Zwift Chat

[ColinJ]

Sounds like it's a bit too hilly for "easy" measured efforts up your way.

The 3 busy valley roads out of town are much flatter but even they have undulations which catch me out. I hadn't realised how much I subconsciously try to ride at a certain cadence rather than a certain effort. If I don't watch my power and/or heart rate all the time, on reviewing my ride later I usually find that I averaged around 175 W rather than my goal of 145-150 W because the effort crept up every time that the gradient increased and the instantaneous power ranged from 0 to 300+W.

I like our hills but I do wish that I also had a few very quiet, flattish routes nearby. I have to travel over an hour by train to get to them (Cheshire, the Vale of York, or the Fylde (out Blackpool way)).

 

[alex_cycles]

The 3 busy valley roads out of town are much flatter but even they have undulations which catch me out. I hadn't realised how much I subconsciously try to ride at a certain cadence rather than a certain effort. If I don't watch my power and/or heart rate all the time, on reviewing my ride later I usually find that I averaged around 175 W rather than my goal of 145-150 W because the effort crept up every time that the gradient increased and the instantaneous power ranged from 0 to 300+W.

I like our hills but I do wish that I also had a few very quiet, flattish routes nearby. I have to travel over an hour by train to get to them (Cheshire, the Vale of York, or the Fylde (out Blackpool way)).

To be honest i never look at the power while riding - just ride easy or hard by feel and let the chips fall where they may.

But it's definitely true that it's almost impossible to go easy up a steep gradient (above a few percent) - even with silly gear ratios. It just takes a certain level of effort to drag your weight up the hill even if you're going slowly.

But what @Legs said - indoor is much easier for controlled workouty stuff - as long as you can make yourself do it. Outdoor is much more pleasant.