Am I ready for the Tour de Zwift?

 I'm just working towards a building phase. I was thinking of shaping up for the Zwift Games but now I think it would be fun to try the Tour since I am a former winner. Why not? Well, I missed the first race. I really wanted to do it. However, it started only at noon and I had a 1:30 appointment. Hardly enough time to race all out, shower, recover, eat, get dressed and leave. It was the most sensible thing to do. But now, I am forced to race Friday or maybe Sunday afternoon. I did a ride today, instead of the race. I had a good time under 36 minutes. Nobody would push the pace on the flat. It was a little crazy on the climbs and I had to dig really deep and burn downhill to get the front group. I was in the top five when we crested the last climb and I did a fairly good sprint, just not my best. I was just jumping in for fun. And, it was fun. But now, I want more. I want the race and see how far back could I really be? To win the overall, you have to be free to race on Mondays. I only have a few free starting with stage three. By then, I could get buried. But let's see what we can do. I'll update this page (or delete it if it goes horribly wrong.)

Stage 1 race was, well, not great. It was a very small field of 9. I held the group until that first climb and fell off. From that point, I lost time obviously because a solo rider can never match the speed of a pack. Disappointing but not unexpected. Moving on...

Stage 2 ride. This was really competitive. While the flat speeds were never very hard, I was at the front the entire race. I kept pushing the pace a bit heavy and when the final climb came, I could only surge for a minute or two. I lost about 45 seconds to the front riders and came in 10th place of 294. That is still pretty awesome. It's a very good time. Now, I have to match that in the next race. Hmm, will my legs be ready?

Stage 2 Race: Well, it is very simple to explain. Everyone had an ftp much higher than me. I lasted 18 minutes, through Dos Ane sprint and two other power surges (they really hurt and what's the point? Only two riders fell off during the ride, someone early and then myself.) I couldn't push very hard after I got dropped. I went at a medium pace, losing a minute up to the climb and then another minute on the climb as I was still gassed. The rider behind me caught up before the end, but I went hard the last 20 seconds and kept at 16 of 20 (but 2 riders didn't finish)

Stage 1 and 2 events:36:07 and 30:56 total 67:03

Stage 1 and 2 races:  37:22 and 31:41 total 69:03 (six seconds back)

Stage 3 ride today. I was well prepared and raring to go. I was full on for the first 20 minutes, but I started to suffer. The lapped riders were very confusing and I opted to follow a small group on my last lap rather than try to sprint ahead to catch the leaders. They just slipped away on the downside of the climb. I was alone, headed to the Castle climb and I caught someone that was dangling just ahead of me. Silly! Why not just work together. I beat him on the Sgurr climb anyway. I think someone passed me on the climb. It's all a bit of a blur as I was going flat out into a sprint. I finished 14 out of 400 (but one was a late join). My sprint legs came back after running this course a few days ago. That is unexpected after so much endurance training in December. I don't know if I will enter the advanced race, definitely not Wednesday. I can't do this three times in a row. I may do the Alp or I have my sights set on doing Bretagne again soon to test my five minutes power. 

Stage 3 32:10 total time 99:13

Long Distance Base Rides: Four weeks of Suffering

 I did the Alp Everest, rested almost a week, then returned with some crazy ideas. I am crazy.

Four Horsemen: Beating the 2:37 best time!

Mega Pretzel: 2:57 is 7th overall but I was flying on the climbs

Fifth place. I could go a few minutes faster, but I will never repeat this. lol.

Innsbruck KOM Attack

 This is a very tough challenging climb. But, I can take it because it isn't just up like the Alp or Ventoux (which has one little dip for 30 seconds or so). I ran this the other day and recorded all of the sections that were 10 % or higher. There's quite a bit. There's about 6 sprints at the lower half, then another in the middle, On the upper half there's a series of steps that take about three minutes with a very short respite of 4% before the final sprint. The scattered flat spots are my reprieve, where I can rest a bit.

As a background, I put in a solo effort to take this title. I did some great wattage at a steady 15 minute effort with a few power strokes and a final kick to the line. It was a level zero Aethos. But the time was 15:39. Now, I wanted to try again, but a bit smarter, harder on the steep parts.

15:39 Level one Aethos on June 3 2024. Level 5 Aethos November 26 2025....15:13 (beating Julia's remarkable 15:17 by 4 seconds!) Naturally, I had an aero power-up to seal the deal, saving it for my final attack to the line. It was fast, it was perfect. It was much harder than I expected. But, I stuck to the plan and went as hard as I could in the red sections.

Start.. 30 seconds sprint, 44 seconds, 35 seconds, 33 seconds, a long 60 seconds, 45 seconds. A bit of breathing and another 60 seconds, then the preparation for the final set of steep inclines: 24 seconds, 31 seconds, 104 seconds of endurance followed by two 20 second sprints. A lone 41 second sprint to the line. I wanted to start it sooner but I was on the verge of collapsing in pain. I saw 5:17, then 5:15. One more push to sprint harder and I came over the line at 15:13!!!

I noticed on the boards that Julia has the fastest time before my record. However, she finished in 6th place! So how did she end up in the number one slot? Hmm, someone flagged the top five times after their effort? How crass! Some of the people don't get notifications or know how to deal with flagging harassment. (and yes, some of the times were absurd but there's always a few 'flyers' just slow pedaling, sight-seeing at 402 watts average with 110 heart rate)

In the long run, this ride only matters to me. I don't really care about being faster or pacing better than anyone else. It's the goal and then reaching it. Someone will come along eventually and either beat it or cheat it. That's what happened in Makuri, after I worked so hard, so many times until I got it just perfect. Even with a level 5 Cadex, it seems impossible to beat. I am obsessive some times and I may just get it stuck in my head again. I would have to train precisely to do a seven minute all out effort, followed by 30 seconds rest, followed by 30 seconds do or die sprint. I don't know if anyone can legitimately beat the current time. Possibly drafting in a tiny race, possibly in a level 5 Tron, possibly with cheetah leg muscle implants.

This gave me a bit of training and racing stimuli. It's very important to work to some goals. I was very sore the next day, and still too tired the second day to ride. Tomorrow starts anew.

The Everest of Alp d' Huez on Zwift

 I didn't want to write about it until after I finished it. I was going to do it next week but I decided rather last minute to jump in and give it a go. I had planned to go up twice in a row (which is usually my breaking/cramping point), then take a break, relax, change clothes, eat, jump back on hours later. I even thought of doing two assaults, sleep, and do two in the morning, two in the evening, sleep, two in the morning. I know that goes against the "official" rules. But, I'm a sprinter. My legs are not built for nine hours of endurance full-gas efforts. If I am doing this, I am doing this my way. (I can do an official one some other day when I feel insane)

I will add a bunch of details. But, when I asked Emma Pouley about it, she told me, "It was the worst decision that I ever made." I basically agree. I sprained my right ankle getting off the bike after the second Alp. It only hurt when I walked on it. Yet, on the bike, it was fine. I used every single outfit I have, including one that is very tight and has an annoying seam. I got a pimple. I had bike problems, butt soreness/numbness issues. I had moments of greatness and moments when I had to just try to focus. Having a long ten minute downhill is great. I would never want to do the radio tower or the grade. You need the time to recharge a bit physically and mentally.

I rode the full Alp six times. Two times, one and a half, two times, one and almost two full times. Eight and a half in total for 8901meters uphill. I felt the best on the fourth climb. I felt strong and the power just felt easy. I finished two minutes ahead of my Holo. The fourth was way slower and the final one, I had very sore legs. I should have been in an easy gear but I kept it in the main gear I use as it seemed faster? I was afraid that once I used the small gear, that my power would evaporate. It was a bit dismal in the end. But by then, all I wanted to do was to finish. I did pedal just enough to take the 8849 to 8900 before cruising down to the start line. And no crash, no dropouts, no failing batteries. Yeah! I can't believe that I didn't give up.

Edit: It took me a week to recover before I could get motivated once again. Then I did three hard climbs: I did the Ski Lift climb which was designed for torture. It is massively steep (forget the Angrilu and some others) Then I rode the Stelvio, which is longer and has no steady rhythm, just hard and harder. Then I dared to summit both sides of Ventoux. It took over three hours. It was mentally hard but also took a lot of strength. I nearly had a PR on the Petite. The rest was dosed to survive the physical difficulty of 3100 meters. But, it is long and boring and hardly anyone on the climb. At least the Alp has a good number of riders to keep you from getting lonely.)

Edit: I just added another long ride or two. I hope to reride one or two routes where I lost the top spot.

The Orange Tour de Zwift 13 Stages

 It just sort of happened. I was bored, so I jumped into a race on Bologna. Then, I signed up for Crit City the next morning. I kept picking up the rest of the leader's lap jersey, planning to do them all in a week. So far, I have all of them except Watopia, New York, and Yorkshire. 

Did I do them all in one day? Yes, years ago. Was that insane for someone who can usually only take only an hour of racing? Hell yes. So this time, I'm not doing them all in one day. I will later fill in all of my rides. I will say, I am going full gas on all of them. (Crit City was a bit easy, I admit. I just wanted to check the box as I was in a hurry and didn't even put my shoes on.) 13 Jerseys! (They changed France Marina Sprint to forest green. France has no lap jersey unless you count Paris.

I'm just one short for my favorite...Yorkshire. I could have done it but it was getting late and I would rather do this as a full effort and not simply pedaling to get it done. I would love to do a double lap if the legs are good tomorrow. (just over 3 hours now.) Total time: 3 hours 26 minutes and 46 seconds.

Italy TT Course

Crit City  Dolphin/Bell Lap

Watopia Hilly 

Watopia Jarvis "Classic"

New York Central "Park Perimeter"

New York Prospect Park

London Loop

Richmond UCI World Course

Yorkshire UCI World Course

Innsbruck UCI World Course

Paris 

Scotland Loch Loop 

Makuri Flatland Loop

The Tour - Fall 2025

 Tour de Zwift Fall 2025 (The Unlocked Tour)

Race 1 went pretty good. I did great for about 12th or 14 minutes, then fell back at the castle climb, losing about a minute, then doing a good two minute effort on the South climb. My time of 18:15 will probably hold me back but we shall see. I could do it again but is it worth it for me? I need a better time to race as there were only 25 people in this event. I just couldn't make the bigger race in time. At least I held on to a very high-powered group.

Wow, a lot of gals have clipped the 18 minute mark. And boy, have the cheaters come out to play. There's no referee, so anything goes apparently. It's back to being the Wild West that Zwift used to be before ZADA and Elite Zwift testing. I've done it twice (and a third time just for myself). There was an older test and then it changed a bit. Both times, I feel I did good, just always tire in the long test after a few super hard sprints and one and five minute turns. 

Race 2 went good for only five minutes. I fell off a small group and didn't know why. It felt like the brakes were on. The next day, I felt terrible. I guess I was fighting a bug or something, and hungry, and tired. Wednesday, I did the long stage and felt pretty good. I don't know if I will do a late points race Friday or maybe do Stage 2 on Saturday or Sunday. Small groups are just much slower overall and there is no support when you fall back. Almost every rider dropped, drops out of the race. It's no big deal. I'm okay with knowing that I'm not going to win the overall.

Race 3 was not too good either. I did great for the first lap only, with three more to go plus the Sgurr North Face. I just rode it like a time trial with a time that proves I was not drafting, lol. I'm sure I could keep up in a B squad. Maybe tomorrow.

So the total women in Unlocked Tour was 30 in open with 6 returning in race 2. The Unlocked Advanced had 5 with only me in race 2. One was clearly extreme weight doping. Three riders are male accounts. Jamie, I do not know but 377 for twenty minutes and 744 for a minute (which would get a world record in women's kilo event and probably medal in the men's side too.) Come on. Where's the competition. I should have ridden in the B cat. My ego bit off more than I can chew. Maybe I could redo some races in Standard. But, with so few involved, it isn't much of a challenge. Nobody takes pride when they take third in a series with only six or seven in the mix.

Race four and five were about the same. I keep falling off on Brooklyn Bridge. I have lost my zeal for writing about this Tour. I am the only one to finish the Advanced Race series. There is a 60 year old male who looks about 90 kg racing at 60 kgs doing almost 6 w/kg who could potentially make-up the one stage he missed. He has since changed his picture from himself to a picture of a squirrel, but he still shows photos of himself working out at the gym. He's very muscular. LoL. She, to be politically correct. 

Thank you South Park

Fall Training and Racing?

 I enjoyed the sprint competition so much that the racing bug has been returning, even though I upgraded to an A due to some very hard but short efforts. I don't mind except in some races I know I will get dropped from the gun with two choices, either finish last and turn my score down, or drop out to avoid a long solo ride to the finish. Boring or stupid...hmm. Race score seems very random, with many B riders having a higher score than me? Weird, right? 

New York racing three stages over one week. Sounds great, IF there are time slots that work for me. A few series are set an hour too early or four hours too late with nothing in the middle. That makes getting a Wednesday race nearly impossible. But we will see how it shapes up. November 24-30. Got it.

Started with New York Highline Reverse. The start line is wrong and starts about 100 meters before the start line. Since I started at 90 meters to go, my time said 20 minutes. I was saying, What? I was pushing the whole time. So, I had to create a private segment at the proper line which shows my time at 15:07, a second best effort ever! I will attempt again for the official record book, but I will have to start my sprint way before the line. Eric, you goofed this one up a bit. We will see if I can better this time, at least under 15 minutes.

I did Muir Mountain, taking a 2 minute break before the radio tower and 13 minutes at the bottom of the hill. My moving time was just at an hour. I am riding to upgrade a few other bikes but only as I have the money over 50 million. I just upped my Canyon. I am also on my Diamondback tt (because of the colors) The Canyon has the Academy pink design. I also have my Gravel Crux waiting. (for a race that may never happen) I like my Pinnerelo time trial bike also and may spend money on it. This way I have a reason to ride Ventoux for a 100,000 effort. All others only get 50,000.

Monday starts Camp Baseline which I don't need to do other than new shoes and a few points. We will see what they offer. I hope for a portal climb also before the New York expansion. 

I was tired but grabbed my bike and hit the Alp. I only went hard for the first half (20:39). I plan another ride for only the top half soon.(21:13) If I have good power, I will ride the Highline again. But today, I was still a bit sore from the last workout.

Training/Testing Camp 5 @ 838 (very good) 1@ 501 (very high) 5@ 323 (good, maybe?)  20@ xxx Results by ZP 100%, 100%, 90%, and 70%

Highline Reverse np 291 avg power 268 and officially 2nd place after an almost unbeatable effort at first (a big Bravo, girl!)