care.(Honestly, why should they worry about virtual worlds.) But, it is sometimes frustrating when you should be Qom or at least top three.

 I was working on my portals, even though nobody else is doing that. So, it is just me trying to see which ones I can put under 20, under 30, and under 60 minutes. When I get a faster bike, maybe I will try the Epic to go under 20 or my Makuri Q that got stolen by a cheat. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does. I worked extremely hard on that one just to reclaim it from a different cheater. They just coast along at either 35 kg's or push at 399 watts steady uphill and down. Of course, Zwift can put up that "Oh no, you must have missed your calling" warning and keep that person off the leaderboards or give that little triangle cone. But, guess what? It still counts as 'legit' on Strava. At least, Rouvy has implemented a good solution. (Occasionally, a ride slips through the crack but that happens on Zwift portal 50 percent climbs as well.)

I'm at 984,000 meters climbing (plus 50,000 Rouvy), so I will hit the zwift million soon. I am just catching up on my portal climbs. I skipped a few and I did some just at tempo to race the descent (Hey, it's a thing in some areas, lol.) But, you can not race down if you put in a pr on the climb. Why? Because if you go too fast on the downhill, Strava computers will track your speed and flag your ride. I hit 111 kph by sprinting down a steep section and that's what happens. So, lesson learned. 

Today was great. I was just a half second slower than the leader on Domancy portal. Thrilled. Too bad I didn't get one more feather. I also did a 786 for ten second sprint but my file didn't save? I still got a picture. But, I may go again. I ran my 7 or 8 gear, that's 50 x 14 I think. So cool. One more ride to close out the month. I still need Honda, Crow and maybe Willamunga to bring down my times.

Finally got the Mary climb under thirty minutes. It seemed so long at the half-way point. Then, the final section was all red. I just kept hoping the peak was closer, but I made it, just barely. I was really our of gas, just a few seconds burst before fading. I don't really want to do this one again, ever. But, maybe that is why I should. It is a half hour time trial for me. Good enough. November is finished. Eight years of pain and joy.

Love you all.

Zee takes on Xert

 Let's see what this AI training tool can do.

At first it is telling me to try my six minute max to top 296. That sounds hard. I have a new workout to try (if it loads to Zwift as promised). 

I've noticed that the daily recommended ride can be strange, often not working toward my goals. I did manage to find a good workout or two, but you must schedule when to do that ride. If you look for it the next day, it will have disappeared and you will have to search for it, then reschedule that for that day. In other words, a pain in the tushie.

Some workouts seem too easy (way too low) and some seem way too hard (too many repetitions at a high level). Either it thinks I am super human with instant recovery or it is , like others, suggesting rides that healthy young men can do.

I did have a great ride on a short climb and took second place. 275 for 12 minutes is pretty good for me.

I still have a few more weeks, but I don't think I would pay for an Ai library of workouts. Just upload and review your best ride of every month. That should do it.

Another day...and the wrong workout was there. I scheduled a workout but it never appeared, even though the app said it was ready and there on Zwift. So, I did my own version of it mentally, without Xert. It was more of my own that their workout. Now, I'm taking this work into the Galibier. (but Zwift has the South road when the North road is where all of the excitement is. On Rouvy, I grabbed second place behind of course, Illi Gardner. To me, that's a big victory. (there is a very limited amount of people on Rouvy) But, I will be ready for this. Then, I plan to attempt an all out six minute climb because Xert says I am one of the best in this field. (What would I have to do in a minute to impress them? I'm still a great minute rider and can pretty much win this as an event. (Except the holy trinity of McCarthy, Fuhrer, and Guerra)

Yesterday I had a great ride and Xert said so, but didn't say why? Was it my sprint or my 20 minute effort to finish the Galibier with a Qom? Doesn't say. But, I averaged 260 for 24 minutes. I could have done a bit more if I had more power boosts or red zones. It was mostly orange with just a few short yellow and blue sections. I have ridden most of the climbs. However, I rode some at threshold just to race the down climb. (Crazy, I know). Partly, the reason is if I race to the top, then race to the bottom, a flag for going too fast on the downhill will also flag your entire ride. (Supposedly, you can cut the ride in half and resubmit the climb only part, but that sounds a bit too much. The one time, I just resolved to wait a week and redo that climb.

Now, looking over my climb history, I have a lot of hills to ride at full effort. I have three short climbs, 5 middle climbs and 5 big climbs. I'll never get done. I won't hit my million meters this year because I spent 3 months on Rouvy. Otherwise I would be well over my goal this year. I think I did close to 50K on Rouvy climbing all of the Vuelta climbs.

My final vote on Xert? Needs to be a whole lot better. AI can not do what a real life coach can do. The designers have not polished their product before release and have added nothing to warant a huge price increase. Sorry. This isn't half as good as Training Plans was. Training Plans seemed to die because they refused to lower their price which could have grown their customer base ten fold. They were stuck on this, "We need to make this much profit from the number of current subscribers." Well, now you know.

My Return to Zwift October 10

 I'm coming back.

Rouvy is ending October 4th. Perhaps, I will write a bit on that later. I don't have much to recommend or much excitement to tell about. It has very limited Strava segments. My Whoosh and IndiVelo have zero.

I have returned to Zwift, despite the high cost. I'll take a few months off each year and save my money to pay for 9 months. I rode the Madone Wednesday and will either ride a portal or the Alp Friday. I may do a Academy race of two. I'm not sure yet. I should focus on some workouts, with a few time trials or climbs as my goal. I would reconsider the Alp with a new lighter bike. I'm sure it will only get a few seconds faster. lol.

Friday: A massive attack on Chinilion Portal with some of my best power in two years or so. I was cruising at 260 instead of 240 on this shortish 20 minute climb. I had the goal of breaking 19 minutes. I tried not to look, but I was hitting it hard at the start to aim at 18 minutes (in case I started to fade toward the end) But I actually had a powerful finish at 290 for the final six minutes dipping down to under 17:30. I finished at 277 watts (PR is 282 years ago when I almost made it to finals) with a time of 17:21.

I have two rides on Belle Filles at 25 minutes and one just under 24 (I think I had 7 power-ups which saved about a minute). I just set a pr on the Perysourdes too, at 26:25 for a new Q.

What lies ahead? 

Zwift Academy 2024 To be or not to be?

 I really expected the Academy to be a late in the year, do a bit of training and maybe a few races to enjoy the Academy. I have raced and competed all out the last few years and while it was very rewarding (almost making the final selection), it was tough as anything. I trained heavily before the Academy in order to score well. Pretty much, I peaked and had the top spot or two in sprint and long sprints. There are a few that are hard or nearly impossible to beat. Guerra, Verharen, Van Howeling, Fuhrer, KK, Asa B, and Etienne, plus a few pros who drop in for fun. Actually, they are eligible if they cancel their 2025 contract. (although not fair to allow in semi-pro competition.)

So, I had a great minute effort today. I'm going to practice it a few more times before Day 1. It is hard to step down. I may go down fighting. I lost the longer segment, over a minute sprint to Fuhrer last year but won the short sprint over GG and KF. ( I had higher watts but a slower time on Libby Hill. Lot of drafting on Richmond's Libby Hill.) I really shine in a 25 second sprint. So, I have a 480 and a 500 in the bag, which is good enough but I know GG can top that if she trained for it. When you train to do a two hour race, your sprint and one minute power will suffer. Fortunately, I never have to worry about an hour race. Lol, the Alp is as long as I dare to race now and even that is a long stretch.

The Academy workouts are just timed tests and will not improve anyone's fitness. I'm not inclined to do all of them. Also, a time trial of 30 minutes on Ventoux sounds pretty boring. I may do it. But, I could just do it solo since it is a time trial anyway. Why bother?

I'm still on Rouvy, joined a 21 stage Vuelta 2024 challenge. A little boring but a lot of climbing to do including three two hour stages. Can I do it? I barely have enough days to finish. I already have a fast bike. But, it is hard to turn down a real challenge after doing Zwift challenges. I'm just not sure about those three two hour stages. Seriously?

Update: Put in a 489 watt one minute effort, followed by 606 meter climbed on Ventoux in 30 minutes. I'm satisfied with the 600 club. I really had to sprint that last minute to hit that target. Maybe, I will try another stab at it in October. I still want to hit my 500. I know on good legs, I can top it.

Finally, had a good run at the one minute power. I just sailed along and saw 497 as the time counted down. I hit 500 with just a little to go and then the power started to go and I had the fight to keep up the power. I just made the minute mark to complete 504!

In the Vuelta, I'm still going strong. 13 done and 8 to go. Three more weeks to finish. I did two of the long stages now. I had to do one twice because nearing the finish on the final climb, the power when out and in Rouvy, you can rejoin an incomplete ride...but it doesn't count toward Strava or Rouvy. So I reran it and went harder on the first big climb, shaving off five minutes, 20 minutes through the valley and then another big climb.

I can't wait to ride the Alp again. Seems like a long time ago. ( I forgot that I did grab the Rouvy title by breaking the 44 minute barrier.) I would rather do it on Zwift which is shorter and faster)

Tomorrow is the 51 km stage with a short 10-12 minute climb. But after an hour of riding comes a 15 km mountain with 748 meters of climbing. The Qom is the last half of the climb looking to get under 25 minutes. Then, die, I mean dive into an ice bath. Then a few more climbing stages and onto the grand finale. I can't wait to finish the Rouvy Vuelta. Diablo is the right title.

Winner-Stage 12 Manzeneda! I planned to ride a modest pace and draft the first hour before hitting the long climb. But, I started going deep on all the uphill parts. I was up by 1:23 then only about 12 seconds but blasted the last part of the climb to finish 51 seconds ahead. I put in a long hard five minutes to finish. I just couldn't believe how smooth the climb was going, There was a false flat section that I could rest for over a minute, then try to lift the pace to the max (well, after an hour and twenty minutes a deep five was at 265 watts instead of 280 but that's how it goes) Call it 3:30 to finish on top. It has been a great week. Now, I have three stages plus the bumpy final stage. With my overall time, I can afford not too worry about how I will finish. But, I am planning to do it just like today. Hit hard when it goes steep and stay in the draft on the flats. I will update before the finale.

Getting near the end of the Vuelta Challenge and all is going as planned. I am hoping to finish in the top ten. But, I'm sure many people have not finished all stages yet. So far, 90 have finished out of 10,000. How many can get it done, even with extending the deadline two more weeks? Update: 11,000 people have joined with 260 finishers. I have only the last stage to finish. I think two of the last four stages, I am in the top ten overall. How is that possible? (Not a lot of depth in the field really) I know some are putting in a fury of effort. But, a good number of the top finishers are pretty old (and unlikely to ride at 6 w/kg even downhill,) It isn't a real competition, just fun for sure. But, it feels good to come from Zwift as a former champion to Rouvy to challenge even the overall leaders. There's a few gals I would like to ride with, but that isn't an option on Rouvy. It is what it is, pedaling to the sight of a recorded video.

Vuelta Final Stage! I finished in 7th overall! (probably shouldn't count first place- unrealistic wattage) 19:32:29 Hurray!