Why do some people insist on joining group rides when they have no intention of riding at or anywhere near the advertised pace? I joined a group ride today where the pace was to be 2.3 w/kg. The group stayed together for all of zero seconds. On reviewing the results, the first 20 finishers were all over 3w/kg and the 1st finisher was 3.8w/kg!! and over 5minutes ahead of the bunch. If you want to race, why not enter a race and leave group riding to those who want to ride in a group at the prescribed pace.
That wont change until Zwift give ride leader more tools to control the group.
3 Likes
Sometimes group rides are needed to complete some other accomplishment and they may just want to ride at their regular pace. This month’s ride with reason with reason challenge is a good example. I would reckon most people look for an event that lines up with their schedule. I did this earlier this week… I joined a 2 w/kg group ride and rode at 3 w/kg most of the event. I was riding at my zone 2/3 pace, wasn’t racing, but had no intention of riding with the group but it was the only event that worked with my free time that day.
Fair enough - but why not just do a workout which targets your zone 2/3? By riding at 50% faster than the group, you inevitably drag others with you which then either increases the speed of the group or reduces the numbers in the bunch which may then spoil the experience for those wanting to ride at the intended 2w/kg
2 Likes
Group workout speeds are currently broken in my opinion. Traveling speed feels about 60% what it normally would be while riding solo. My current Zwift goal is getting lvl 25 which means getting the most distance per hour and that slow group workout speed isn’t helping that goal.
Make sure you are also using the Zwift TT bike so you get the +10 after going under archways.