Any cyclists using zwift

[Mumski45]

Any other cyclists out there recently joined Zwift to keep on going during lockdown. I'm getting addicted 🚴🏻‍♀️. Would love to share hints and tips as there seems to be so much more to it than I thought .

Yes I do and especially now being stuck inside, I'm so glad I have it! What have you done so far? I've just started the build me up training plan, but usually I just do 45 mins to an hour in the various worlds and the odd workout

Hi Poppy time
I have been joining lots of Ladies only group rides at cat E or D. To scared to do a race yet as I'm trying to find out where I fit in. I tried to join a meetup yesterday but I was the only one there as lots of people were having a problem logging in. I always knew I would enjoy it but as I normally cycle outside I couldn't justify the cost. I'm actually quite enjoying the connection with the world outside as I chat more online during group rides than I would on an outdoor ride. Missing the coffee stops though.
I'm going to try a cat D group ride and then possibly a race. I love the ladies group rides but sometimes find myself having to slow a bit too much to stay with the main pack. I need to vary it a bit more now I think.

Which group rides are you joining? I'd like to try some out if timings work!

@Poppytime Ive done a few now including the following
Revo Speedy spin sisters - I like the leader on this one as she very insistent on keeping together
SRAM Womens tour - this was a bigger group and lots of smaller groups rather than one main pack
Catrinas ladies Social ride - another one that keeps the group more or less together
Join the Swarm - Another good one.

We've been doing Zwift since November (when I gave in and got a smart turbo on Black Friday). I like location of the day rides, but ds and dh like Wattopia. Ds is doing the Team Ineos ride on Sunday, but generally likes to just blast around.
If you have an under 16 in the house, you can email Zwift and get a free account for them

Hi @CMOTDibbler
Yes I have set DS1 up with his free account and he has done a couple of rides. Its a bit of a fan though as he is taller than me so the bike needs adjusting in-between me and him riding. Just did the SRAM tour stage 2 which was about 23m with 1500ft of climbing, quite a lot of it in the last few miles which I wasn't expecting. It was tough - I never thought I could push myself so much on an indoor bike.

We're all using my road bike on the turbo, so my saddle post is adorned with sharpie marks for me (5'9), ds (6'1) and dh (6'3) - fortunatly my geometry means my frame is large enough for them. My bike is on there as the only non carbon frame, and everyone likes propping the ipad on the tri bars.
I have to say I was sceptical about the value of Zwift, but it really does make you work far harder than I ever managed on the turbo before

There's a good group that do rides for all abilities called Zwift - Pack. If you join the Facebook page you can see when the rides are, always one hour but you can do ten minutes and leave if you want. They often have over 150 people on a ride which is fun

I’ve been Zwifting on and off for about a year but taken to it daily in lockdown. Covering a couple of hundred miles a week at the moment. I also like the group rides but do just try some races too, the short/flatter ones are great fun and over in 30 mins (D cat). It mig be counter intuitive but I join the ones with the men, as there are usually more participants so more likely to get a group to work with whatever your pace. Although I’ve had a few top tens in the Women’s Cat D they tend to be a solo TT effort which is more tiring and not as fast.

@lampygirl I've tried a few races now. The first one was tough and I didn't realise how far I could push myself. As always I was just about keeping up with a fast group on the flats but I get dropped on the hills. Need to work on that hill climbing now. Do you use Zwift power. I have linked to that now and like the extra data to keep me occupied during lockdown.

@Mumski45 yeah ZwiftPower is good for all the data. I’m having a few weeks off events chasing some of the longer route badges during lockdown as I have more time. Hill climbing is miserable I’m more of a green jersey chaser!!

I joined a race skills group this morning. Was very early as it was run by an Australian team. Lots of very useful tips about how to draft efficiently and great fun. I am collecting route badges but at the moment it's all the shorter ones. Not sure I can cope with 2 hrs+ on a turbo but will probs give it a go when I have done all the easy ones. Got the volcano climb after the skills ride this morning which was fun. I like that climb as it's quite short and I know I can reach the top at a reasonable pace without burning out.