A Zwift intermission
01/04/23 14:45 Filed in: Riding
I've told the beginning of this story before. When I reviewed a group of smart trainers for Bicycling Australia (2017 I think) I spent a summer of hot days in my back yard riding half a dozen different smart trainers so that I could write about their differences. To put them on an equal footing for part of my test, I subscribed to Zwift and rode them all in that virtual riding environment. After the test was published, I got an email from someone at Sufferfest asking if I'd like to try out their virtual cycling space. They offered me six months free if I was willing to provide some feedback.
I spent six months suffering through the difficult training exercises of Sufferfest. I liked it a lot. I provided a lot of feedback about where I saw opportunities for different training options. I can't be sure how much of it is due to me, but they have implemented all of my recommendations. Sufferfest was purchased by Wahoo and is now called Wahoo System. Wahoo has freshened up the lead in and lead out sequence of the videos and removed all of the references to "suffering" and the mythical nation of Sufferlandria, except where they are contained inside the workout and not so easily removed. Most of the videos ended with "IWKMATSICKYT", or something very similar which was the first letter of the Sufferfest saying I will kick my ass today so I can kick yours tomorrow (I'm 100% sure that isn't quite right, but the sentiment is correct).
All gone in the new corporate Wahoo style guide.
The System, as it is now known, has some excellent components. There is a bunch of yoga, mostly 15 minute practices that target one body area. Hard to not do yoga when it is only 15 minutes. Strength training is another component. And within the cycling things, they already had the best fitness testing I've seen. They call it 4DP (which I'm sure stands for something that I can't be bothered to look up right now). It consists of a 10 second maximal sprint effort, a 5 minute steady state effort, a 20 minute time trial effort and finally a brutal 60 second "whatever's left" effort. It looks at how they interact and not only does this help the program set your target power for various future efforts, but it also characterises each rider to a type (sprinter, rouleur, climber, etc). That helps one either train their strengths or weaknesses. Then they added a slightly less brutal fitness test, the ramp test. This one is unique in the System's repertoire because it uses how you went in the first part to set your target power for the second part. I wish they would do this more often, since clearly it can be done. You do this ramp test until failure, and it uses your failure point to determine your target power for the effort to come. On the basis of those two steps it can calculate FTP and VO2. Brilliant.
Sufferfest lacked recovery rides. What's suffering about a gentle recovery ride anyway? Except it is an important part of a program. They have numerous easier rides now.
Then Wahoo purchased another app called RGT. This one has virtual spaces like Zwift, but lacked the numerous route options. You can ride the set route in the set direction or go somewhere else. RGT has some quite fancy graphics, and allows a user to select any of the dozen or so locations at any time (in Zwift, you used to get one rotating location and now it is 3). RGT is not nearly as "gamified" as Zwift. No power-ups. No equipment to earn with levels (no levels either). But they share sprint segments and racing as well as organised social rides. RGT recently added live audio communications, where most people in Zwift seem to use group chat (private chat does exist, I've never used it).
Zwift can offer the l'Alpe d'Huez climb from the Tour de France (called Alp du Zwift) where RGT can offer the Stelvio pass from the Giro d'Italia.
In January I was doing about 99% of my riding outside. There was the odd wet day where I'd hit RGT for a look at one of the riding zones. But I broke my collarbone and had to get on the trainer every day, or stop riding. Serendipitously, Zwift offered me a free re-trial to lure me back to the platform. "A lot has changed since you left", they said. "Come and try the new stuff..." So I signed up again. As they promised, all my old equipment and experience points were still there where I'd left them.
Riding for a month or two testing smart trainers I achieved the beginning of Level 7. I was tempted to stick at it for a bit longer because I was drawn by the Alp du Zwift, but you require Level 12 to gain access (hence wanting to try a bit longer). With a useless left arm I started Zwifting again, and riding 40-60 minutes per day the XP rack up pretty quickly. I finally achieved Level 12 and the very next day I tried the climb. It was also only a few days later that my subscription was due for another month, so I cancelled it. Two months of riding Zwift every day was fun, but I've got an annual subscription to The System/RGT and I think it's time to add some structure to my training. Plus I've only got 2ish more weeks until I'm allowed outside.
I think the Stelvio climb is harder than d'Huez. I'm not sure how much of that is platform and how much of that is climb. They're both pretty big hills.
So my hope is, that once I get out on the road again for real, my legs will be doing OK. They haven't had any real time off. We will see. Cycle commuting again very soon. Can't wait! (Wednesday 12 April looks like the first commuting day, which is almost 13 weeks after the fall, but with Easter being a four-day weekend, that's the date.)
I spent six months suffering through the difficult training exercises of Sufferfest. I liked it a lot. I provided a lot of feedback about where I saw opportunities for different training options. I can't be sure how much of it is due to me, but they have implemented all of my recommendations. Sufferfest was purchased by Wahoo and is now called Wahoo System. Wahoo has freshened up the lead in and lead out sequence of the videos and removed all of the references to "suffering" and the mythical nation of Sufferlandria, except where they are contained inside the workout and not so easily removed. Most of the videos ended with "IWKMATSICKYT", or something very similar which was the first letter of the Sufferfest saying I will kick my ass today so I can kick yours tomorrow (I'm 100% sure that isn't quite right, but the sentiment is correct).
All gone in the new corporate Wahoo style guide.
The System, as it is now known, has some excellent components. There is a bunch of yoga, mostly 15 minute practices that target one body area. Hard to not do yoga when it is only 15 minutes. Strength training is another component. And within the cycling things, they already had the best fitness testing I've seen. They call it 4DP (which I'm sure stands for something that I can't be bothered to look up right now). It consists of a 10 second maximal sprint effort, a 5 minute steady state effort, a 20 minute time trial effort and finally a brutal 60 second "whatever's left" effort. It looks at how they interact and not only does this help the program set your target power for various future efforts, but it also characterises each rider to a type (sprinter, rouleur, climber, etc). That helps one either train their strengths or weaknesses. Then they added a slightly less brutal fitness test, the ramp test. This one is unique in the System's repertoire because it uses how you went in the first part to set your target power for the second part. I wish they would do this more often, since clearly it can be done. You do this ramp test until failure, and it uses your failure point to determine your target power for the effort to come. On the basis of those two steps it can calculate FTP and VO2. Brilliant.
Sufferfest lacked recovery rides. What's suffering about a gentle recovery ride anyway? Except it is an important part of a program. They have numerous easier rides now.
Then Wahoo purchased another app called RGT. This one has virtual spaces like Zwift, but lacked the numerous route options. You can ride the set route in the set direction or go somewhere else. RGT has some quite fancy graphics, and allows a user to select any of the dozen or so locations at any time (in Zwift, you used to get one rotating location and now it is 3). RGT is not nearly as "gamified" as Zwift. No power-ups. No equipment to earn with levels (no levels either). But they share sprint segments and racing as well as organised social rides. RGT recently added live audio communications, where most people in Zwift seem to use group chat (private chat does exist, I've never used it).
Zwift can offer the l'Alpe d'Huez climb from the Tour de France (called Alp du Zwift) where RGT can offer the Stelvio pass from the Giro d'Italia.
In January I was doing about 99% of my riding outside. There was the odd wet day where I'd hit RGT for a look at one of the riding zones. But I broke my collarbone and had to get on the trainer every day, or stop riding. Serendipitously, Zwift offered me a free re-trial to lure me back to the platform. "A lot has changed since you left", they said. "Come and try the new stuff..." So I signed up again. As they promised, all my old equipment and experience points were still there where I'd left them.
Riding for a month or two testing smart trainers I achieved the beginning of Level 7. I was tempted to stick at it for a bit longer because I was drawn by the Alp du Zwift, but you require Level 12 to gain access (hence wanting to try a bit longer). With a useless left arm I started Zwifting again, and riding 40-60 minutes per day the XP rack up pretty quickly. I finally achieved Level 12 and the very next day I tried the climb. It was also only a few days later that my subscription was due for another month, so I cancelled it. Two months of riding Zwift every day was fun, but I've got an annual subscription to The System/RGT and I think it's time to add some structure to my training. Plus I've only got 2ish more weeks until I'm allowed outside.
I think the Stelvio climb is harder than d'Huez. I'm not sure how much of that is platform and how much of that is climb. They're both pretty big hills.
So my hope is, that once I get out on the road again for real, my legs will be doing OK. They haven't had any real time off. We will see. Cycle commuting again very soon. Can't wait! (Wednesday 12 April looks like the first commuting day, which is almost 13 weeks after the fall, but with Easter being a four-day weekend, that's the date.)