Weekly Review May 4th – 10th 2020

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Usually Zwift sends me an email summarising my activity for the previous week. For previous weekly reviews click here.

This week, like last week, Zwift didn’t send me my stats. Shame.

As ever though, Training Peaks is the more useful:

Last week consisted of four days riding, with five rides in total.

I wanted to ride on Sunday… at least, I thought I did. But when push came to shove, I couldn’t bring myself to get on the bike early enough to make the second stage of the Tour for All 2020. And that then left the ride times starting at 5pm onwards, which are generally no use to me.

There are some duplicates in the following screenshots – mainly cus both the Garmin and Zwift record my rides, and I forgot to delete the dupes before taking the screenshots. And after realising I just can’t be bothered going back through and re-doing all my screenshots.

There was a big change to my riding setup this week.

I switched from using the Tacx Neo 2 as my power source, to instead using the Favero Assioma DUO pedals.

This was as a result of this comment – thanks Phil!

In hindsight this change was pretty obvious. As I use the pedals consistently both indoors and out, it makes sense to have the same power source for both. Previously I had thought to stick with the Neo as that was what I’d been using up until very recently, so the consistency seemed nicer.

Anyway, after a bit of messing about with crank length, I think things are now as accurate as they are going to get.

And what that has meant is a sudden surge in average power, and various bumps in FTP recorded by both Zwift and the Garmin Edge 530.

Zwift now has me at 227w, and the Garmin a little higher at about 235w.

Honestly, I feel like I’ve cheated.

As I’m in the middle of the Tour for All 2020, I haven’t – yet – done any serious workouts with this new setup, so am unsure how different things feel when going for ~40 minutes e.g. in an SST session.

That will be the real acid test.

In some ways it’s quite rewarding to have a sudden uptick in registered power. Combined with continued, controlled weight loss it means I’m seeing some real physical benefits that have previously been hidden to me. But as above, it does kinda feel like I haven’t earned it, somehow.

Open to your thoughts on this one. Please leave a comment below.

Unfortunately as I have changed PC’s several times at this point, my all time stats tracker is missing the weight loss, and the up tick in critical power over time. That’s a real shame.

It’s a bit disappointing to see the peak 60 minute power drop off a cliff in April 2020.

I think that’s a result of my illness and time off the bike.

I’m hoping to put in a better figure at the end of May – as part of the Tour for All 2020, I sure am hoping that one of the stages is a trip up the Alpe. Though… hopefully not midweek this time.

Actually I just checked and Stage 4 is the Alpe, available as both a longer group ride and a race. And falling on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May. Result.

All in all, a decent week. I feel without the change in hardware this one would certainly have been nothing special. The Tour For All is certainly taking its toll on my body already, and what with the relaxation of UK lock down rules, I feel throwing in some longer outdoor rides in the week ahead are likely only to lead to further fatigue.

Still, I’m enjoying my cycling more than ever so whatever the take on my stats, I’m happy to keep riding along and take what comes. Pity my wrist is still buggered from the crash, mind.

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