Race Day
Continuing with the MyWhoosh training plan, on the 19th, I did the ‘into the Red’ workout which involved short, sharp efforts in Zone 6.
For punishment, as though the workout wasn’t enough, I took part in a race. About a quarter of an hour before the start, I was the only participant so I was assured of a podium position.
However, as the start drew closer, the ranks swelled to over twenty – I stood no chance, but Sue convinced me to have a stab at it.
I managed to hold onto a group about half way down the field but was dropped after about five minutes before tagging onto a slower group from which I was also dropped.
I hung on until the end, finishing last. Oddly, although twenty five started (and I’m sure that most finished) I ended up in twelfth (and last) position.
However, once the dust had settled a message popped up on screen informing me that my FTP had been re-calculated two per cent higher. Which was nice.
A big selling point (even though it can be free) is the ability to ride your own routes.
By uploading a .gpx file the app will follow the route and do it’s best to fill in the scenery from maps and other data.
The physics is quite realistic and there’s even a draft indicator showing how much benefit is being derived from the rider(s) in front.
The graphics are a bit blocky, especially the riders, but the .gpx bit is quite fun.
Overall, though, I think that, at the moment, I prefer MyWhoosh so, with the keys back to ‘I’ and ‘K’. I’ll stick with that.
Biketerra
Surfing the internet (is that still a thing?) I came across an alternative to MyWhoosh (which is itself a alternative to Zwift).
Called Biketerra, the app runs within a browser so is quick and without any large overheads. You need the right browser (Safari is no good) but with something like Chrome with it’s Bluetooth connectivity it’s a goer.
Talking of Bluetooth, getting Biketerra to pair with the various bits can be a bit of a faff especially as any other trainer app needs to be un-paired first.
Biketerra also has virtual gears but uses the ‘W’ and ‘S’ keys to perform the shifting as opposed to MyWhoosh’s ‘I’ and ‘K’ so I had to quickly reprogram my two button keyboard.
Office / Pain Cave
I have been trying MyWhoosh (and Biketerra) on a number of platforms such as an old Android tablet (too slow), my iPhone and iPad (great graphics on that screen) and even air-playing to an old Apple TV (ATV).
This last option works well but with the ATV connected to a monitor, I have no sound. I hooked up an old soundbar but that didn’t work.
In the end, I went back to running two monitors from my Mac Mini with the sound being Air-played to a pair of HomePod minis.
After rerouting cables and shifting kit around, I had a frantic tidy up of the office / pain cave – we’ll see how long that stays in that state.
Live Coach
I’d seen Live Coach on the MyWhoosh main page and after a quick Google found an easy recovery ride for yesterday (Monday).
MyWhoosh is usually silent but with a live coach giving out advice and encouragement, it’s a good job that I got my system sorted out (see above).
By utilising the in-game messaging, participants can communicate with each other and the coach.
With about a dozen or so riders, we undertook the easy, recovery workout which was shown at the bottom like a normal workout. But with our coach, in this case Emma, the time went a little quicker with a bit more happening. Definitely better than a free ride.
When I could afford / was willing to pay for Zwift, I used to enjoy the social rides with the banter. This recovery ride was quite similar. Emma does an easy ride every Monday at noon so I could well be going back for another dose next week.
Hard Ride
Today’s workout was entitled ‘Speed Sprint’ and was a fairly easy ride but interspersed with high cadence flat out sprints. Although only thirty seconds Lon, these six sprints really took it out of me. Amazingly, I reached over four hundred watts on half of them.
As the workout was coming to the end, during the cool down, a message flashed up on the screen warning that I might experience sore legs over the next few days. Something to look forward to.
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