Paris and Montmartre

 I ran Montmartre climb a few times, planned an attack and went for it, getting the QOM at 2:15. After a few days there was some times better than mine (sketchy times at best, way too much to be real but) away I went again. I did some strong training and instead of attacking the next ride, I went right into it. I went hard for a minute or so then into sprint mode. I had to slow for a few seconds then sprinted the last 40 seconds (felt like I was dying but I was too afraid of not trying. To my surprise, I ran a QOM 2:05 with 380 watts. I know I can trim a few seconds with the right pacing and power.

Today my workout was 5,4,3,2 with full rest then 4. 5-262 4-268 3-276 2-289 and 4@ 296.

The Last Hurrah

 Is it possible to stage a 60 second power comeback? I think it is still possible. It would be better if I had a definite date in mind. But, I need a goal to focus on, so be it. I'm also working to qualify for a Canyon Halo Bike. (September 1 is the goal). I'm not sure what the Tour de France will bring to the game this year. But, I wouldn't mind a few new Portals, if they seem interesting. (Someone at Zwift said there will be new Portals as they are already finished: Telegraph, Galibier's other side, Croix de Fer, and Serenne) The Zwift Challenge will be to ride them over four consecutive days. Perhaps, I will only ride to mediocre levels, but it can't hurt to try. But, we must start in the gym and build some kind of base strength.

Plan: Work on stretching a bit first. Add some walking (I don't know what to call it but it is not just 'walking', it is a focused tight movement, more like marching! Maybe that's what it's called.) Next, we will add some weights to gain some strength and add a little muscle if that is possible. Then into strength cycling, then intervals (ouch) and finally power tests. All of it for fun. 

First, rest and reset. Ready? Go!

Four big climbs: First France, later Watopia.

France Sarenne 50:23 (time trial bike)

France Croix     84:04 (2 minute break included,lol)

France Telegraph 42:49 (time trial bike)

France Galibier 66:09 (yes, TT bike also)

I think it is a good sign that I want to try Vonteux, I am working with coach to choose some workout challenges as well as some assigned tests. I am really in need of a 'great day' to boost my confidence, but that may be quite a bit further down the road. I have been avoiding an ftp test for too long. Scary!

Workout 1: 16-12-8-4 This was hard in the 12 and 8 slot but easy in the 4. First time 40@236

Workout 2: 5-5-4-4-3-3 Too hard. I did 5-5-4-x-3-x 17@265

Workout 3:60/60 13@286 (over 3 gears) plus 3@319

Workout 4:Elite Test 2-4-12-S This went good 12 @ 245 4@ 298 2@306 (and 316) sprint @ 661 10w/kg

Sysiphus Test at 285 for a projected 20@ 255 and 242 ftp

Upgrade Update: Canyon road 80 km to go and Canyon TT 24 hours to go.

July Update: Canyon road finished and Canyon TT at 10 hours to go. (54 million to spend)

101 Club

 I am working towards 195. Why? I think I was at 170 but the xp I will earn to get to 170 will actually add up to 25 extra levels. So, I will run out of extra xp at 195. It's a 7:1 ratio. Then it will be 5 months or so until I hit 200. Do I care with it so far away? Two and a half years? No, the thrill is gone. Would MyWhoosh or Rouvy do that? NO. Zwift? Hell yeah. And finally, with MY pestering, they agreed to a special unlock...by reading suggestions in my post. Well, HAPPY DAYS, but you didn't think of that? REALLY!!!

These are my Wake Wheels, a special wheel offered for free, only 55,000 rode less than two hours for, yet incredibly the fastest for racing. The same as white but color changing or red. 

Zwift just added a red stripe so you can see which riders have reached level 100.No official numbers but it is estimated at over 5,000 with another 5,000 on accelerated levels that will reach 100 in the next few months. I was thinking it would be fun to try to get iconic shots of leveling, like the top of the Alp, the T-Rex, and maybe a few others. Very difficult to arrange of course. Here's my first one.

Red carpet ride.

Almost Aero Socks 849 after 399 Days

I'm almost there, just a day away. Right now, I want to focus on a time trial or two, probably Richmond and Yorkshire because they are hilly and it suits my style. I will also be getting the red Dogma and the Red wheels to match. There's not much happening until the Tour events. Probably a new portal or two. There will be a new route on Paris as requested. Again, another victory for special requests. (Paris was my pet project after the New York High line)

I would consider doing a few portals or courses with the socks. However, I probably am just going to break even with a bit less watts in my legs and a bit faster set-up. Hitting 850 is a definite milestone. Then, it is on to level 126, I suppose.

Got 'em now. Are they faster? I'm not sure, but they are ugly. I guess I need to do a downhill on the Alp to find out. Only 500 or so points for level 126, just before new unlimited levels are released. Where's the prizes? I don't care about numbers. I want a prize I'm reaching for. Even the socks, a 13 months project, was still progress toward something.

This week, James started a new challenge for me....a week of sprint record attempts.

The first was Scottland Champion's Sprint...(I won) Kryder 10.15 Fuhrer @ 10.50 Etienne and Guerra at 11. This is now the Q for Strava

Second, Watopia Reverse Sprint...record. 9.37 Kryder 9.53 Larson, Guerra 9.56)

Third, Fuego Flats Sprint....by a hair. 27.99 (top times were 28.39, 28.44, and 28.51) 

Fourth Richmond 23rd Street was TM 22.07, Bates 22.47, Kryder 22.63 (Strava TM 21 and ZK 22) I had a power shortage at the house and lost my chance to break this. Maybe some day in the future.

Fourth Watopia Sprint Forward....1) 19.93 2) 19.95 new number 1- Zee...19.30!

James told me I was using a double shot power-up. He said (and confirmed) there are no odds, the system gives a single, double, or triple shot depending on your location in the race. So, of course, I went to the very back of the pack and bingo, the holy grail, the triple shot. Being armed with such a powerful weapon, I sauntered over to the Hilly Kom. With some of my sprint power, I ran a 1:22.79 at 454 watts, surpassing the known records of 1:34 (the furious Fuhrer) and 1:30 (a very skeptical run). My previous best was 1:46 in an Academy qualifying event. Also, without level 5 Aethos and aero socks at 466 watts.

Big Spin and the Epiloch

 I ran the absolute first stage...lime helmet, blah. It took 33 minutes, so no double spin. The leaders finished in 28-29 minutes. I would have to race all out to get a double. It would be easier to late-join and ride 10 minutes every hour. But, I did a long workout and stopped there. Socks are at 798, which is about four weeks away now. I hate white socks but I would try them on one or two special pr attempts, like the Poggio to get back the Q that was stolen recently. 

I found out late so I waited until the last day of Games to race the Grade. 10 feathers? How could I resist? I did almost the same watts as my previous best time and was exactly one minute faster! 10:22.2 I think it isn't quite fair but that's Zwift folks. (Remember the Zipp free speed race on Tempus? and then also time trial with draft broke all sorts of records.) I got close to Kates time of 10:07. I might try again in two weeks with the goal of hitting the ten minute mark. We need to calculate the power needed first, then plan the effort. I'm thinking of going in the huge gear for my next attempt.

So my loving coach said I would need 14 more watts to up my power to hit the ten minute mark. Then, he said if I could get the aero socks, I might only need 10 watts, which may be doable. However, that would mean earning 37 points in the next 12 days. That means adding almost a week of hard efforts to get the socks in two weeks instead of three. Or possibly doing two massive sprints at the end of every training day. #newgoal

I rode the Tourmalet today. I still am not good with my endurance, so I didn't finish under the hour mark (I actually rode under 56 minutes of moving time.) I lost my progress on the end of the decent, losing six points on the socks (I'm at 819 instead of 825) so it won't happen until mid April. Even 25 would be tough to do in only a week. I may still attack the Grade on April 5th as my last chance to hit the ten minute mark that McCathy set. 

I ran the Tour Zwift Grade Hill Climb twice to go for a faster time getting 10 feathers on each run. I had a 10:22 (a minute or so faster) with a good start but a little faded in the finish. I went a second time with a flying start and I used the feathers at better times with very good wattage, and finished at 10:12.91. It felt good because I knew it would only be ten minutes of suffering. However, I am more proud of my regular effort at 11 minutes without the gimmick of all power-ups. It was a bad idea to set it up, but I wanted to try before it disappeared as it may never surface again.

Three Short Climbs and The Big Spin - Zee style!

 Big Spin is coming and already a points gathering opportunity for previous riders. I will try some of those as it suits me, but more for points than items. I kept going both times until I had the bikes and wheels I wanted.

What is Zee Style? It is for those who race the stage, finish, and late join for extra spins. A few of us started this method as it was a fun challenge. Then, I mentioned it to Nathan Guerra. He joined in and had a blast with us. He mentioned it during a race broadcast and suddenly there were hundreds of people doing it. Wow. I thought it was awesome.

I tried all three new portal climbs at full speed. But now I am going at them all in style to test myself. I am not concerned about getting beaten or not. I have lost that illusion. Someone with a spin bike or a squiggly power meter can always ride on Strava and demolish one's best efforts. But I am proud of what I can do with these short, short efforts. [and just to prove my point, someone just ran the Poggio, my unbeatable effort, faster with hazy wattage and a very suspect account. They started Zwift two months ago as a woman but they have a halo bike from formerly riding as a man, a man with higher wattage than pro women. Ugh!]

PATERBERG: The Great and shortest climb on Zwift: 491 watts for a time of 0:57.13

KOPPENBERG: Sprinting up the climb with 2 feathers....1:36.5 422 watts 

MUR de HUY: 4:00.31 Four minutes and 338 watts!

However, the Paterberg is broken and BnB is showing as the Paterberg falsely.

One last power climb before a well deserved break, North Sgurr on a road bike. I broke the three minutes mark which is very hard to do on a solo ride without drafting through the first half. I really surprised myself. Hoping to get in the big gear for the Scotland time trial in two weeks time. We'll see soon enough. Bye for now. Love and peace.

Training: I rode all eight of the Spring Climb Challenge. I had four decent efforts on the four short climbs and then did the Cipressa at full effort, setting a personal best of 12:57. That put me in fourth overall. My Koppenberg was at 300 watts and I did the Huy at 125% at the end, Sprinting the downhill and setting a CR much faster than the others.

Zwift Games - The Illusion of Racing

 This is training stimulus only. I cannot take these events very seriously. There are just too many variables in play. If you draft off a 'Flying A+ Racer', you can often beat almost everyone. Put in a mediocre effort with a pack of 50 or more riders? Bonus score. The time trial doesn't count toward the GC? Are you kidding me! Whose idea was that? The long stage is just a long drag toward the final climb up the Grade. Of course, you win nothing. Usually, the standings are littered with super human results. Got a spin bike? You can take all the marbles. If it is all just for fun, then sure I will join. I don't plan on killing myself for Stage Five. But, let's give it a go. Would be nice if a few elite racers would spur me on to my former greatness. I'll settle for 'Not that Bad' at this point.

I need a positive boost. I've been down a bit...and cranky. Cranky texting, cranky posting, just in a bit of a funk. Stage one was not my best, coughing all day. I hung on doing a lot of effort for three minutes on the climb....and then I just couldn't hang on. Too many riders drifting back and I can not steer around them. Racing without steering has become a bit of a drag. I don't remember the last race I won. I'm afraid to look. Anyways, stage 2 tomorrow. Let's hope it doesn't totally stink.

Well, it went poorly on Zwift. I got shoved into 90th place. I did move up at one point only to sink quickly back to the end of the pack. On the climb, I was doing 350 watts and never gained an inch. I was stuck. The group got over the top and quickly accelerated. I had a 2 second gap but it was impossible to close. It just kept growing. Eventually, there was a group of 6 that was behind the main group. I just kept going until the final sprint. I was second of the six and was 83rd place. Not fun though. Zwift drafting/passing sunk me again. I will race stage 4 but maybe just cruise for 3 and 5 due to schedule next month. Even at the start of this race, I was going hard and couldn't move forward in the group of 100.