For a change - let’s start with the runners! We’ve been trialling Running Pace Partners on a number of different routes recently and we’ve been seeing a significant upturn in attendance on the run only routes. We’ve tried 5k Loop and That’s Amore recently. Next week we’re going to use the Chilli Pepper route in Watopia.
Onto cycling - I hope that you’ve managed to enjoy the Festival d’Alpe events that we’ve been putting on - with Pace Partners helping to pace riders up the Alpe du Zwift with targeted times. I took onboard feedback from the last round of events that we did here, with a faster lead in and I think it worked well. I think the next time we do these we’ll look to do some custom messaging with information about the hairpins and some trivia too, but I think they have gone down well and the attendance has been great!
No other special news this week, other than the fact that I’ve been informed that the issue we had with Pace Partner creation - where they would show as black or throw up some pretty weird texturing issues on ATV, should now be fixed for any new Pace Partners I make in the future.
We move onto week 2 (of 8) of our schedule for the roaming Pace Partner as below, with our “Makuri” Pace Partner staying in France for another week (their 3rd of 4).
A. Anquetil (4.2) - Triple Flat Loops
B. Brevet (3.3) - Big Foot Hills
C. Cadence (2.5) - Three Little Sisters
D. Draft (2.15) - Tick Tock
D. Disc (1.8 ) - Watopia’s Waistband
D. Diesel (1.5) - Watopia Flat Route
D. Duster (1.15) - Volcano Flat
B. Blazer (3.8 ) - Douce France
C. Chaser (3.0) - RGV
D. Drops (2.0) - Casse Pattes
E. Echelon (1.0) - Roule Ma Poule
Thanks for the new routes. I think it would be great if the rotation of the routes was less than every 7 days. As much as I ride on Zwift some weeks doing the same PP route over and over again gets to be very boring. Is that at all possible or to have the PP do something random?
What was the outcome/analysis of the Chase Races James?
Well attended? Well received? Plans for the future.
Something like that in lead up to ZRL could be a good idea
I think they went really well. The one thing I would look to change is the paces of the Chase Partners. So instead of 4.49, 3.99, 3.19 and 2.49 I would probably look around 4.2, 3.8, 3.0 and 2.3.
No immediate plans to host more but I’m sure we will in the future.
@James_Zwift, can you please add the last names of the PP in your first post? In game you don‘t see the first names only their last names and that‘s a problem especially with the Ds. Thanks!
I invented a new game today while riding Watopia’s Waistband with Diego Disc. As we approached the Desert Turnaround I rode away off the front and took the left turn on to the loop. Obviously, Diego and the blob went straight on.
When I got to the end of the loop I turned left again and hit the gas to rejoin the route and catch back up to the blob. It was a (Type 2) fun way of varying the ride and incorporating a harder effort into the ride. Certainly better than doing a couple of U-turns.
This would also work for PP rides on Tick Tock, Triple Flat Loops and Big Foot Hills.
I thought I’d share, just in case there are other people as strange as me.
For the two C pace partners, one is 165 watts and the other is 225 watts taking their weights into account. This is quite a big jump in power and there in nothing in-between.
I hope you guys will put something more in the middle of these two power ranges as the lower value is a bit too low for me and the higher value is a bit too high. I’m sure there must be many others like me.
Also, I think it would be good if you are given the option of a warm-up before joining a pace group. I know we can always warm up on our own, but a proper 5-10 minutes erg mode warmup at levels appropriate to the pace partner power would be great I think. After the warm-up is done, you automatically join the group.
This would be a great feature. Ending a Ride and restarting is not end of the world but it would be great to have an option to warm up with the group you are going to ride with.
Yep, totally get it. Going straight into the pace that you’re going to ride at, or worse still, starting on a climb, is not the best experience if you’re doing anything over z1/2.
