Baby steps

Hello all, relative newbie to zwift here, I have a question about the baby steps ride, I am coming back after knee problems, so this is a great way to do so.
But…I see its for 1 to 1.3 WPK, and I weigh 70 k ( I’m also 70 yo lol unfortunately!) so thats under 100 watts.
I have to put out an indicated 125 to 140watts, and sometimes up to 170 in short bursts to stay in contact with the group I’m in.
There is something amiss here, I have a tacx neo and desktop.
Can anyone suggest a cause?
It’s probably something I’ve done in setting up.
It certainly feels like the indicated number, but nevertheless I cannot be doing those figures.

Thank you for reading this, I’m certainly enjoying the ride though, and hope to progress, done a lot of club TTS in the past and miss the buzz.
Phil Chapman.

Your avatar in Zwift isn’t on a TT bike, by any chance? TT bikes don’t benefit from the draft.

95% of the times rides go faster than the advertised pace. And the other 5% you are miles ahead of the beacon who is warming up to 1.0 w/kg over 20 minutes.

Hi thanks for your message…so what you’re saying is that the level shown doesn’t mean anything, and everyone does their own thing regardless ?

Think I posted you the wrong message!!
I’ll check out the avatar…,usually tide with riders perspective so not sure.
Thank you

Thank you for your message…so what you’re saying is that everyone does their own thing and the wattage level doesn’t matter?

phillip,

Welcome to Zwift! You will find that the baby step rides are good rides but they do vary a bit due to different leaders.
I started a month ago and rode baby steps rides as my first group rides. My first one I got dropped after 20 minutes. after a week of “free rides” chasing route badges, I rode “baby Steps” again and made it 40 minutes. My third attempt I could keep up.
One thing with group rides is that staying in the draft is critical! If the main back is doing 1.0 - 1.3 WPK, they are getting the benefit of the draft. If you fall off the back, you will need to pump out 2.0 or more for a couple minutes to catch up. Not always easy or possible to catch up!
One trick is to ride a bit ahead of the leader to start. this allows you a bit of wiggle room to stay with the pack. Some rides run a fence out in front of the leader. I stay in between the leader and fence to keep with the draft.
You should also look at rides by “HERD” and ZER" Both have great groups and some of the rides are down to .8 WPK

Good luck!
Scott

Hello scott and thank you very much for your message.
I originally posted the question because I thought that my indicated watt output was wrong as It showed 140 to 170 a lot of the time! Just to stay with everyone, And I sometimes got the message “return to group “! But not sure which group !
Obviously I don’t want to go against the rules of the ride, and am anxious to conform, on the other hand, although I know it isn’t a race as such, I want to stay in contact with my group.
Which is confusing .
Are you riding on Sunday? Perhaps we could meet and ride together? Kind regards Phil…

I just checked the screenshot from your 14 February ride, and you’re not on a TT bike.

This happens if the “fence” is on and you ride too far ahead of the group leader (the yellow beacon). If you pass through the red fence, you will see that message, and it means to fall back to the beacon.

Another option for you is to do “keep together” meetups, where your power output doesn’t matter as long as you keep pedaling. To participate in a meetup, you have to be invited by someone you follow. I’ve just followed you. If you follow me back, I’d be happy to invite you to a “keep together” meetup on Sunday.

Edit: Of course, you can also create your own meetups and invite your followers.

2 Likes

Phil,
I see Jim answered a few questions, and he is right on.

One other thing I missed in your post was “are your WPK accurate”. You can get a feel for this by checking your WPK compared to others near you. They will never be exactly the same, but should be in the ballpark.

I’m riding a HERD ride on Sunday, but I’ll also follow you and Jim. I’ll join you in the ride if my schedule allows.

Scott

Following Jims lead, I also looked at your ride screen shots and it looks like you are out front on all of your rides. You are pulling everyone else and giving them the draft. Next ride, try to stay behind a few riders and you will get their draft and be able to keep up with less effort.

On your October 11th ride, you were just ahead of the fence and at the front of the pack. Fall back into the group and it will be much less work.
Scott

Thanks for the info…If You say I was ahead of the leader, then everyone around me must’ve been too! ‘Cos I was just staying with them.
Is the Fence you refer to the coloured band going across the road?..I thought it was to stop You going through, but riders seem to take no no notice of it.
Yes I would like to ride in a keep together group, thanks.

1 Like

Thank you for that…my watts seem to be around the same as those around me, But as I am over a metre away from the screen, its not easy to see clearly!, but still not sure if my figures are accurate…I just stay with the bunch that seems to be going at the pace that I want to go ( not red zone effort, but not too easy either, this is why I chose this ride as a start back to some sort of fitness at my age)
Not sure of the procedure to “follow “ someone! Happy to do this with the guys that have kindly responded to my queries.

Ok thanks I’d like that, ill try to sort it out, look forward to Sunday.

Before I can invite you to a meetup, you have to follow me. You can do this on the Zwift Companion app, which runs on iOS or Android. See

That article describes how to find other Zwifters using “Find Zwifters,” but in this case, it’s even easier, since I already follow you. On your profile page, click “Followers,” and my name should show up in the list.

Had a (very) quick look on my profile on my phone…but couldn’t see “followers “
I will try on my pc tomorrow before the ride.
If I can’t sort it before the start, no worries I will do it during the next week ready for the next one .

Yes, the fence is the Red band that you rode through and it also shows on the mini-map in the upper right of your screen. In the view I attached, you are the red triangle that is just in front of the fence.
You can click on this map to cycle through a few different views to find one that works best for you.

Followers: On phone from your main screen, hit the 3 horizontal line thing next to HOME. This will bring up a menu. Hit your name at the top to bring up your profile. You should see Following and Followers around the middle of the screen. Hit Followers to see whos following you. Hit the orange button next to our names to Follow us.

As you can tell, ZWIFT has many features to learn as you go…I’m still learning too!
Good Luck

I can’t set up the ride until you follow me. On your profile page, click here:

Really appreciate your help!
Haven’t really hot into zwift properly due to work and jobs at home, but hope to remedy that now.
Ok I’ve followed everyone that followed me, what happens next!

I’ve invited you to a meetup tomorrow. You should get a notification on the Companion app. You can click on the notification and RSVP, or you can see the Meetup on your Events page.