This will be a Meet Up Stick Together ride, i.e. no matter your power the group will stick together. To join, not only sign up below but friend me in Zwift (if not done so already), and I can then send you the Meet Up invite. This will be a 60 minute ride and will include an optional Workout. This is the clever part and requires a Zwift hack which I just read up on in ZwiftInsider.

The Join Ride button will appear on your ride screen 5 mins before 7am. Once you have landed at the Meet Up point in Watopia you will then need to select the Workout. On a PC press E for the Workout Selection screen, then open the L'Etape du Tour Training Club section, open Phase 2 and select the work out Sub-Threshold #2. (Probably best to take a look at this before 6.55am on Friday so you know where you are going...).

If you don't want a structured workout but just want to ride with the group for an hour that's fine too. You will be able to enjoy the rest of us suffering while you just cruise alongside.

For those doing the Workout it is individual choice if you ride with Erg Mode on or off. The default is On in which case the smart trainer is adjusting resistance constantly to maintain the prescribed power regardless of cadence (to a point). I ride with it Off which gives me full control. Pros and cons of each. If anyone has questions there is a ton of material on the internet about Erg mode, or we can discuss on the ride (between intervals!), and the mode can be toggled On/Off easily on a ride (if with PC anyway).

We will also be using the WCC_A Discord voice channel. Request invite for this if you have never joined the server. It will be emailed; easy process.

Let's do the BMTR Fundo again on Zwift at 8:10am Saturday to work on our endurance. Sign up for the A ride which is the longer distance option. Doesn't mean you/we have to do the full distance. This is one of the nice things about virtual rides, easy to exit whenever you like or need. I plan on riding around 2 hours, your mileage may vary;) Link to ride description here: Sign In

Another reason you should do this ride is to come out and support James Keeley as he prepares for the Half-Ironman World Championships to be held in New Zealand in November. This is a qualify only event so that gives you an idea about his prowess with regard to the Tri-athlete world. Info on the event can be found here: Sign In. Ride On James!

If you are new to Zwift group rides, recommend you log-in and begin a ride in any world 10 to 15 minutes prior to start time. Nice time to get warmed up and enough time to solve any connection issues that can crop up with all the Bluetooth/ANT connections that have to be made LOL. Should notice in lower left portion of screen, a prompt to take you to the event. If you don't get this prompt it means you are probably not signed up, but don't worry, joining is still easy. Exit the game, log back in and notice the list in upper right corner of upcoming events. Find the 8:10 BMTR Fundo and join it.

When you accept the prompt (or join ride) you'll be transported to the starting corrals, where you can continue to warm-up on a virtual wind turbo trainer (not kidding).

The method of meet-up in a big organized ride in Zwift is always a challenge; lots of riders, possibly multiple starting corrals. For this one, when the ride starts at 8:10, with mass rider start, we all pedal/sprint out at whatever pace one likes, but start slowing down at the 0.9 mile spot, and slow pedal/coast to bring yourself to the 1.0 mile point and stop (if you like to ride in meters, that would be the 1.6km spot). We'll wait a few minutes for all signed riders to show up. This is where the Discord chat app comes in handy as we can communicate through out the warm-up, start, regrouping and roll-out.

The power pace target will be 2.5W/kg. This effort level will be similar to what club riders would expect to do on a longer B+ ride. It's hard to say what the speed pace will be. Anyone wanting to go at a different pace, not a problem. We will have Discord to keep in touch even though we may not be together on the "ride".

Two visual things done to help us "see" each other are: 1) add WCC to your last name and 2) outfit ourselves with similar kit. For this ride, let's use the Battenkill kit from 2015. The unlock code is GOBATTENKILL While in game using PC or Mac hit "P" on the keyboard and enter the unlock code. Then go to your Garage for your fitting. With an iPad, the process is a little more involved. Email/text me and I can help with that. Here is good site if you are looking to expand your riding wardrobe: Sign In This ride may also put us automatically into the organizer's kit choices. If so, forget what I just said regarding #2 :)

Discord voice channel will be WCC_A, invite will be emailed to all signed up riders on Friday afternoon. If you've already joined the server in the past, no need for the invite.

Remember: If you don't have a push-to-talk set up or you don't mute your mike when not talking, your live mike picks up all background noises in your room (especially including heavy breathing on hard efforts). Take that for what its worth. Proper Discord etiquette goes a long way.

Excuse the long write-up but feel the need to help out the new comers. Now, let's have some fun!

For some insane reason, I enjoy counting down the turns on this climb and trying to get them to go by ASAP. If anyone shares my quirk, let's suffer together. We'll do the Zwift "Tour of Fire and Ice" route with a relaxed (please!) warm-up for the first 8 miles. Once we hit the mountain, it's every cyclist for themselves.

The route ends at the top of the climb, but I can't do all that work to get to the top and not take advantage of the easy miles going back down. I hope to regroup at the top, as long as no one is kept waiting too long, then draft with the group for the 8+ mile descent. I might cool down for a few miles past that to get to 25 miles total. It'll be heading toward 2 hours at that point. Riders are, of course, welcome to go their own pace and jump off at any point.

Let's go with the BIKEANDBEER jerseys and discord channel WCC-A. Please join discord and the ride before 10:00 so we can make sure we're all together in the volcano for an on-time (or only slightly late) start.

After the ride, I can set up a Zoom meeting at virtual DeCicco's. (I have several photos from the website. Will share so we have appropriate virtual backgrounds.) Everyone is invited to vDCs, whether you do this ride or not. Message me or Greg Sims or leave a comment if you are interested and I'll send the Zoom meeting details out. Zoom is in some danger of hacking so I'll share the info via email rather than posting it openly.

Added: As for how we find each other - start the Watopia "Tour and Fire and Ice route" by 9:55 AM and hang out at the start. It starts in the volcano and is not a commonly ridden route so we should be able to find each other. You can also friend/follow me on Zwift. Then when you get the pre-ride screen for this route you'll have the option of joining me.

Use that second option if you are below level 6, since you have to be level 6 in Zwift to do this mountain. If you join me (I think?) you will allowed to pass the locked gates.

If you need any help with route/jersey/zwift/discord/zoom, please ask!

Please use the individual rides to sign up for riding. This is a place holder and you can also use it to tell everyone what you are bringing for the post-ride meal.

Putting this in the ride calendar as a "save the date" for the 2020 Ride Leaders' Summit. This year's agenda is still being worked out but the place/date/time are known. We will meet on April 5th April 26th at Hillside Church in Armonk as in the past. The start time will be 2:45pm and end at 5:00pm. All ride leaders and perspective new ride leaders are encouraged to attend this informative session. Refreshments to be provided. Sign up and reserve the date in your personal calendar!

WCC Away Rides and Covid-19
Dear Friends,
Due to the uncertain nature of this virus on LIFE in the next few months, I am approaching away weekends cautiously.
The Tush Tuneup , normally in April, is currently scheduled (after the survey) on the first weekend in May. I am NOT booking any hotels at this time due to uncertainty. At best, we would switch to using Great Barrington as a base, and have 2-3 routes each day out of there. The primary fallback plan, at this time, is to do something like the Alice's ride, on one day only, and skip hotels entirely. The decision for the Tush will be made on or around April 15. Please check your email and the Rides Board at that time.
Bill O.

WCC Away Rides and Covid-19
Dear Friends,
Due to the uncertain nature of this virus on LIFE in the next few months, I am approaching away weekends cautiously.
The Tush Tuneup , normally in April, is currently scheduled (after the survey) on the first weekend in May. I am NOT booking any hotels at this time due to uncertainty. At best, we would switch to using Great Barrington as a base, and have 2-3 routes each day out of there. The primary fallback plan, at this time, is to do something like the Alice's ride, on one day only, and skip hotels entirely. The decision for the Tush will be made on or around April 15. Please check your email and the Rides Board at that time.
Bill O.