I know this probably is a tired topic and so I’m just venting a little. But I’m 66 years old and had a knee replacement 5 months ago. But I’m boxed out of many rides that would be perfect for me because of my XY chromosomes. I appreciate the rationale. But it is frustrating and really narrows my group ride timeframes.
You make it sound as though you want to do women’s rides because they would be slower. Keep in mind that much of the rationale behind women’s-only rides isn’t because the men’s rides are too fast, it’s because of men’s egos. There should be plenty of ‘XY’ rides out there that fit your needs.
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Twenty years ago, I had an ego on the bike. It’s long gone. I’m relatively new to Zwift so admittedly don’t understand everything. It’s a great app and am enjoying the rides I can participate in.
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Cheating on Zwift is bad. But if you cheat, you only cheat yourself. There is nothing to gain. If you are not on ZwiftPower, then it is not even much of a cheating. Sometimes the situation dictates it.
Try reducing your weight significantly in Zwift. This would increase your watts/kg and will increase the speed at which your avatar is moving, especially up the hill.
So this would allow me to keep up with faster D rides as I get back in shape and my knee heals?
Potentially yes, if you drop your weight down it will have a direct impact on your power to weight ratio and thus move you along quicker.
I get the impression you don’t care about your results and if you end up winning Cat D races you would need to up your weight until you reach a happy medium. I wouldn’t class what you are doing as cheating in any way. In fact I commend you for battling on and if I’m still turning the pedals at your young age I’ll be happy.
Ride On!
It has been long recognized that it’s ok to change your weight to be able to participate in group rides but this should never occur in a race of any kind because that is cheating.
It certainly is cheating. It’s cheating others (who have accurate weights) out of a better result.
For group rides I don’t see an issue with altering your weight setting. But for races, no way.
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Give the man a break Steve, he’s 66 and carrying an injury and is just looking for motivation to take part in events.
I doubt he’s going to be bothering the podium anytime soon and if he finishes 56th in a race I’m not the sure person in 57th will be too concerned.
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A better option is to look for beginner races, the HERD does a few.
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I’m not even considering a race and would never consider cheating. What’s the point? I just want to hang on to a slow group as I get back in shape. Thanks, everybody. Take care of your knees!
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Hi Mike, 69 going on 70. Will never get back down to my racing weight and strength of 45 years ago. But I still try racing on occasion by focusing on scheduled time trails where it’s me against the clock. So what if others pass me. I’m out to do my best where I win if my time is better than the last time trial.
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