Virtual Half-Wheeling.
In the real world, on club rides, half-wheeling is taboo.
Half wheeling is more or less defined as edging your wheel a bit ahead of the rider beside you, encouraging them to speed up to match or exceed your effort. It's a great way to deconstruct a functioning paceline into its separate parts, then scatter them about the countryside. While this can be fun on competition-oriented rides (especially if you're the last man standing), it's also the fastest way to be dis-invited to rides where consistency is the goal.
In the virtual world of Zwift, it happens all of the time, whether intentional or not.
I'll be pedaling along, staring at my Garmin doing my best impression of Chris Froome, zoned out staring at the pixelated (or is that pixilated- both are applicable) scenery, or futilely trying to stop the rivulets of sweat from searing my eyes, and I'll ride up on someone or they'll ride up on me. Maybe the difference between our respective efforts could be .1 w/kg, but 50% of the time one of us will likely notice and up the pace. The other one may respond in kind, and before you know it any chance for a structured workout is blown out the window as you furiously pedal so a virtual representation of someone else won't beat a virtual representation of you. It's the logical evolution of MUT racing and it's also douchy as hell, but it can be a powerful motivator and a great time-killer. I may be struggling to maintain 2 w/kg (because my determination usually shrinks as my waistline grows), but I'll be damn sure to double it so that asshole from Uzbekistan won't get to the top of a hill that doesn't exist first.
Whatever it takes to pass the time.
I used to watch videos of old Northern Classics races. Without the visual distractions of Zwift, I could keep my power in very narrow bands. Once In a while I would get distracted by a certain section of pave or follow an onscreen attack by Servais Knaven (or some other skinny dude on the TV), but mostly I chugged along in my tight little range for the specified times.
Now that I'm all digitalificated with Zwift, it's different. The courses are pretty much the same, with incremental additions here and there, but the number and variability of the riders online at a given time provides me with an infinite number of rabbits to chase. From a boredom standpoint, that's a great thing. From a training standpoint, my digital ADHD just kills any sort of structure- even with the wider training ranges I've adopted the last couple years.
I may have to start doing the Zwift workouts instead of trying to do my own thing. I always thought it was humorous that people were riding their bikes on a trainer, watching a screen displaying their avatar watching another screen. At any rate, I probably need to do something. Put some structure in my trainer time, so I maybe make some gains instead of watching the fitness slowly seep out of my fat rolls.
Whatever it takes to pass the time.
Half wheeling is more or less defined as edging your wheel a bit ahead of the rider beside you, encouraging them to speed up to match or exceed your effort. It's a great way to deconstruct a functioning paceline into its separate parts, then scatter them about the countryside. While this can be fun on competition-oriented rides (especially if you're the last man standing), it's also the fastest way to be dis-invited to rides where consistency is the goal.
In the virtual world of Zwift, it happens all of the time, whether intentional or not.
I'll be pedaling along, staring at my Garmin doing my best impression of Chris Froome, zoned out staring at the pixelated (or is that pixilated- both are applicable) scenery, or futilely trying to stop the rivulets of sweat from searing my eyes, and I'll ride up on someone or they'll ride up on me. Maybe the difference between our respective efforts could be .1 w/kg, but 50% of the time one of us will likely notice and up the pace. The other one may respond in kind, and before you know it any chance for a structured workout is blown out the window as you furiously pedal so a virtual representation of someone else won't beat a virtual representation of you. It's the logical evolution of MUT racing and it's also douchy as hell, but it can be a powerful motivator and a great time-killer. I may be struggling to maintain 2 w/kg (because my determination usually shrinks as my waistline grows), but I'll be damn sure to double it so that asshole from Uzbekistan won't get to the top of a hill that doesn't exist first.
Whatever it takes to pass the time.
I used to watch videos of old Northern Classics races. Without the visual distractions of Zwift, I could keep my power in very narrow bands. Once In a while I would get distracted by a certain section of pave or follow an onscreen attack by Servais Knaven (or some other skinny dude on the TV), but mostly I chugged along in my tight little range for the specified times.
Now that I'm all digitalificated with Zwift, it's different. The courses are pretty much the same, with incremental additions here and there, but the number and variability of the riders online at a given time provides me with an infinite number of rabbits to chase. From a boredom standpoint, that's a great thing. From a training standpoint, my digital ADHD just kills any sort of structure- even with the wider training ranges I've adopted the last couple years.
I may have to start doing the Zwift workouts instead of trying to do my own thing. I always thought it was humorous that people were riding their bikes on a trainer, watching a screen displaying their avatar watching another screen. At any rate, I probably need to do something. Put some structure in my trainer time, so I maybe make some gains instead of watching the fitness slowly seep out of my fat rolls.
Whatever it takes to pass the time.
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