This makes me wonder: does anyone else look forward to slow climbs because that's where you overtake folks on the leaderboard?

Or is there another aspect of the ride you excel at and/or lag at?

Apparently I don't do cadence as well as I climb.

I am strongest at cadence, pushing heavy in the saddle, and slow climbs. I feel like I don't have enough resistance under me a lot of the time on faster jogs so I go higher on the resistance and a little slower on the cadence. I've improved some on jogs but need to get better at it. I think with losing a little weight I'll get there.

Scriffer said:

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Definitely time to retest. Even the Z4s at the end felt like moderate Z3. Hit 995 on the output, considered hammering through the cool down but decided I'd rather earn it fair and square next time around.

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Well done, Scriffer!

Just did that same ride. I laid off a little bit on my last couple of rides (per some excellent advice earlier itt) so I could go for a PR this go-round (kind of my crown jewel for the challenge, as I'm not doing the week 8 FTP). For these rides I try to take my Z3 efforts in the "sweet spot," then recover at a high Z2. (The colors on the graph below are a little off, but you get the picture. My current Z4 threshold is 297 watts, so I basically try to hover around 300 watts for Z3 efforts if I'm feeling good/pushing the pace).



Had some cramping issues in the second half of the ride (my own fault--I'd already logged over 10K steps before the ride, and I drove from Houston to San Antonio this morning, so my legs weren't in the best endurance form lol). But yeah basically if you can hold that high a zone for that long, you're just stronger than you think! Good on you for pushing it--now you know where those gains can be had when you DO retest.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your height/weight?

I guess it was just a 90 min PR kinda weekend. Pretty clear I am ready for a FTP retest later this week.

TheClaw07 said:

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If you don't mind me asking, what's your height/weight?

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I don't mind at all! I'm 5'11" and change. Just a hair under 6 foot (my dad is 6' even and never lets me forget it haha). Weight is 250lbs, so I'm looking at about 2.9 on the power/weight ratio, if this calculated correctly (I have no idea).



That's the main reason I try not to get too caught up in leaderboard position/comparing total output. My big ass is *supposed* to crank out kjs. Doesn't mean I'm in better shape than, say, my 5'2" wife who is a gym instructor lol. Mainly just compare my current outputs to my past ones to get a sense of where I'm at. Don't even look at the leaderboard during rides anymore unless it's a live ride/Session.

GD, Nitro!!!

Just curious. I'm a smaller framed guy so I know I'll never be in the top places. 2.9, from what I understand, is pretty dang good!

I see these 90 minute ride posts and I can barely get through 45 without pools of sweat everywhere and feeling like my legs want to fall off. I might have to try my first 60 minute ride soon on a day that I don't lift.

get a fan...a good one

TheClaw07 said:

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Just curious. I'm a smaller framed guy so I know I'll never be in the top places. 2.9, from what I understand, is pretty dang good!

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I have no idea lol. Never got into the P/W stuff, just know my big ass needs to work damn hard to be in halfway decent shape compared to these monsters cranking out crazy watts/zones for their weight! Also, I don't ride outdoors (yet--that might change at some point, idk), so I try not to get too wrapped up in the numbers as presented by the Peloton machine. Mainly just use whatever numbers as a benchmark for my own improvement.

This is my next purchase. peloton was easy stuff in the winter, where i keep it pretty cold in the house. 73 in the house is a bit too hot without a direct fan on the bike.

TraditionsPD said:

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get a fan...a good one

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I ride with 3. A ceiling fan overhead, a tower fan on the left side in front of me, and a honeywell air filter that I drag over to blow up from underneath me. And I still ride in a pool of sweat by the end of 90 mins. Embrace that feeling.

https://www.amazon.com/Vornado-Full-Size-Circulator-Adjustable-Height/dp/B000E5XNAK/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=vornado+fan&qid=1623095316&sr=8-5

This is what I have and I love it

CFTXAG10 said:

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I see these 90 minute ride posts and I can barely get through 45 without pools of sweat everywhere and feeling like my legs want to fall off. I might have to try my first 60 minute ride soon on a day that I don't lift.

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The power zone challenges are a great way to work up to the 90 minutes. I've only done 3 or 4 of 'em, but I probably wouldn't have even tried a 60 minute ride if not for the challenges (my main was 45 mins thanks to spin classes at Gold's Gym back in the day). The longer rides aren't harder, necessarily, it's just sustaining the lower outputs for longer.

Plus side is they make the 30/45 minute classes feel like cake after awhile.

yukmonkey said:

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Just did my first Pelly ride - 30 mins with Wilpers. This thing is cool.

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Welcome to the cult!

tbirdspur2010 said:

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CFTXAG10 said:

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I see these 90 minute ride posts and I can barely get through 45 without pools of sweat everywhere and feeling like my legs want to fall off. I might have to try my first 60 minute ride soon on a day that I don't lift.

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The power zone challenges are a great way to work up to the 90 minutes. I've only done 3 or 4 of 'em, but I probably wouldn't have even tried a 60 minute ride if not for the challenges (my main was 45 mins thanks to spin classes at Gold's Gym back in the day). The longer rides aren't harder, necessarily, it's just sustaining the lower outputs for longer.

Plus side is they make the 30/45 minute classes feel like cake after awhile.

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This would certainly be an incentive for me. My problem is always going balls to the wall even on days I don't feel like doing cardio. I usually do a 20 or 30 on days I lift, and a 45 on the days that I just do cardio.

tbirdspur2010 said:

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TheClaw07 said:

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Just curious. I'm a smaller framed guy so I know I'll never be in the top places. 2.9, from what I understand, is pretty dang good!

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I have no idea lol. Never got into the P/W stuff, just know my big ass needs to work damn hard to be in halfway decent shape compared to these monsters cranking out crazy watts/zones for their weight! Also, I don't ride outdoors (yet--that might change at some point, idk), so I try not to get too wrapped up in the numbers as presented by the Peloton machine. Mainly just use whatever numbers as a benchmark for my own improvement.

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Pretty much this. I am probably 20-25 lbs lighter and about the same height as you, so realistically our numbers are very close. I like power/weight as a solid benchmark to account for strength improvement and/or weight loss. I like setting PR's but that is pretty much just the competitive nature against myself. I guess all that wording is to say I compare myself to what I have done in the past. I'm not concerned necessarily how it measures up to other bikes/riders. Probably not likely that I will ever be a professional cyclist, but if I do I will give the TA hashtag a shoutout when teaching a Peloton class.

CFTXAG10 said:

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tbirdspur2010 said:

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CFTXAG10 said:

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I see these 90 minute ride posts and I can barely get through 45 without pools of sweat everywhere and feeling like my legs want to fall off. I might have to try my first 60 minute ride soon on a day that I don't lift.

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The power zone challenges are a great way to work up to the 90 minutes. I've only done 3 or 4 of 'em, but I probably wouldn't have even tried a 60 minute ride if not for the challenges (my main was 45 mins thanks to spin classes at Gold's Gym back in the day). The longer rides aren't harder, necessarily, it's just sustaining the lower outputs for longer.

Plus side is they make the 30/45 minute classes feel like cake after awhile.

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This would certainly be an incentive for me. My problem is always going balls to the wall even on days I don't feel like doing cardio. I usually do a 20 or 30 on days I lift, and a 45 on the days that I just do cardio.

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If you'll read back to some of my posts itt a few pages back, I responded to some terrific advice: you gotta pick and choose when you go all out. Choose 1 ride a week where you just go balls to the wall, and the others, work below your absolute threshold. Helps avoid burnout, and also gives your body a stronger foundation overall than if you just crap yourself out every time out. Problem for someone like me is I'm crazy competitive, especially when it comes to anything physical. I had to start turning off the leaderboard (which was a HUGE deal for me, as it was my primary motivator when I'd go all out all the time), and work just on nailing my individual zones/efforts. Then evaluate at the end (to see trends and whatnot). PZ training helps me a TON with that, as I can just focus on "competing" against my own zone performance. Now I'm just getting better at mastering my outputs so I'm not trying to "beat" my zones every time, but rather work within them.

Benefit of that is when I take non-PZ classes or sessions and turn on the leaderboard just for fun now between challenges, I perform better now than I used to. My 2nd half of rides is better than my first (used to be the opposite when I'd go for broke all the time). Extremely gratifying. Just trying to train my mind as much as my body now.

I will try and talk myself into that. I appreciate the feedback. I can sympathize with the competitive part.

Nice seeing out in the wild Nitro. Good ride

You guys seen this thing advertised?



https://www.equinoxplus.com/bike

not seeing how this will compete with Peloton. If I was already an Equinox member and didn't have the Peloton, it might be interesting, but that's a pretty limited market.

They have the ability to watch some streaming apps, which is cool, but Peloton could add that with an OTA update next week.

Yessir, enjoyed it

It's been around for awhile, if I'm not mistaken. Don't think they'll compete, but their selling point is the style of classes. Peloton is more about riding, soul cycle is more about the dancing, weights, etc. Yes, peloton has some instructors like that but they aren't to the same level, per my wife.

They also have more promos than peloton, for example I remember seeing an offer on my Amex for a couple hundred back.

Possibly. I hadn't seen it.

I started the build your Power zones program yesterday. Glad they finally got that going.

I'm just hoping to match my current FTP. I've been riding at the lower end of those zones and am down about 20 lbs from where I was when I previously tested. So tougher now I feel like. If I hit the same FTO at the end I'll have improved my ratio and will be thrilled.

Pro tip: Don't pound a Topo Chico and then decide to knock out a 45 minute ride after lunch

Anyone doing the AT Greatness Game today?

Nitro Power said:

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Anyone doing the AT Greatness Game today?

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Resting up for my next FTP test tomorrow. Get some!