Since my return to the world of indoor cycling, I have managed a few more rides, gradually increasing the length and time in the saddle.
Most of the rides have been Free Rides, where I can go around at my own pace but I did try a paced ride or in the MyWhoosh parlance, MyBunch. I picked the easiest which would be going at around 24kph with an effort of 1.4W/kg.
Surprisingly, I managed to keep up staying just ahead of the pacer. I was quite pleased with my 8.6 miles (still early days).
I was hoping to repeat that ride today but as the courses offered vary day to day, it wasn’t available and the nearest was 1.7W/kg. I gave it a try and was soon dropped.
Instead, I did a free ride of 10.3 miles with a short cool down meaning that I was in the saddle for nearly an hour – definitely my longest ride for some time; in fact my longest ever MyWhoosh outing.
Watts per kilogram (W/kg) is a measure of power-to-weight ratio, indicating how much power an athlete can generate relative to their body weight. It’s calculated by dividing the athlete’s power output in watts by their weight in kilograms. This metric is particularly relevant in sports like cycling and running, where climbing and endurance are important.
VIRTUAL SHIFTING
A new feature of MyWhoosh is virtual gear shifting where different gears are simulated by varying the resistance applied by the trainer instead of physically changing the actual gears on the bike.
To change gear, keys I and K on the keyboard are used (or up and down arrows in the companion app – when it works!).
I selected a gear so that the chain is as straight as possible and the bike runs as quiet as it can.
To make it easier to change I bought a two button programmable keypad off Amazon and set this up to produce I and K from the bike. I’ve tie-wrapped the button box over the gear shifter so that should prevent me from using the ‘proper’ gears. It took a little getting used to but I love it.
The exercise seems to be doing me some good. For starters, I’m actually doing something physical and the knee is just fine with this.
Medication-wise, I’m back on oral Ibuprofen and am even walking better with a lot less pain. Occasionally, I forget that I have an arthritic knee !