AHDR ... please reclassify group rides

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Hey AHDR team leads…

First, I want to say I enjoy the rides, but feel there is a problem with the way they are classified. I brought this up in the Brekkie Roll ride but hard to communicate effectively without a keyboard, so doing it here. Most of the rides are labeled B. Zwift themselves labels B as 3.2 to 3.9 w/kg. In the description of your rides, you will often call out 2.5-3.0 avg depending on the group … which puts this is as a C.

I get that rider weight, flat vs hilly, etc etc all factor in here. But on nearly every ride, I’m averaging closer to 2.2-2.4. This is technically not even C, but for the sake of argument let’s just say it is low C as stats vary by rider.

So what’s the problem, then? Many/most rides have CONSTANT messaging about getting off the fence, falling back to beacon, etc… like, hundreds of them. Most are probably just muting the messages which I’ve done from time to time.

Yes, it’s a group ride that should try to stick together, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want a good workout. If a B group is averaging low 2s, I can’t fault riders for pushing the pace. I also don’t think it is really necessary for a group of 100+ riders to stick together in one blob, but that’s my opinion.

Why not call this a C ride? Or, why not have 2 categories, B and C? Why not keep your B, but then encourage a clean separation so some of the pack can go harder, others can fall back. I’ve seen this done in other groups and it works very well. At least by labeling it C, you’d encourage those looking for a stronger ride to look elsewhere.

I hope this criticism is taken the way intended… I enjoy the rides and the people, except for the constant fence issues/chatter.

And no, I’m not the one flying off the front (usually, but it happens from time to time if I’m multitasking).

Ride on.

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I agree with this, huge blobs are not my favorite. I like a smaller group. On popular group rides with over 100 zwifters we should split up more and allow different paces groups.

Sometimes the draft pulls apart the groups anyway and you are still riding the advertised pace even though you aren’t with the leader.

The constant pleading with everyone to blob up is annoying, all ride leaders should limit it to just a few times per ride, like 3 is all you get.

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They usually use B for group rides and clearly advertise the range per below as well as within the description:

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I have done a few AHDR rides and they normally hit the range bang-on too. I just checked ZP for their latest Brekkie ride and have to say that the majority of riders look to average 2.7’ish w/kg - just as advertised.

If you dont like the noise about the fence, why not join different group rides that are more lenient? Everyone’s got strong opinions on these but from my perspective, the best group rides I go on are the ones where a fence isnt even needed as people stay in the group. At the end of the day the ride leads are putting these rides on for us so shouldnt we respect their wishes, regardless of whether we agree or not?

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I think that’s fair feedback and never occurred to me to look at zwift power. Admittedly, maybe my weight is skewing my avg to be low C. Even so, why not just stick with the well understood ranges? I mean, wouldn’t making this C just be more accurate?

I do agree about finding a better fit and there are a few that do, as you mention. However, sometimes I’m pretty time constrained so I look at what’s available at the time or starting soon. What catches my eye is “B”.

A large number of people are ignoring this as they aren’t following the beacon, and I can’t believe it’s fun for the beacon to be constantly chirping. Like I said, I offer it up as constructive criticism, but hey if they have fun sending hundreds of chirps and like it this way… it IS a great group of ppl, though.

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Yeah the sticking with commonly understood Cat is fair call particularly when they arent using the others, and moreso when Zwift has such a problem with people in wrongs Cats in racing - the least they could do is encourage consistentcy. Maybe I have got used to not trusting what I see so rarely get caught out.

The whole Beacon thing is interesting and very galvanising for sure.

Categories dont really work (for racing) and the fact that 2.7w/kg for me can mean a totally different thing for you doesnt help either. I did do one ride sometime back where it had an advertised speed. That meant the same thing for everyone and was a really good ride without beacon barking every few minutes. Havent seen one since and probably doesnt work for all routes.

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