Like I said, I was sure one of you all had tried it. Thanks for saving me from the aggravation of discovering it doesn’t work!
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I’ve NOT ridden in a single group ride (of which there have been many) within which there wasn’t a LOT of “nutters” riding off the front, past the fence, and affecting the entire group, including the ride leader. The fact that many group ride participants are mindlessly riding in an unconscious state, just following without thought, that which they see on-screen, is a behavior pattern that is self-curing. And we’ve seen growing evidence of this in the growth in the size and skill levels of the immensely popular Pace Partners. I’d submit that this is one of the primary factors driving the popularity of the Pace Partner rides. Stay or leave, it doesn’t matter. So it’s really 10 times out of 10.
The “Keep Together” function in E category group workouts is buggy as H, and there are multiple threads describing the wacko speed/power/energy metrics arising from these horrid groups. I’ve only done 1, and I felt like I was riding in molasses. Lately others are reporting Ventoux ascents at 40kph! And that’s why, together with the distorted metrics already mentioned above, that I’ve not returned again to an E group workout. Group workouts are a fantastic feature, but the metrics and ride feel associated with these groups are NOT functioning correctly. Not everybody does workouts in ERG mode. I control my own cadence and power targets in workouts, and generally use custom workout mode. A good example occurred to me yesterday whilst climbing the Volcano in a huge Tour of Watopia event. The entire “group” (loosely termed) was spread out all over the mountain. My preference would have been to set a workout for 15 minutes at 220 W, and pedal steadily up the mountain. But that option was denied me.
I find it hilarious that you associate group rides with “racing” (“i’ve [sic] got no idea why you would want to race people during a workout.”) I’m quite certain I said nothing about “racing”. Although it’s a known, though unfortunate, fact that most group rides “feel” like a race… and in fact many group rides now have mini-races built into their formats. I race in races, not group rides. I detest group rides that do not adhere to their advertised ride and pace descriptions. My workouts are limited to solo-rides, for reasons partially described here. Workouts and group rides are not incompatible in Zwift (though perhaps IRL). I frequently do High Intensity intervals when near the end of my Pace Partner sessions, though I’m unable to engage the workout HUD. This is a needless limitation.
Edit: Clearly, too, many users are already using third-party workout applications (especially Training Peaks) simultaneously with their Zwift sessions. The mere existence of this large segment of Zwifters who are already doing workouts in in group rides using third-party apps illustrates well the present and growing demand for this feature.
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the reason you don’t see it in group rides, are cos workouts aren’t available in Zwift group rides atm (thank god). if it were to be made possible to do workouts in group rides, you would see it a LOT more.
but yea u can keep arguing if u want. it still doesn’t make any sense to me xD
so as a group ride rider, i vote to keep em seperate.
peace out.
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There’s some people in this topic trying to dictate how others should enjoy the game, or experience ‘social’. I don’t agree with that.
Many, if not most, events actually say in the description that you can join completely on your own terms. So why not do a workout during a ToW or ZLDR run?
If some people like myself consider being in the same event already as a ‘social’ experience, isn’t that enough? For runners it’s practically impossible to chat and run at the same time anyway.
I’m in a 16 week training schedule, which means that I’m not joining any events for 16 weeks(!). That’s a bummer…
I’d venture the existence of this large segment illustrates how bad Zwift workouts and plans are. It’s why I do it - or to be more exact, why I did it since I rarely ride in Zwift these days.