Rookie power higher than expected

Hi!

Yesterday I joined my first ever event, “The Rookie Ride Series (E)”. I was expecting 10–15mph/16–24kmh. But during the ride I was pushing 35kmh on average. Certainly not an “E” class experience. I also saw others pushing way more W/kg than I expected.

What did I do wrong? (all profile settings in Zwift on weight are correct).

Unless there’s a fence or a strong ride leader, Zwift group rides pretty much always end up as races.

The fence, when used, keeps people within a certain time of the ride leader (e.g. 10 seconds). But that still requires the ride leader to stick to the advertised pace.

If there’s no fence, riders are free to do whatever they want. Plenty will just ride off well ahead of the advertised pace. A good ride leader will stick to it and encourage people to ride with her or him. (I don’t think the fence is used in the Rookie Ride series.)

Assuming the ride leader did ride at the advertised pace, I’d say you did nothing wrong other than go off with fast riders, rather than hanging with the ride leader beacon.

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Is this the ride you are referring to (from ZwiftPower)?
It looks like the majority were riding 1 to 1.5w/kg, so it does seem like an “E” class. Are you sure you were not on a TT bike and therefore not benefiting from the draft?

Aaaah, I guess that must have been the case then. I was riding with faster riders. Indeed, there was not fence. Thanks for clarifying that, Daren and Steven! (It was my first ride, learning here ;)).

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Of course, and learning that every ride is a race on Zwift is part of that. :wink:

I think it’s just the nature of the beast. People see someone else slightly ahead, so they speed up. Then someone else follows, then someone else doesn’t want to be dropped so they go to the front. Even if the original intention was to stick to the pace, before you know it a bunch of people are hammering off the front. then you’ve got those who just wanted to join a group ride but aren’t interested in the intended pace; they just go all in from the start. =) It’s the main reason the fence got added to the game.

Some group rides are more disciplined than others though, and there are definitely group rides that do a great job of sticking to their advertised pace. PACK for example, I think have a good reputation. TeamZF too, AHDR, R3R… Whether they work for you depends on your own level and goals, but there are almost certainly group rides that will suit you.

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