After fantastic weather on Friday, Saturday rained. We rode the shorter version of the Tour of Watopia Stage 3, the Downtown Titans route.
With two ascents up Alpe du Zwift this week (hill climb/TT finale and the race series finale), we had a very tired group of five (Dusty, Melissa, Tim, Zinj, and me). There were 1,098 riders in our stage of the ToW! We all went very slowly. Melissa only had to be reminded once that it was not a race. As usual, Zinj started late.
We discussed Thursday’s race. Dusty shared how he was able to stay with the pro riders until the beginning of the climb up the Alpe. He finished 20th overall, which was a fantastic result with the level of talent in the event. Zinj and Jonathan battled up the climb before Zinj pulled away. My version of the race was a mental challenge to get my body to the top of the mountain. I finished, but earned enough points to move into a top-eight position.
Tim and Dusty both took advantage of the weather yesterday and rode outside. Dusty joined the Conway crew (six riders) for a 55 mile adventure.
I’m converting my gravel bike to tubeless (I’m several years late to the party), and I’ve had a challenging time removing my old tires. Zinj offered some advice, but he did mention he has cut off a stubborn tire in the past. This actually made me feel better about my struggles.
Melissa, Zinj, and I earned the Downtown Titans route achievement, which doubled our XP points for the ride. We all agreed that the Downtown Titans route would have made for a great race on Thursday instead of the flogging JOK gave us.
In total, we rode 15.8 miles with 968 feet of climbing. With the double drafting in the Tour, we all finished in under 53 minutes. I know my power numbers were in the recovery zone for the ride. No one seemed to mind the very short Saturday morning ride today.
We have the Wednesday night and Saturday morning Zwift rides on the calendar through the end of the month. Please check the calendar in case there is gorgeous weather that warrants a cancellation.
Join the NCC Club on Zwift or select the link in the discussion board/calendar for invite-only rides.
Check the NCC calendar for full details on all events. To learn more about the NCC and Zwift rides, please visit our Zwift page.
