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.
Starting the week off with back to back rest days meant either having a four day riding week, or going five in a row. When Wednesday rolled around I can’t say the thought of five days of exercise was particularly appealing, but somehow or other I managed it in the end.
I’m feeling pretty downbeat at the moment, not helped by it being grey and rainy outdoors as I sit writing this.
On the plus side I think being able to get out and ride, get that fresh air and some time away from the computer is a good thing.
Hopefully the week ahead will be a little more upbeat.
Here were the week’s rides:
- Wednesday – Almost Made It. Almost. (Outdoors)
- Thursday – Cycle Paffs (Outdoors)
- Friday – TGI Friday (Outdoors)
- Saturday – Putting In A Shift (Outdoors)
- Sunday – Sunday Sights (Outdoors)
I think the biggest question I have this week, and maybe it’s strange that it’s taken me ~3 years to ask this is:
Why does spinning in an easier gear at a higher RPM feel easier yet still produce more watts than grinding in a harder gear that seems to produce more speed?
Outdoors or in, unscientifically I appear to be able to crank out more watts at a higher cadence even when going slower in terms of overall KPH.
In my head it seems like I should be produce more watts when going faster as in a harder gear my legs are producing more torque per rotation.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case.
And I’m pretty sure that’s why I failed hard on my 4DP test. I was forced to ride between two gears against the pre-set resistance level. One gear was far too grindy, and the other far too spinny. If I could have hit 95rpm consistently at the right-feeling level of resistance, I’m convinced I could have done much better overall.
I’m having a hard time still with the Golden Cheetah software so getting truly useful stats and graphs out of there is, for the time being, a bit of a non starter.
That said, looking at the aerobic graph above (the blue one), the trend does seem up and to the right. It’s no hockey stick, but it appears to be trending in the right direction.
What it feels like to me lately is overall I am faster than I ever was. Particularly at longer distances I can’t believe I’ve ever been more efficient and productive than currently. I just wish I could get the stats out of the software to prove it.
The one area I may not be as strong in would be in the shorter term efforts.
I’d say 5 minutes and beyond I’m doing well.
However anything below that and I was probably more efficient indoors.
Why?
Because sprinting outdoors, round here, is dangerous.
The best place to do it is off in the countryside. There are some wide open, well tarmacked roads out there that are perfect for a short, brutally hard effort.
But of course, in order to get there I’ve already flogged myself for ~15km or so. That means when I can belt it, the tanks aren’t at full capacity.
Kind of makes sense to me.
Trying to do that closer to home… the roads are trash. Pot holes, gravelly crap all over the show, cars… yeah, it’s not a good idea.
Weight wise – no comment really. Same old. Here because it’s usually here 🙂
So, where am I at then?
Well, I do like my current strategy of doing these ~20 minute hard efforts most rides, and then taking it easy for the rest.
Why?
Because each ride is a mini FTP test.
I figure if I can keep pushing myself hard for 20 minutes most rides then when I come to actually do a proper test it won’t seem as bad (maybe), and I might actually do a touch better.
Also, mentally it’s not as bad if I keep doing these because I get used to it. So the idea of doing the real test isn’t / shouldn’t be as daunting. I’m yet to put that theory to the test, but that’s the idea.
I’d love to get in my mid-week rides this week back on the dinner time slot. That’s my aim. That does free up the possibility of a less car heavy outdoor ride. But the weather may put paid to that as an idea. If so, it’s finally time to get back on Zwift.
Beyond that, it’s probably best that I don’t push myself too hard to achieve too much this week. Just enjoy the ride.