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.
Fun times. I sit writing this at Billy Bobs, a kids play area I have cycled past many times and always thought it looked exactly the sort of place I’d never want to find myself in. But here we are. Outside. In the rain.
All in all, a solid week if a little unadventurous for this one. Lots of burned calories but as we shall cover below, that doesn’t seem to be helping with maintaining weight.
This week’s rides were as follows:
- Monday – Commuter Chaos (Outdoors)
- Wednesday – The Invisible Man (Outdoors)
- Thursday – Nothing Ride (Outdoors)
- Saturday – One Minute Down, 39 Problems Remaining (Indoors / Zwift)
- Sunday – Easy Like Sunday Morning (Outdoors)
I’ve said many times now that comparing indoor and outdoor rides, in terms of exercise efficiency, is like night and day. Indoors, on the turbo, is a better bang for your buck in terms of hours spent if all you care about is the best workout in the time available.
However, outdoor riding is just more fun. I also think it’s mentally healthier.
When I got on the turbo for the first time in ages on Saturday a couple of things crossed my mind:
- The ride was costing me a full month’s zwift sub pretty much. 12 quid per ride. I used to be on zwift 5x a week so each ride cost me about 30p. I can’t help being a cheapskate and thinking about stuff like this.
- I wasn’t sure I’d get through the workout.
Now there’s two reasons why I thought that second point. Firstly keeping a sustained high wattage for 40 minutes isn’t how I’m used to riding outdoors.
The other thing is that I don’t think my FTP is quite right. I’m not saying it’s out by much, but judging by how jelly my legs were after that ride, I do think it’s on the slightly too high side.
I did say last week I’d do another FTP test soon. Going to do the 4dp test, because it’s savage and secretly we all love it. But also less secretly I need the accuracy of that figure more than the zwift 20 minute one.
As below shows, my weight has been slowly trending upwards. Fairly sure that’s not some kind of muscle gain. Think it’s over indulging, and maybe me misleading myself only weighing myself after riding versus more recently weighing both on and off riding days (when I remember).
So higher weight figure and probably lower FTP figure. Going well for me this 2022 so far.
But whatever. I still feel good. Bit stressed but that’s my own making (not just the kids play area) and the cycling helps. I’ve still got 3 weeks left now till I start my new job. Truthfully I’m quite bored but the kids school holidays have just started and so any ideas of taking myself off alone are now over with. It’s all family stuff here on in. Nice and expensive.
Id llike to push myself and get both the 4dp test and a metric century ride in before I start the new gig. That does mean keeping up the higher intensity of riding, and that needs to be a more structured routine versus just keep riding outside.
Right now though I have some none cycling stuff to finish off, and that will help with the stress for sure… as it’s mainly that that is causing it.
Rambling then this week. Hard to type on a phone. Harder still with music blaring in my ears trying to drown out the screaming. And the kids.