Each week I try to review and reflect on my previous week on the bike. This allows me to see how my fitness and ability is progressing on a wider timescale than day to day. For previous weekly reviews please click here.
This week’s rides were as follows:
- Tuesday – Scammed: Not That Hot (Outdoors)
- Wednesday – Tour Of Watopia 2021 – Stage 5: Longer Ride (Indoors / Zwift)
- Friday – Last Call (Outdoors)
- Saturday – Too Hot To Trot (Outdoors)
- Sunday – Out And Blackburn Again (Outdoors)
With the weather coming nicer now, all but one ride this week was outdoors. However, all but one ride this week was at a fairly low intensity.
This is because the one indoor ride – the final Tour of Watopia 2021 ride – absolutely killed me.
I should start with the ToW rides as the 5 part series has now come to an end.
Whilst I do like the structured indoor events, as they force me to stick to a pattern and push me to ride harder than I might otherwise do, I found I had game ruining bugs / issues during 3 of the 5 events this year. Combine this with the on-the-hour start times, and same old routes, I came away from the whole series decidedly underwhelmed.
I’ve been saying for months now that I will try another platform. I think now is the time.
In that mindset I have officially paused my Zwift account for the next 8 weeks. This is one step away from cancelling my membership, which hopefully it won’t come to. In between now and then I am going to try out The Sufferfest, first and foremost, and also use this as a kick up the ass I need to get RGT Cycling back up and running.
In the short term all I want is some place to do structured recovery rides. For everything else over the next few months I want to be outdoors.
Speaking of the outdoors, my favourite outdoor ride this week came on Sunday.
After I thrashed my legs on the final stage of the Tour, I was really struggling to find much in my legs on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. You know it’s going to be a rough day when your muscles are tight setting off. Still, I did manage to get out all the same.
One thing I really like is to ride new routes. I don’t mind so much if I have to cover some well worn ground in order to get somewhere new, but simply riding new roads is vastly more fun to me than going over the same tarmac over and over again.
However, I definitely think that in some cases, I get less of an efficient exercise when exploring than I might if I simply stuck to some known good circuits.
On the exercise front I’m happy enough with the weeks progress.
Sure, I’m still having issues with the Wahoo Tickr 2. So much so, actually, that I have chucked it in a box and called it quits with using it. Really disappointed in that, but then I guess it was a cheapo bit of tat anyway. Should have gone with the Polar strap. Never mind.
But the calories are what I mostly pay attention too. And each ride this week was burning down a decent amount.
What I am to do is give myself a buffer zone. That way if I decide to pig out (as I did on Saturday and Sunday), I don’t feel guilty. I’ve been doing well with this, my weight has stayed consistent for months now, and more importantly, it means I can buy all the “small” size kit which I keep finding on sale 🙂
So as above, the plans for the week are to do a bit of recovery. This means taking today (Monday) as a rest day, and maybe tomorrow, too.
I will see out my Zwifting subscription (ends 17th May) with rides indoors when the weather dips, which it inevitably will. Once that’s done I will move platforms. RGT and The Sufferfest are the two I am most likely to try.
Aside from that I just want to get outdoors. As long as I get my hour or greater each riding day, I am happy enough. Until my physical fitness upticks again I’m not going to go too hard on myself. No point.
Lastly I feel like I need to do an FTP test. I think The Sufferfest’s 4DP challenge is the next one I will do. Sounds sufficiently strenuous. Not really looking forward to it, truth be told. But I need some cold hard facts.