The NCC Zwift peloton headed to London to ride the London Pretzel this morning.
We had nine riders (Chris, Henry III, John, Ken, Melissa, Steve, Tim, Zinj, and me).
Discord held the group together today. Five of our riders were on the official route. Zinj joined us late, no surprise, but was riding outside. Henry had limited time, so was riding a shorter route. I was climbing the Alp du Zwift as part of a workout. Despite climbing Ven-Top last week, Melissa insisted on ascending it again since she was unhappy with her time seven days ago.
Tim and I watch a fair amount of cycling content on YouTube. Tim highlighted the carbon balance bike video that costs more than you would imagine! It even has carbon wheels, carbon handlebars with toddler grips, and comes with a torque wrench. Unfortunately, you must supply your own bottle cages. I started the Call of a Life Time series, which is a Drive to Survive style series covering last year’s Life Time Grand Prix Series (3 gravel and 3 mountain bike events). I recommend it.
The sun was out today. Despite riding indoors with Melissa for years now, this was the first time we remember the sun being in her eyes. Fortunately, all her bike gear is within arm’s length and she was able to grab her sunglasses. Cory Hart’s Sunglasses at Night was playing in our heads.
Chris educated us all on unicycles and how descending hills works. He has done multiple century rides on the one wheeled contraption. We were encouraging Henry to have Chris be a guest instructor at his circus school.
We kept checking with Melissa on her quest to break the 90-minute Ven-Top barrier. She made it thanks to a 3.3. w/kg effort and even had 1 minute and 53 seconds to spare. Her max heart rate turned the conversation to resting heart rates and recovery, specifically sleep. Melissa was an advocate of rolling out with a lacrosse ball. I suggested she try a massage gun, but look for an inexpensive one on Amazon that is not too loud.
Chris and Ken earned the London Pretzel route achievement, which doubled their XP points for the route. Steve completed level 37 and his avatar received the Vintage Gloves.
In total, the group rode approximately 35 miles with 1,550 feet of climbing. The route took 2 hours and 12 minutes to complete.
Here is the NCC Zwift schedule:
- Tuesday 6:00 PM – Time Trial / Hill Climb
- Wednesday 8:00 PM – Social Ride
- Thursday Evenings – Road Race (times will vary between 5 PM and 7 PM EST)
- Sat 9:00 AM – Social Ride
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.
