Team BKool CycleChat

[BILL S]

Keep meaning to try Zwift and never get round to it.

Drafting: It definitely is much easier when you get behind someone correctly - the problem is getting there in the first place - it takes both people to be riding very steady and using very slight/gradual adjustments in effort to maintain it. As we all know we rarely behave like that on Bkool!!

Same here. Never tried Zwift.
We've had some pretty good drafting sessions Rick, where we've expended less energy to get to the end point in the race. I think the secret is to not treat the drafting part as a race but to try and stick to the person/s your drafting with. I think it's even worth slowing sometimes to let them join the back of you and if strong enough, always making sure to spend time at the front. Of course it reaches a point when all bets are off which is usually the steep hill close to the end. Last night I struggled to catch Rick and Bridgy but once I got there it was a lot easier. Because of this I was feeling quite good at the end and ready for a sprint to the finish if necessary. I don't know if there were other drafting groups riding together last night but I'd definitely recommend using it as a way to catch other groups or stay ahead of groups behind, but most importantly to have more left over for the all important end game.

 

[berty bassett]

sorry i've been a bit erratic on here for a bit - been falling with style down mountains for a week - i am up for any handicap runs and would like to be included if poss ! will do thurs run on saturday then i should be up to date

 

[kipster]

I'm up for the handicap ride, if you choose stage 2 please note that the time registered in the league was the one where I tried on/off, the race pace was a few minutes slower, honest......

 

[bobinski]

We've had some pretty good drafting sessions Rick, where we've expended less energy to get to the end point in the race. .

Bloody Admins working together!

I think the rest of what you say is probably right Bill. But I think it is easier to latch onto other riders in Zwift and draft them. You are aware of them coming behind you, you can see the distance shorten and then also see figure for their speed and wattage so the markers are there for you to match. Perhaps it would be harder without them.

 

[LBHIFI]

Bill, I challenged you in the final Home Turf stage today, and stayed with you until the climb. Until there it was a normal race , but then things exploded in crazy slingshots and wild downhill speeds . During that short climb and the following descent the lead shifted between us with as much as 1 minute advantage both ways.
I almost gave up at one point when I relied on the momentum to pull me over a bump, and the speed dropped from a healthy 20 kph to 0 in an instant...total standstill 0 kph. Man, I had to sprint like a madman to catch you again .

 

[AAAC 76C]

Excuse me, the KICKR is not like the Vortex, it is actually harder on the steep climbs as the resistance goes so much farther than the bkool.

I did say 'the latter' Geoff

 

[gbrown]

I did say 'the latter' Geoff

So you did. You're forgiven!

 

[bridgy]

I'm up for the handicap ride, if you choose stage 2 please note that the time registered in the league was the one where I tried on/off, the race pace was a few minutes slower, honest......

Nice try Kipster

 

[AAAC 76C]

I haven't the time to edit the recordings down to a watchable length, so I've just dumped them in dropbox for a few days. Anyone care to grab them and skip through on fast forward is welcome. I'll delete them after a few days, so if you want to keep them take a copy. I promise to do a better job for the handicap!

Enjoy...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qur36wscsnwu62z/Bkool Indoor 28_01_16 19_08_15.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/h7x60znmxi2nf6h/Bkool Indoor 28_01_16 20_08_29.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1c6vwn5ssvh90vl/Bkool Indoor 28_01_16 20_21_33.mp4?dl=0

Geoff

Geoff, is there one missing between the first and second?

 

[bridgy]

Same here. Never tried Zwift.
We've had some pretty good drafting sessions Rick, where we've expended less energy to get to the end point in the race. I think the secret is to not treat the drafting part as a race but to try and stick to the person/s your drafting with. I think it's even worth slowing sometimes to let them join the back of you and if strong enough, always making sure to spend time at the front. Of course it reaches a point when all bets are off which is usually the steep hill close to the end. Last night I struggled to catch Rick and Bridgy but once I got there it was a lot easier. Because of this I was feeling quite good at the end and ready for a sprint to the finish if necessary. I don't know if there were other drafting groups riding together last night but I'd definitely recommend using it as a way to catch other groups or stay ahead of groups behind, but most importantly to have more left over for the all important end game.

I think the length of last night's ride, and the profile with that big climb looming near the end lent itself to drafting/working together being an attractive option (if you found yourself with the opportunity of course). Some of the shorter 30 minute-ish rides are a bit more "each for their own" I think! (see "game theory"!)

 

[gbrown]

Geoff, is there one missing between the first and second?

Don't think so, the recording was limited to an hour, so the first one is just about exactly an hour. I then set it going again and the title shows it was only 14 seconds missing. Interestingly the elapsed time is a bit haywire at first, but seems to catch up after a minute or two.

There is a bit of a gap between the second and third, just over 2 minutes. I hadn't noticed that it had stopped recording.

Geoff

 

[Add]

BSim or a beer.... tough decision for a friday evening....but I must be making progress to be even considering the turbo!

 

[AAAC 76C]

I guess things like this show how hard it must be to get a software algorithm to to accurately replicate real world physics!

In the real world you 'feel' the draft and instinctively drop your power. I think in the virtual world you tend to go into the draft with your approaching power and the algorithmn works out that your resistance has dropped before you feel it therefore same power, less resistance = accleration and before you knowit your shooting by.
If you try and anticipate the draft you often miss the catch and then drop back (very frustrating)

 

[Insomina]

BSim or a beer.... tough decision for a friday evening....but I must be making progress to be even considering the turbo!

No decision in my book.

 

[Cjbon]

I made my choice and I'm sticking to it.