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 consisted of 5 days riding, with four rides being outdoors, and a single indoor ride being on Zwift.
Of the five rides, four were approx 30km (or very close), with Sunday being a bit shorter due to time constraints.
This week’s rides were as follows:
- Tuesday – Last of the Summer Rides (Outdoors)
- Wednesday – Tired Thighs (Indoor / Zwift)
- Friday – A Remedy For Eye Strain (Outdoors)
- Saturday – A Little Too Windy For A Bike Ride (Outdoors)
- Sunday – One Too Many Wrong Turns (Outdoors)
As I have been doing over the last few weeks now, this week I tried to do a bit more max effort / sprinting type stuff. I’m still to break through the 1000w marker outdoors, to the very best of my knowledge. And I am a very long way indeed from being able to sustain 1000w for 5 seconds or greater. My all time best is 923w over 5 seconds. Maybe a short term goal should be to break 950w for 5 seconds.
Aside from the sprinting work, the more interesting metrics (as such) that I follow are:
- Averaging 30kph or greater during an hour of any given ride;
- Averaging 3.00w/kg or greater during the whole ride
- Ideally doing at least 30km per ride
Those are really the three core things I try to do each time I go out on the bike.
One thing I really struggle with outdoors is a consistent and steady cadence. With Zwift I used to aim for 95rpm consistently. Outdoors, that’s much harder.
A few weeks ago the Garmin web app prompted me to select a training plan. I can’t remember why.
I decided to opt for the Metric Century ride goal. I must say I have no definitive intention of actually doing this ride on the given date. It’s just a nice thing to follow – as and when the mood takes – when I get on the bike. A bit like using Zwift’s FTP Builder program, yet outdoors.
As such more and more of my outdoor rides lately have been following a set workout routine. For these rides I try to hit flat circuits that are as uninterrupted by traffic and right hand turns as possible. How many more of these I’m going to get to do before it gets too dark outside in the evening is the biggest question. As of last night, the sun set at 18:56, so truly Winter is coming.
This week has also seen me move back into an unproductive training status.
I gather this is because I am potentially riding too much, or at too high an intensity. Whoops.
I have been measuring my resting heart rate fairly regularly, and can confirm it rests at an average of 80bpm. Well, 79bpm, but I rounded it up. How I can use this in my cycling, I am as yet not entirely sure. But it’s an interesting figure to note, all the same.
To the best of my knowledge the Zwift Academy 2020 starts this week.
My goal therefore is to rest up at least today (Monday, and tomorrow) and then do the Ramp Test on Wednesday. This sits well with me as the 10 day weather forecast is rain, rain, rain, so I’d be indoors anyway.
Have to say I’m a tad apprehensive of the ramp test. But I need to suck it up and do it, as otherwise the FTP figure I use for the ZA may be far too high. And I don’t need to die in the very first workout. Figuratively, or literally.
Not directly related to my cycling, but to cycling in general, this week I have updated my other site, https://bikeclimbs.com/ to have more climbs, and regional and local clickable climbing maps. Check it out. I’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions. I do plan to blog over there, too, but I haven’t got around to that just yet.
So hopefully I’ll be taking it a bit easier this week. I’m also trying to eat a bit more. Not loads, just a bit. Doing alright on that front – but I don’t have the appetite I used to have.
And also on the positive front, this current work contract ends this Friday. Thank God. So mentally I should be in a better place from Friday at 4pm!