jpescatore

I kinda mix my riding up with a handful of group rides I've found that stick to the advertised paceand don't constantly focus on the "fliers" going too fast. Who cares if 1/3 the starting group takes off and disappears?

Lots of time I just get on and ride - a nice workout since rarely in a draft but if I start day dreaming, my pace slows - lose that "don't get dropped" incentive.

Then I'll do rides with a pacer bot but since they used to be only in Watopia and generally on the same route all the time, get bored if I do that too often. But a nice way to force my natural pace up. Getting the drops multiplier is a visual indicator to stay near the pacer bot but once I upgraded my bike and wheels, the drops are pretty useless. I think in 5 years of Zwifting I've only worn 2 different jerseys, (not counting the ones group rides put on you) and the same gloves and socks. They stay clean - Zwift must wash them for me between rides...

I'll throw in a few group workout rides - I really like the "Orange Unicorn" over/under group workout.

What I really like is those big mega group rides where thousands of riders get on. I'll start out riding at the pace I'd like to hold and inevitably I'll find a smaller group congealing near that w/kg and we'll stick together for the rest of the event.

Warbird21

Stupid Zwift question - how do I find a Pace partner? I looked around last night, but couldn't find where to ride with one, so I just started solo. (or are they simply encountered on a route, than you stick with them?)

While I'm asking dumb questions - who do some riders have a small ghosted screen in front of their handlebars?

atwl77

At the main menu where you select the world to ride in, at the bottom there's a list of riders you can join (under "Join another Zwiftter?"). In certain worlds (Watopia and Makuri Island) you'll also find the pace partners in this list.

They're doing workouts.

sarhog

For others that happen upon this thread, that are new to Zwift, “drops” are only used for bikes and wheel sets. Jerseys, gloves, shoes, socks, etc are gained by progressing through levels, or by completing certain rides. Some jerseys are free, you just have to type in a an “unlock” code to get them.

jpescatore

Now you just go to the "garage" in the Zwift app and see all the stuff you have earned and you can outfit yourself or "buy" new stuff with drops - I don't think I've used an unlock code in a long time.

Not really something I do much, but that is what is cool about Zwift: it has features for racers, gear-heads, "kit"-heads, slow riders, workout-only cyclists, all kinds of stuff.

atwl77

The unlock codes are for special jerseys, you won't see them in your garage unless you know the specific code to enter.

genejockey 

I did a race on Zwift last night, and it turns out the time spent riding with Coco paid off! The race was 29 miles and I ended up riding in a group with 5 other Ds and a C pretty much the whole way at Coco power levels. I spent the almost the whole time 2nd-5th wheel with as little time on the front as I could get away with. I might have won if I had attacked on the final climb instead of on the following descent.

sarhog

That’s awesome!!! Many times in races on Zwift, I will end up in a small group (3-6) of riders, and when I try and “take my turn at the front”, someone almost immediately pours on the power to overtake me, then maintains the original group speed. Hey, I tried, right? I used to feel guilty sitting on a wheel the whole race until the final sprint, but no more.

genejockey 

Yeah, I notice that. It's hard to stay on the front, but that's a good way to push the pace. Unless you really go hard you won't find yourself off the front for long, and once they've caught you, you can sit in.

spelger

I rode with C. Cadence yesterday. is that Coco? any way, was in the muir woods and needed my towel after about a half hour of riding but was just outside my reach. i waited until i got to the top of the hill with the pace partner about 8 meters back, got my towel and it passed me and i could never catch up again. man that was fast, i was a bit shocked because i was pumping out over 8w/kg at one point and could not catch up to the group. when in the group in the desert flats area we were hauling @ss...about 40kph. once i was alone i looked at my same power level and was only at 20ish kph. what a huge difference.

lesson learned...have towel at the ready.

WhyFi

If you're going to take a second to reach for something, do it on the uphill - much easier to catch up because she takes an easy pace up and the benefit of the draft isn't so pronounced.

genejockey 

Yeah, they're hard to keep up with downhill, because they keep on pushing the same power, which is not something cyclists do IRL.

spelger

i rode an entire lap with C.Cadence yesterday. it was a good but actually really difficult to keep my pace correct on the descent.

later i decided to give B.Brevet a go, joined just before the beginning of the climb up the volcano. now that descent was really tough. I do not usually push myself down that like i did yesterday. got a PR though not surprising. after 10 miles of that i was pretty much toast. one thing i found interesting was that on the flat with the C group we were moving at about 4okph and with the B group about the same on the flat. bit of a surprise becasue it was about 0.7 w/kg more if i recall. but the C group was huge in comparison. could not even try to count the C groop, the B group maybe 20-30?

WhyFi

Yeah, it's something like a .7 w/kg jump between the two, but it's actually more than it sounds - Cadence is lighter and puts out significantly less power than Brevet, so the flats are really tame as long you don't get detached. Also, she doesn't do much climbing, so her w/kg doesn't matter as much as her absolute power, which is somewhere in the 160w range, IIRC.

redcon1

Although I always ride off from the front of the C Pace Partner unless I am mindful of the gradients, It seems like a huge jump to me to hang on the the B rider group. I guess because its near or closer to my threshold power-- but after 15 minutes I am toast.

I wish there was a C+ or B- option.

genejockey 

I wonder if, because Zwift is actually running on your computer and they only tell you about (IIRC) the 100 closest riders for your rig to render, maybe the group is even larger than we think it is? I dunno, but you're right, the C group is huge.

MinnMan

Though there are exceptions, I find that "pulling" works differently on zwift. going in and out of the draft has a different feel than than IRL, and unlike IRL, you can find yourself on the front without deciding to go there. Likewise, you can be overtaken by people who aren't necessarily intending to do that. So if I'm with a group that is pushing the pace, one of us is surging ahead a little in bursts that last maybe 10 seconds or so. If the group has some spirit, this works. If there's only one person trying to push the pace, it kind of falls flat.

msu2001la

Having pace partners on routes with actual terrain is a game changer for me. I like riding with C.Cadence, but had gotten tired of the flat route on Watopia (plus it's not advancing my Tron bike quest), so I kind of gave up on them. I haven't spent much time in the Makuri Island world, but was free riding this morning and stumbled upon the D group. I was shocked to see them going up on one of the KOM's. The D group was really slow on that climb so I ended up riding off the front, but I will definitely look for the C group next time that world is up.

MinnMan

I'm of two minds about coco and climbing. I liked it when she always rode pancake-flat Tempus Fugit. It was easy for the group to stay together and if people wanted to go off the front, the Reverse Fuego Flat sprint was there to help them.

OTOH, like msu2001la , I'm gradually chasing the Tron bike (I'm at about 125,000' just now- wish I had known about the challenge a year earlier) and Tempus Fugit won't get me there. Also, I like the challenge of the rolling hills in the sequoia grove. But if you're on the faster side of coco's group, the hills break up the group. And as people have posted here, if you are on the slower side, you get dropped on them.

MinnMan

yeah, thats' me also. I have to really want to volunteer for the pain cave if I'm going to try to hang with Bowie for an extended period.

Eric F

Good to know that the bots are in the Makuri Islands world, too. I've been getting a bit bored with C-bot in the desert.

msu2001la

This 1000%.
When I first jumped on Zwift (late fall 2020), I wrongly assumed the Tron bike prize was based on total elevation in the game, and not specific to the Everest challenge. I therefore signed up for the "Ride California" challenge. I was probably 600 miles into that challenge when I learned that none of the climbing counted towards unlocking the Tron bike. I finished up the California challenge anyway, got the S-Works Tarmac SL-7 (which is a cool bike, but also very similar to the Canyon Aeroad that I had already purchased), and then switched to the Everest challenge. I haven't really targeted climbing specifically and am just inching my way closer.

As of today, I'm at 65,789ft, roughly 40% of the way there. Just under 100k ft of climbing to go. I thought I could get there by next spring, but I've only been averaging around 5,000ft a week, so unless I really focus on climbing (which can get boring) it's probably not happening until next winter. My total elevation gain in the game is 144,672ft, so if I had selected Everest right off the bat I'd be unlocking the Tron bike in 2-3 weeks.

WhyFi

Ha, *exactly* the same experience. I found out about unlocking the Tron when I was 80% done with California, so I just stuck with it. Upon finishing, which was less than two weeks ago, I've been concentrating on climbing, aiming for 600-1000m per ride, and hoping to have it unlocked by spring.

zandoval 

Following slowly this thread. Not being familiar with CoCo or Zwift or any of the aps out there I find it very, very interesting. It would appear that you can have an exciting ride and remain stationary. WOW... That's a good thing for those days you are grounded. Having a pacer, and being able to log your expenditure too... What Fun...

I am embarrassed to say that on my Geezer rides the only pacer I have is that fat young lady down the street chasing me on foot with her ear buds, cell phone, water bottle and squeaky tight spandex... Look Out! She's coming up on your six...

atwl77

I rode with C. Cadence on Makuri Islands flat route last week, just thought I'd share my thoughts -

Effort-wise it's somewhat trickier to manage than C. Cadence on Watopia's Tempus Fugit, but easier than the lumpy one that goes through the dinosaur grove. It still has the same challenges going uphill and downhill as all the other routes. I tried to keep about 20-ish meters (65ft) distance ahead of the pace partner but even just going up a short hill (i.e. the rise heading into the onsen village), I can very quickly outpace them and get the "Let C. Cadence catch up" warning message which usually happens around 35-40m. Then the long downhill after the castle I have to increase my effort significantly or else I risk getting dropped by them.

In terms of ride feel and effort it's like a counter-intuitive group ride to me. It's mostly a tempo ride, but climbing up to the onsen village, I have to take it easy (sometimes very easy, dropping into Z1 efforts) just to make sure I don't leave them behind and lose my drops multiplier. Then rolling downhill after the castle it's a high cadence interval at above threshold efforts to keep them at bay.