I’d be lying if I said I didn’t spend the majority of this ride looking out of the window at the clear blue skies and wishing I’d headed outdoors.
However, whilst it looks rideable out there at the moment, it’s a bit deceptive. It rained overnight, and the sun isn’t doing enough to get the surface even close to dry on the main roads, let alone on the side streets and bike paths. Combine that with the left over grit from the ice earlier this week and it’s not pleasant.
Indoors it is.
Besides, I had Stage 3 of the Tour De Zwift 2022 to get done.
My plan today was to hit the longer ride, knowing there was no way I’d manage to get on to the 12pm ride due to an 11am meeting that always does (and did yet again) over run.
Instead, I opted for the 1pm set off, knowing I had to be done and dusted by 2pm – including time for a shower before the next Zoom call.
Bearing in mind this one is 40km I was asking a fair amount from myself to see this through in the time given, including a little leeway for a shower post ride.
My plan, therefore, was to keep to around 3.3w/kg, and find a group with the same idea. Given Zwift’s proclivity towards over egging the pudding with regards to speed, I figured >40kph was possible, in a fast group. Ambitious though.
Lap one went fine. I didn’t set off at a gangbusters rate, so was clawing my way up the field from the off, trying to find a group that seemed to want to ride at the pace I had in mind. It took me a couple of laps to settle in to a decent bunch of maybe 20 riders.
Not knowing this route all that well, I bodged the climb on lap one, and went a little too hard on the climb on lap two.
However, there were plenty of people around to latch on to a wheel regardless of my mistakes, and therefore enough draft to keep me at the ridiculous pace I needed to get done on time.
Things went wrong for me on lap three.
I’d barely eased off for the first two laps, but managed to bag a Feather power up at the start of the third lap, which I dutifully saved for the little climb.
Using the power up, I wasn’t looking at the screen. Head down, I just powered on up as much as I could, trying to eat away the full distance.
But I misjudged it.
When I looked up I was out ahead of the bunch. But the power up wore off, the leaders of the pack caught me and just as quickly dropped me, and then, foolishly, I gave chase. Yes, yes, it’s not a race, etc. But whatever, I stood up and went after them – but kinda failed. I barely got a wheel and was suddenly 10bpm higher and struggling. Had it been a race I’m sure they would have kept the pressure up and it would have been game over.
As it was, the little surge dropped off the pace on lap 4.
It seemed the whole group was saving themselves for the fifth and final lap.
Lap four was about the only time throughout that I got social and had a few laughs on chat.
But then it was back on it for the final effort.
Even though I’ve insinuated I was but wasn’t racing, I must assure you I really wasn’t. Not at all.
But I did quite want to finish in the top 100. So maybe I was. But again I assure you I wasn’t.
Anyway, coming into the final climb I could see a bunch had broken away and I decided ahh, to heck with them. I was going to do it my way. Like Frank Sinatra. But on a virtual bike.
So I settled in and pushed my way up that final slope, only to struggle at the last two little rollers and fall off a bit. I slipped back, and then back another place, still inside the top 100 – think I was 99th.
The thing is, everyone else wants to be in the Top 100 too, so there’s a bit of a scrap… always, I have found, to get into the double digits.
Anyway, I plowed on, but dropped from 98th, to 99th, to 100th, then 99th again, back to 100th, then 101, and so on. A lot of action for the final kilometre or so. Enough to motivate me to push to catch them back up anyway.
Typical, passing over the finish line I got a power up. Where was that on my final lap?
Anyway, that’s Stage 3 done.
I did nab a spot inside the Top 100 by the way 🙂 Right on the line. Cheeky. That’s why you should never ease off till you cross the line… or some joey like me will jump you at the last hurdle.
Whatever you want to think about all of that, what I will say is that for the time allotted, the calorie burn today was super decent. Certainly earned my afternoon Mars bar.
And so that’s Stage 3 done, which is great.
I’m hoping to get outdoors tomorrow dinner time, I really am. It’s going to be an easy ride, but I’d love a bit of fresh air. Frankly I don’t even care how cold it is (within reason), so long as I can get in 40-50 minutes of pedalling. Hopefully that’s not too much to ask.
But then this is the UK in winter, so you never know.
