Training with Zwift

Byrichard

Two days ago I started playing/training with Zwift. I tested it on my phone, the ipad and the laptop and it worked with each. Pairing both the apple watch with the iOS app on mobile phone and ipad worked well. Pairing between the bluetooth cadence and speed sensor as well as the suunto movesense heartrate monitor worked well with the laptop.


A set time or distance limit


When you are riding loops in the real world it’s easy to plan on a one hour ride and end up taking two hours as you add additional segments because you feel good. Sometimes you get home and two to three hours have elapsed. With Zwift training programs will last for a set amount of time with set goals. 


Type of rides


Two days ago I rode around the streets of London that I have ridden around in person in recent years. Yesterday I tried the Walonia course and I tried the pre-training grand fondo program. This track is based on a location in the Solomon Islands near Mulle. They added the volcano. If you check on maps you will see that you were riding on water. Maybe I was using a pedalo. I rode for 50 minutes with 3 minute peak power output of 130-150 watts.


I used the Zwift companion app to get information about the power output. It gives a more complete appreciation of the power range you are aiming to maintain. This is a useful addition because there is a lag as you go from generating about 50 watts of power when you rest to 130 watts when you’re meant to be making an effort. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEx1hVjBatc
The same workout with a different power goal. 


Previously I followed several of the indoor trainer videos made by GCN and I found them enjoyable. I was training according to feel and followed their recommendations. I had no feedback on pedalling speed or power output until I reviewed the data at the end of the ride. I also had to skip the adverts as they play during workouts. Interrupting an effort to skip an advert is not ideal. 


GCN have a complete video explaining the features of the app. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8fArWR-CsE


Summary


When it’s raining outdoors you can still train for an hour or more without getting bored. You can also have an enjoyable ride despite the rain outside or instead of dealing with rush-hour traffic. It is also available to you twenty-four hours a day if you set it up at home. With structured plans you can train and reach personal goals with the right level of commitment. 

Replacing the scooter with an electric bike

Byrichard

I have been thinking of replacing the scooter with an electric bike for a while now. I am discouraged by the cost of electric bikes. Electric bikes range in price from one thousand to four thousand francs or more and their range is from fourty to one hundred and eighty kilometres. They are also limited to 25 kilometres per hour if you want to preserve the right to use cycling paths in Switzerland. 


I tried an electric bike in a shop a few days ago to see what the sensation was like. After just a quarter turn of the pedal, the bike propels you forward and there is little need to make much effort. It felt as though pedalling was for show rather than necessary. I have read that electric bikes have different modes and different behaviours depending on the gradient you cycle along. 


If I got one my goal would be to use it to go to the shops or to go hiking. I would take the bike on the train to the closest train stop to the activity and then I would use the bike for the distance that usually requires a bus or other form of transport to get to. I want it to assist me when going up steep gradients with hiking or climbing gear. 


Over the summer my average speed on a road bike has increased to the point where I can cycle at an average of 21+ kilometres per hour over a period of hours. This means that an electric bike is no longer as interesting. 


A few years ago I was using a mountain bike with mountain bike tires for road cycling and after a while I swapped the tires for road tires and I felt a big difference. I felt an even bigger difference when I swapped from the mountain bike to a road bike. 


With the cost of electric bikes and road bikes being around the same the question is whether it wouldn’t be equivalent simply to spend two to three thousand francs on a high end bike instead. You’d be faster than e-bike riders because you’re fit, rather than because you bought a heavy bike with heavy batteries and a heavy motor. I saw that just the motor can weigh three to four kilos without the addition of the battery. 


If I bought an e-bike I would get it as a scooter and public transport replacement. I would use it to commute between home and work. It’s more stable than a scooter and I believe safer, because when the rear wheel spins out on a bike it’s easier to keep upright than a scooter. 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8tV8cWeY3Y


When starting off, eBikers should do without motor support, e.g. in turbo mode in the case of the Bosch drive system, otherwise the tires will simply spin and slide instead of gripping. 


In an article from two years ago Bosch recommend not riding in snow due to the risk of the rear tire spinning out. The same is true of scooters except that a scooter weighs much more and is much harder to stabilise once it starts falling. 


I would like to see e-bikes with integrated indicators, brake lights and more. I would like to have the same experience as I have with the scooter. I want people to know my intentions without having to take my hands off of the handle bars. It’s curious that e-bikes are not equipped with these features. 


Summer without a car has taught me to live locally
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Summer without a car has taught me to live locally

Byrichard

This summer I was thinking of buying a car until I found out that my contract break was for six months rather than three. As a result of this my ability to buy my own car vanished. I used the scooter, my feet and eventually the bike to travel thousands of kilometres. 


I rode the scooter for at least four thousand kilometres and I cycled for around 1000km. I also hiked 


Self powered Break this year


This year I have logged 121hrs of moves over 1500 km and 19395 metres in vertical movement. This breaks down to 57hrs and 45 minutes of cycling, 42 hours of hiking, 7hrs of walking, 4:34 of indoor cycling, hrs of climbing and one hour of aerobics. 


This comes to 11772km cycling, 197.2 km hiking, 56.48km running, 47km on an indoor trainer and 20km trekking


I have ascended 19395 metres in total of which 14981 metres cycling, 3721m hiking, 338m running and the rest climbing or on foot. I didn’t climb much as climbing usually requires a car to get to climbing sites. 


This comes to a total of 74419 kcal. On bike rides and hikes I have burned up to 2500 calories in a single day. 


What I learned


By cycling so much I have really grown to appreciate what the arc Lemanic has to offer to cyclists. I found that if you take agricultural roads and if you head away from the main roads you can spend hours without cars driving next to you. I developed the stamina to cycle up cols and once at the top ranged further. I ranged from La Faucille to St Cergue and from Mollendruz to St Cergue. I also ranged around the Bière region discovering that there are a lot of nice roads for cyclists who want the pleasure of cycling without the drawback of cars. 


I also walked in the area around Nyon towards Crassier, La Dole, Prangins and further. I saw that there are a few places where you can pick up local produce such as apples, apple juice, grapes, eggs and other products. If you’re willing to carry litres of apple juice you can also purchase it straight from the producer. 


Less social


The single drawback to having such a sporty summer locally is that I did not participate in many group activities. In fact this summer I only did one organised group activity so it was one of the most solitary summers in recent years. Poetically I did walk by a path taken by a path Jean Jacques Rousseau walked along. I got to experience the Daydreams of the Solitary Walker first hand. 


Conclusion


At the beginning of the summer my goal was to go on a twenty one day hike along a section of the Via Alpina and I was tempted to try an organised seven day hike either in the Dolomites or around the Mont Blanc but due to commitments every two to three weeks and restricted access to a car the logistics would have been more complicated. Instead I took advantage of what was on offer locally. For years I had the goal of extending my cycling range and I had often thought of walking up to La Dole from the foot of the Jura. This year I accomplished those goals. 


I also explored the landscape in a way that I would not otherwise have done. I settled with what was on offer locally and I wore out a pair of shoes in the process. They now have holes in their soles. 


I estimate that without counting other trips I would drive 4800km to do activities to do sports. This summer I drove less than one hundred on a scooter for one group hike. That’s a great environmental saving. 

Cycling to the Vallée de Joux

Cycling to the Vallée de Joux

Byrichard


Yesterday I tried cycling to the Vallée de Joux and succeeded. A few weeks ago I cycled up to St George and I saw a sign that said that the Col De Marchairuz was less than 6km away so I decided to try it. When I succeeded that I saw that getting to the Vallée de Joux would be possible. 


On Sunday due to the weather I thought that I would go for a small 30km loop to avoid the bad weather and rain. I felt fresh when I got back to Nyon so I decided to go further and I headed towards the Col De Mollendruz but took a wrong turn and arrived in Bière. As I felt tired I changed course and headed back for home. 


The Col du Mollendruz variant


Yesterday I went for the Col De Mollendruz. I headed from Nyon to Rolle and from Rolle headed up to Perroy before heading across to Aubonne. From Aubonne I headed up towards Ballens and then east towards Mont-La-Ville. This route is nice because you climb more gradually than if you do the Col De Marchairuz or go via St Cergue. A gentler gradient makes it accessible to less experienced cyclists. Mont-La-Ville is the start of the Strava segment to get to the Col De Mollendruz. From this col there is an easy descent to the Vallée de Joux. 


From Le Pont du La Cure the gradient is slightly positive for about 30 kilometres. You then cross back in to Switzerland and head for St Cergue and back down to the plains. The circuit is about 104 km. 


If you’re looking for a variant of this you could choose to go from St Cergue to Arzier and back down and if you still feel full of energy you could head towards La Faucille and head back down from there. 


A ride to revisit when the leaves turn


This bike ride would be nice to do when the leaves are turning because you pass by the vineyards and ride through forests. It is also interesting because by taking the bike you are going slower than by car. You notice that some buildings are from the 1700s, you see that others are from the 1800s. You also see that there are long stretches of road with very few cars. 


Cycling into the wind
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Cycling into the wind

Byrichard

Yesterday I cycled my first 100km ride. It started as a simple ride towards Geneva and back but by the time I got back to Nyon I felt that I had enough energy to go further so I set the goal of getting to Rolle and after Rolle I set the goal to get to Morges before getting distracted and heading up towards Bière. 


During this ride when cycling towards Geneva I saw a peloton cycling together and taking turns leading and sheltering behind each other. I continued cycling outside of the windbreak zone and managed to keep up. If I had wanted to I could have overtaken them but it’s lucky I didn’t because I’d have burned out sooner. 


The second incident was when I was riding through Rolle. A motorcyclist was parking his bike when he overbalanced it and it fell against him. I came off the roundabout to offer my help but by then two of his friends had come to help. It was an interesting moment, to be dressed in cycling clothes helping motorcyclists in leather. Two different biking cultures juxtaposed. When the incident was resolved I got on my bike and continued. 


I went from Rolle up passed Ikea and by the hill heading towards Bière. The views along this bike ride are beautiful. As you climb towards Bière you turn around to see the Leman in this light. The climb is relatively easy. 



Cycling through Bière is an interesting experience because you have a medieval armour shop on the left side of the road before you get to a garage with at least 30 Porshe cars in various states of repair and then you pass by mechanised armour divisions, parade grounds, roads, logistics centres and more. It’s well suited that a Caserne city should be called Beer, if you translate it to English. 



The road continues down and you go through a forest and as I passed one curve and looked to my left I saw this view so I turned around and cycled back uphill to photograph this vista. Beautiful trees with the Alps in the background. Soon after this nice descent you are met with a sporty uphill section and then you pass near the Signal de Bougy and its golf course before heading back down through the vineyards towards Mont Sur Rolle towards Luins and beyond. 



This ride was unique because I could see viticulturalists picking their grapes and I could see signs for wine tastings and mout. Mout is the juice that comes from grapes straight after they have been pressed. I thought about stopping and enjoying some but the size of a group made me change my mind. Imagine stopping to re-stock on freshly squeezed grape juice. 


I could smell that some vats of wine had just been cleaned and I could see grape bundles on the road as I cycled. 


What I haven’t mentioned yet is that there was a strong wind blowing from the west to the east so I had to peddle fast to keep moving forwards. The weather looked as if it could rain so my initial plan was for a conservative 30 kilometre ride but as the weather improved I extended my goals but did not find an opportunity to stock up on snacks to get some fresh energy. If I had known the ride would be so good I would have taken a few energy bars and refuelled while cycling. I would definitely do this ride again, especially to see the vineyards and forest turn autumnal. 

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Indoor Training With The Elite Qubo Fluid

Byrichard

The Elite Qubo fluid is a home trainer using a viscous fluid to provide resistance when you’re cycling with your road bike indoors. It is easy to assemble and within minutes you can start using it. 


https://youtu.be/ulhpwTRvAfo


These devices cost less than apartment bikes and allow you to train with your existing bike within the comfort of your own home or garage over the winter months when wind, rain or snow would make cycling outdoors less practical. 


They also have the advantage that they’re cheaper than a gym membership and more flexible. My issue with gym memberships is that if you spent an equivalent amount of money you could buy some nice machines and keep them at home. With the equivalent of two years of gym membership you could buy an elliptical machine and use it from the comfort of your own home. 


I tested it twice today. The first time I tested it on the balcony for a few minutes just to get a feel for it and then I moved it and the bike indoors and trained for 23 minutes. 


With such a device you vary the intensity of the resistance by pedalling faster but also by changing gears. If you want more resistance you can shift up a gear or two and if you want to recover you can shift back down. This provides you with the intensity that you want. 


After the 23 minute workout I touched the radiator unit and it was very warm to the touch. I didn’t see how long it takes to cool down. When you are done with the workout you can remove the bike in seconds, fold away the trainer and store it out of the way until the next time you use it. 


If I setup the cateye device on the bike I am currently using I could log the distance and cadence of my training and observe the progression as well as get an estimate of the simulated distance I am riding. 

Cycling to the City that Never Wakes Up
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Cycling to the City that Never Wakes Up

Byrichard

Yesterday I wanted to go for a bike ride. I hesitated between driving to the Vallée De Joux and cycling around the lake, cycling up to Les Rousses and facing a long and sustained uphill or cycling to a meeting in Geneva. In the end, I cycled to the meeting in Geneva.

As you see this is a 67 km bike ride with a vertical change 0f 714 metres. On a road bike that’s fine, because the bike is light. On a mountain bike with slick tires and no one to pace me it can be quite tiring. According to the watch, it will take 120 hours to recover from the journey. The segment along Chemin des Pins and Chemin De St Oyend are closed to all traffic except agricultural. This means that you can use the entire road. Rue De La Brunette is a funny name for a street coming off of St Oyend.

I enjoy cycling in cities because I see it as a series of sprints, to try to keep up with cars. As they go at just 30 km/h this is easy for a few minutes. I noticed people on e-bikes and I had the intention of drafting behind him but he changed direction so it was short lived.

As you can see from the graph above I was making most of the effort on this bike ride as I cycled to Geneva. The gap is where I stopped at Impact Hub to meet one or two people, refill my water bottle and then cycle around Geneva before heading back towards Crans and Nyon.

When you live at the foot of the Jura you have two choices for every bike ride. You can head down towards the lake, enjoy your bike ride but then be left with a 200-metre climb or you can cycle up to the mountains and then have a nice downhill on the way home.

With training and a lighter bike these graphs could be less extreme. When that becomes the case then commuting to work by bike is feasible.

Environmentalism and Traffic Lights
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Environmentalism and Traffic Lights

Byrichard

When you’re driving from Nyon to the airport without traffic the journey takes about twenty minutes. If you decide to drive into the city of Geneva that journey time is doubled thanks in main part to traffic lights. It once took me over one hour when scuba diving in Hermance to drive from Place des Nations to the other side of the Mont Blanc Bridge. That’s over one hour for less than two kilometres. That idea cooled down my motivation to dive in Hermance. At the time I was driving a petrol rather than a diesel car.

Yesterday I was driving from the foot of the Jura to Cornavin and the drive from the foot of the Jura to Geneva was fast. It’s when you drive from the motorway to the centre that you lose time. 23 minutes to drive 3.8km. I don’t have a start/stop car so when I’m spending 23 minutes at traffic lights the engine is running and polluting the air for nothing. There is no gain from blocking traffic lights.

It was even worse when I was on Rue Montbrillant. The GPS indicated 15 minutes to travel about 750 metres. Can you imagine the carbon footprint of traffic lights? That’s 15 minutes of nitrous oxide that had no need to be sent into the air. Imagine the health impact of keeping vehicles trapped at traffic lights. Within 30 seconds I went right and parked at Place des Nations and walked the last 750 metres. I wasn’t going to waste 15 minutes because “environmentalists” decided that the best way to discourage people from driving was for them to sit in traffic and pollute the air.

When I was working on Rue Montbrillant I was taking the train to and from Geneva every day and I used an abonnement de route to reduce cost. It works well until you’re reliant on bus schedules. Some routes have one bus an hour. This means that a 30-40 minute drive becomes a one and a half hour public transport route. If you finish your day at 1800 you’d arrive home by around 1930-2000. This means that although you’re taking the environmentally friendly option you’re spending two and a half hours a day to commute. During warmer months and drier days, the scooter was a good alternative. Within minutes you’re on the train to Geneva.

That’s the paradox of environmentalism. You want people to be environmentally conscious and you want them to minimise car use but rather than provide them with time efficient solutions to encourage them to take public transport you trap them at traffic lights.

Waze, Tomtom and other GPS manufacturers should take the heat maps we generate with our mobile devices every time we drive and design public transport infrastructures to replace the need for cars. This data is already available. Below are two heat maps of cycling around London and Switzerland. If you used the same type of data from cars you could design a system that replaces the need for cars.

When you live in a city you see two kilometres as a big distance to drive but when you’re in the countryside 2km is nothing. London on a bike feels tiny after walking and taking public transport. In Geneva it’s not that you have much traffic. It’s that the traffic lights give the illusion of traffic. Most of the side streets are empty of traffic most of the time.

This week I wanted to cycle in to Geneva for my lunch time meetings but chose not to because the bike ride is energetic enough without the weight of a 15inch laptop on your back. I did buy a bluetooth keyboard for the mobile phone as a mac book air replacement. That should make cycling more pleasant. I also have spare tires in case I get a puncture.

Geneva’s traffic light policy did work on me. Several years ago I became so tired of waiting at traffic lights when driving into and out of Geneva that I stopped going. Instead of meeting people in Geneva I drove to various lakes to scuba dive and to the mountains to climb, hike, cycle and do other more environmentally friendly activities. This is especially true when we drive other participants. When I climb Fort L’écluse I meet people at CERN and when I meet people to go to Swiss VF I meet them at the Nyon train station, Fourmi metro stations or even the Lavaux motorway stop.

WordPress and Strava – Using WP Strava on this blog

Byrichard

I installed WP Strava on this blog to share my Strava cycling and running activity. At the time of this blog post you can see my most recent bike rides in the left column as well as the most recent map. With a minimum of code you can also include your bike rides within a post like you see below. You write activity id=number of activity and the ride will be integrated within your blog posts without the need for embed codes and an iframe.

This is useful for activity bloggers such as myself. The code is simple and easy to remember, as soon as I find the right keyboard keys to avoid the need to copy and paste. Shortcodes are to add information to blog posts and the widgets are for the side bar.

SHORTCODES

activity id=NUMBER – add to any page or post. Also takes the following
optional parameters:

  • som – english/metric (system of measure – override from default setting)
  • map_width – width (width of image in pixels)
  • map_height – height (height of image in pixels)

WIDGETS

Strava Latest Rides – shows a list of the last few activities

Strava Latest Map – shows map of latest activity with option to limit
latest map to activities of a certain minimum distance

Limitations

It would be nice for the maps that are included within posts to be zoomable, so that we can look at the details of the bike ride and see information for specific segments. This functionality is available on the website but there is no easy link to the strava posts. It’s an advantage because it’s native to your site but it’s a shame if you’re trying to grow a strava following. For that functionality you need the widget.

Overall it’s a quick and simple solution to add Strava maps and ride/run data to your blog post. You can then add images and a textual description to complement the map.

The SUUNTO SPARTAN SPORT WRIST HR BLUE
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The SUUNTO SPARTAN SPORT WRIST HR BLUE

Byrichard

I have logged 799 activities with my Suunto devices. This includes hikes, via ferrata, climbing, swimming and scuba diving. I like Suunto devices because their battery life is good enough to last through entire days of hiking and the battery lasts for weeks between charges when used as a simple watch.

Spartan HR

I like to track my heart rate but I often feel self conscious about putting the heart rate monitor belt on. With the latest Spartan watch I no longer need to worry about the belt. At the same time as I start the activity I will be able to keep track of the heart rate. This is especially good for group activities when you do not want to keep people waiting and in winter when you’re wearing layers of clothing.

I like that devices like the Fitbit Charge 2 can be worn at almost all times and track heart rate effortlessly when at the climbing gym and during other activities. I look forward to the same simplicity with a Suunto device. I especially like that Suunto devices survive swims and showers.

I like that the Suunto Ambit 3 tracks how many steps I take during the day. It’s a shame that the step count is not logged and visible on Movescount. I like to see how energetic or lazy I have been on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. It’s not unusual for me to go from a 21,000 step day to a 6000 step day. It depends on weather, work and other factors. If you go for a bike ride your step count will not be high.

I will wait to see whether they apply this technology to the Suunto Ambit watch collection. If they come out with the Suunto Ambit 4 Wrist HR then I will be tempted to upgrade. With 799 tracked activities I believe Suunto devices have demonstrated that they are reliable.