Zwift is a _____

Good morning peeps. First,  anyone thinking about adding a smart trainer to your cycling training arsenal? Do it for these reasons.
IT'S FOR REAL! This is only speaking for my Wahoo Kickr Core with Zwift
When you see a hill? Prepare, YOU WILL FEEL IT. The hard part is, sometimes they're hard to see by just watching the on screen terrain but if you look to the top right of the screen, that percentage is referring to the hill profile. The larger the number the steeper the hill. If it has a negative symbol, you're going downhill. Outdoor riding you can coast downhill. On your trainer you'll need to continue pedaling but it gets easier. You can choose to take it easy or go to a harder gear and sprint the downhill. Doing races you'll want to test your sprint that you may not be able to do outside for fear of falling, cars, curves, other riders to close and so on.
You'll be riding with other riders from around the world and you're able to chat if you want or keep it private. I've ridden alone. I've had a guy encourage me to get behind him and draft (yes, you can draft off other riders), I've had riders draft off me and riders zip pass me. The fitness and competition aspect is there. The screen has a display of riders by name ahead and behind you by how many seconds or minutes and the Zwift program will kind of nudge you to catch another rider by displaying "CLOSE THE GAP" as you catch up or if a rider passes you. Catching someone is nice as you see the gap in seconds get smaller and smaller then they're in sight,  you close the gap, draft for a little while then choose to pass on or not. With my Kickr Core, I have a power meter built in and on my bike I have a cadence sensor. I wear the Wahoo Tickr Heart Rate monitor and all of this is on constant display. Many of the races have Sprint challenges placed on the race course and many are made up of actual roads from actial places. Lapping around the course you'll see places where there's a sprint challenge and you'll see how you compare to others. BUT! Let's say the race course has 5 laps. You'll see the first sprint and now, you'll know there'll be 4 more. You can attempt to beat your own time on each lap. You can ride the course on another day and set new PR's or PB's (personal record or personal best) because Zwift will remember what you've done. The best part for me is the simple not having to stop for traffic.
All that said,  don't do it for these reasons. First and most important and I'm guilty at times. If you think it'll become another dust catching clothes rack? Don't do it. My initial investment was around $1000. It uses your bike so no further investment there than what you already have but the smart trainer, HR monitor,  and cadence sensor around 1000. I started off using my phone as my screen, everything is really tiny but it does work. Eventually I learned to mirror my phone screen to a TV for a larger display and it works. It does lag and drain your phone so do it while your phone is plugged in and turn off other apps on your phone. Now? I run the app through Apple TV but my bike and other data are connected via bluetooth through the companion app on my phone and this setup I like. But we're talking about why to not do it. Second? You're not outside. A lot has to be said for fresh air and wind blowing through your hair (or over my scalp) when riding outside. There's also the social aspect of talking face to face with people that's not there while in your workout room or messy garage. Yeah you can chat but that involves typing. If you're racing and take your eyes from the screen to chat you'll miss a sprint, or the group your riding with pulling away. You won't crash but you won't have your head in the game. Without that social aspect, there's no coffee stop or breaks. Ride ride ride then you're done. Collapse on the floor or get on with your day. Bike damage. I've heard you can ruin a carbon frame using a smart trainer but I think that happens if you do not properly connect your bike to the trainer. If it feels crooked or not quite right? Get off. Check it and make sure it's connected correctly. If you have a carbon frame bike, that you've graduated up to from an aluminum framed bike, use your old bike for a permanent setup or get a cheap used aluminum frame bike for a permanent setup. That's what I have now. Just match the frame dimensions and seat and you've got it. The only extra I have is another cadence sensor. One on my nice carbon road bike and now one on my trainer setup. I mentioned the apple TV? Yeah that's connected to a 32" cheap Walmart TV and it works great. The apple TV Zwift display ain't the greatest but it works great.
If you've been thinking about this, I hope this helps. If it's raining or anytime I just feel too lazy to ride outside, it's there and I love mine.
The biggest positive I can say is this. If you think it's not real resistance like riding a hill outside, go to a LBS (Local Bike Shop) that has a setup and try it. Your legs will tell you otherwise. My day has begun with a nice ride in my garage. I hope everyone gets in a good ride today. It's already a great day. Be blessed and RIDE ON! 👍🚵‍♀️👍

Yeah I'm in my house. The shirt comes off. You'll want a good fan for air flow. 

See the resemblance? That my Zwift Avatar 

On the road again

It's been a while since I've just got on the road on my "me powered two wheeled machine" but today was the day. One thing I must say for having a smart trainer? I didn't feel weak or haggard on the ride and actually felt stronger overall. Thank you Wahoo Kickr Core & Zwift. No issues today during my ride. A nice 22 miles from my house to Gruene and back. One slower portion through Landa Park then back on pace on the road. The Dog Guy was in the park today. When I met him months ago he said he had over 800 photos of people's dogs he's met over the years. Coming out of Gruene I spotted a little league team on the side of the road seeking donations for travel to Cooperstown  NY. I stopped to donate dripping with sweat by then and one of the dad's of the group  insisted I take a bottle of water. I accepted, gave my donation and powered on. A few stops along the way for photos then back home. If you notice a little circling at the end of my ride? I was at 21.7 in front of my house so 3 more tenths of a mile and a nice even 22. I wore my new  custom jersey today and loved the fit, 😏my design😏, and the pocket placement. Cycling jersey makers🤔 if you're listening. Please place the pockets nice and low in the rear of the shirt. My arms don't reach back like taking off a bra. The Owayo C3 cut jersey has really good pocket placement and the company did a great job on the customization of the jersey.
Now? I'm probably going to fall asleep in my recliner watching one of the Pink Panther movies with Peter Sellers (The Best). It's already a great day and I hope everyone gets out for a ride. Be blessed and RIDE ON 🚵‍♀️

Father&Son Christmas 30

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So when your son goes riding with you then ask to go again? YOU MAKE TIME. John and I haven't done much riding since he was much younger. He hit his teens and he's mainly doing his own thing. I missed our time we used to spend so when these moments come around I don't say no. I only make a plan and stick to it. He's athletic so I know he can do the miles so today, we increased the miles to 30. We had 29.4 at the end so we rode on and finished with 31.6 miles. His longest ever and good miles for me. I was able to ride ahead a few times so and take photos or video of him approaching where I stopped. The overall ride today was really nice. More vehicle traffic on river road than I expected but it seems the drivers are used to cyclist and share the road well. A really light breeze against us on the way out and with us on the way back made it comfortable both ways. A few challenging hills and nice descents along the route out and back.  Typically I like doing a loop over an out and back but River Road is an out and back that's worth the ride. The fact that it was my son and I made it all the better. We started this day opening gifts with our family way of opening gifts one at a time, then for John and I we had our time together riding (a really nice gift) then steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus for dinner. Perfect weather for cycling and  our oldest Claudia made the best mashed potatoes I think I've ever had. This was truly a God blessed day.
I hope all my cycling friends got out to ride today. Be blessed and RIDE ON! 

1st New Braunfels Cycling Group Ride

So today I got together with a local riding group here in New Braunfels for the first time and rode from Gruene to Sattler along River Road. Not my first time on this route but Probably my fastest ride on this route. This was a really good group of people with two newbies being me and Derek. But? My ride was a bit more than just River Road. I started from my house about 7 miles away and rode to the start then rode home after taking a little longer route. But? Back to the group ride.
I don't think the temp broke 70 during the ride so to say it was nice is not even close to just how nice it was. First, you gotta know River Road. Mostly shaded with very light traffic and mostly along the river. I'm guessing that's how it got its name. After some miles you'll begin to see high stone walls in the distance and eventually much closer to the road. Typically the river is flowing gently and you'll see people riding tubes, fly fishing and even sitting in lawn chairs in the shallow places in the water during the warmer months. But during the chilly time of year, the in water activities dissappear except a few fishermen and the camp grounds along the river are also less crowded. This also means a lot less traffic. Riding the light hills on the route are forgiving but the road isn't. There's no shoulder or bike lane but local car drivers know cyclist will more than likely be there with no place to let them by so patience is needed.  I got dropped almost immediately then caught up to one rider and stayed with him until the Sattler gas station turn around. With the north wind we were into the wind on the way out and a nice tailwind on the return. Every cyclist knows one thing. What you struggle with on the way out will more than likely be pleasure on the return, and what feels good on the way out you'll probably have a hard time with on the return. Basically if you climb it one way, you'll be on the decent on the other way and...I think you get it.  This goes the same with the wind.  Leaving out of Gruene there's a really quick descent followed by climbing, then another descent to the river. Returning? You'll have to climb out of River Road and the main climb  up into Gruene. Save your legs for that one. Once we were all back at the parking lot in Gruene, it was pack it up and see ya next time. I rode there so I still had some riding to do. Derek also rode in from his hotel so we rode out together until we were headed in two different directions.  My ride there and back took me across the Faust St Bridge. I took the time to stop there on the way back for a few photos then on through downtown and Landa Park. At that point I should have just taken the quick way home but decided to stretch it out a bit longer and ended with 50 miles. My neighborhood allows me to ride comfortably around a block or two for this reason... had I gone straight home at that point I would have had 49.7 miles. Passing my house and around the block allowed me to get it to an even 50. For whatever the reason I finished today with more soreness than I've had in a long time. I've done a century in the flat lands of the Rio Grande Valley and I've done longer than 50 mile rides since riding up here in the hills. Possibly keeping a faster pace through River Road than I usually keep, not fueling the body prior to the ride or a combination of the two. In any case my legs were feeling it after today's ride. But? It was worth it. Meeting new riders and heading out in a group is always fun. The only thing that can come of this is me becoming a stronger and a bit faster rider. I told the group at the start, I'll try and keep up. One of the guys looked at my bike and said you'll do fine. Don't be deceived. A fancy bike and cool clothes doesn't always equal speed. I really like my bike and I ride with aerobars. The aerobars really are comfortable once a rider is used to them and in position on the bars does make a speed difference just not enough for me to keep up today. Add that my usual riding style includes photo stop after stop and looking for scenery as I go.  River Road is all scenery and today was one of those beautiful days but I pushed through places where I normally would stop for a photo ot three. Once back at my house and showered, I used my foam roller to self massage the muscle soreness away. I wanted to just rest but family duties were on call for the rest of day. I'll be fine as this is a good soreness. I hope you Thanksgiving day vacationing riders got a chance to get out and put some make room for turkey miles on. For me it's already a great day. Be blessed and RIDE ON!

First river crossing

passing Gruene Hall on the return

looking over The Faust Street Bridge 

Foggy NB 22

https://www.relive.cc/view/vPv4MLgQ73O

64 degrees at the start and 66 was the last I saw while riding & 68 as I write this. Great temp but foggy & humid. Not a drip drop sweaty humid but moisture under the jersey collar for sure. Half of my stopping today was just to wipe off my glasses. I wear a helmet with a face shield but never got to put it on because other than a one or two minute bright spot the sun did not pop through the fog while riding today. Cleaning my glasses was almost a constant. The stop and wipe was to use actual tissue to clear/clean my glasses. I saw a few other cycling addicts out there but not many. Walkers and fishers in Landa Park as usual but very light car traffic today and I'm thankful for that. With the earlier sunrise this time of year my headlight was mostly flashing and I ran three rear lights. Flashing reds were clipped on my jersey, my helmet built in flasher and one on my bike bag. Judging from the distance I could see lights as I rode, I know drivers could see me. Downtown New Braunfels has their Christmas lights up and going in the traffic circle complete with music playing. A few houses also have nice displays right now. It's just funny to me to see the home displays with the nice air filled reindeer and so on at night, and during the day it looks like a Christmas massacre in their front yard. Anyway,  I made my way to Gruene and back on my usual route crossing the Faust Street Bridge going coming and just a nice ride altogether. I took a familiar route along Landa towards the dog park then past the soccer fields and up to Fisher park via Walnut to the backside of the park. I took the walking path going up into the park for the 1st time. At the top of the park I took a few pictures then made my way home climbing up County Line Rd. All of my rides begin and just about end with a climb. A nice peaceful ride even for a foggy day. Now? Just gonna relax and prepare for this upcoming Thanksgiving. I hope everybody else gets out and makes the time to ride. It's already a great day. Be blessed and RIDE ON! 

About to ride

Downtown traffic circle decorated 

Faust Street Bridge. One lone fly fisherman,  but plenty of fog

An empty Faust Street Bridge 

Foggy morning dew on the helmet

Tarmac on the Dance Slab in Landa Park

Glasses holder,  on the Slab in Landa

Me and the Tarmac

Atop Fischer Park 

WPNBG 111520

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Another day for a good ride. Windy with hills is not always the best combination but here in New Braunfels, the wind kicks up with cold fronts coming through the area. This equals? COOLER weather and knocks out the almost ever present humidity. So? No needs to stop today just to wring out my sweat band. I got started a little later than usual for a Sunday so no coffee stop for either. Gotta get to church on time.
I started off with the wind but most of my outward route was into the wind after a hard turn towards downtown. After downtown, towards the Faust St Bridge, I had a good cross wind at my back. The best part of that was knowing my main climb back to my home would be wind assisted. Towards the bridge and in the direction to Gruene I was totally into the wind. Not trying to break any records, I just got into a comfy gear, into my aerobars, tucked, and pushed on. After halfway through the Gruene 4 mile loop I was on my return and wind aided. My previous 12-14mph turned into a steady 19 or more with effort. Memories of my previous ride in Harlingen came to mind as it's windy 90% of the time and 100% flat so my mph average there were higher. With the hills here, maintaining a higher mph requires effort. There's a few climbs that'll drop me to below 10mph. I'll peek at my Wahoo head unit and see my average drop by the minute. My buddy John H made mention of my average just yesterday with the hills and he's right it was good but I did 4 loops around Gruene that are not so hilly with added intervals. Another thing here is because of the steepness of a few hills, when I ride up I really slow down. Going down doesn't equal it out because it's steep enough that I begin to feather my brakes on the way down to avoid that out of control about to lose it feeling. I never thought I would be one to do that, but I do. I'm not talking slowing from 20 to 10 but from 30 to 24 or so. Throw in a cross wind and that feeling is multiplied with my higher profile carbon rims.
This is possibly the only advantage of riding solo. There's no one to complain when they want to jackrabbit down a hill while I'm being sensible. Still,  I love riding the New Braunfels area and hope to continue to do so for a long time. Challenging hills, GREAT views and the drivers aren't crazy. In reality I have more drivers waving me through intersections than cutting me off, and that's just plain nice. Dogs? I've had 2 dogs charge at me in the last 2 days and both were behind fences. I must say thank you to the local dog owners in this town. Well? It's been a long day. With a nice 20+ miles, church and spending time with my daughter. I'm blessed and I pray anyone reading this will realize their blessings. RIDE ON! 

Faust Street Bridge 

Back home and ready for a shower and off to church

Riding my problems Away

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Folks that drink (to get drunk) their problems away typically return to find the problem still staring at them. If they were lucky,  no other problems were created during the drinking my cares away moment. Cycling, actually doesn't cure the problem but it does give me the time to clearly think about the next step in solving the issue, and since I'm already praying that car drivers are driving with a clue that I'm on the road, I can also throw into that conversation with God a question or 3 for guidance. The calming of the ride keeps me clear headed to consider solutions and just like taking a steep hill, not giving up. Within this ride I took a climb on Fredericksburg Rd, near Landa Park that I haven't done before. I made it but not without peaking my HR at 170 or so, plus? 4 loops around Gruene doing off and on intervals within each loop. Today I did make a cafe stop at Gainz's bakery. Gainz's has a specialty of healthy baked goods that are Keto friendly, and some that are dairy free.  All have a great taste and as with keto and vegan items they have greater nutrition than sugar and white flour typical baked goods. Because they're sugar free items, there's less of a surge of quick energy from a sugar & carb dump into the system. But? If you're looking for a healthy stop on your ride Gainz's is a good place for a snack stop. There's even an out of sight under the stairs place to stash or lock your bike.
My intention this morning was 30 miles but 40 was what I finished with. No car issues and decent weather with off and on drizzle that didn't wet the ground but I could feel it on my face plus humidity on the high side. I still say good weather because I wasn't in 90+ baking sun. Today was about 75 on average and overcast clouds.
My issues are yet to be solved but?
It's still a great day.
Be blessed and RIDE ON! 

My snack stop for the day Gainz's

Bakery

The top two tracks are all keto friendly baked goods. The bottom rack are dairy free goods

My bike resting near my outside table.