What a difference 3 degrees makes ! Last weekend the temperature was hovering around 1 degree C plus a westerly wind which was not conducive to riding outside. This weekend the temperature was around 4 degrees C, with winter sunshine and little if any wind. A much more pleasant environment for a 3 hour ride round the Vale of Glamorgan.
Last Sunday (7 January) saw me complete a 100 minute ride on Zwift on my Tacx Neo smart trainer. Zwift is a bit like a computer game for bike riders with different routes to choose from. There are also races and group rides that you can choose to join. The combination of the routes and the smart trainer means that any terrain changes on the iPad are reflected in the resistance on the trainer – you either have to cycle harder or change to an easier gear (just like riding outside). However, you have to keep working even on the downhills!
Monday evening saw me take part in a Zwift race. Even though it started at 6.30 pm GMT there were riders taking place from all over the world all linked up via their computers. I finished something like 792nd and I wasn’t last! We were meant to to grouped according to power output ability – I have some work to do as the front runners finished in around 35 minutes with me coming in just short of an hour. Apparently you can trick the system by claiming a lower weight than you really are – you do get caught out if you have a heart rate monitor which shows you are not working very hard but putting out loads of power – possible for professional riders but not run of the mill riders like me.
The ride today was as good as a January ride gets. Dry roads (most of the time), watery sunshine and very little wind. I decided to take the Specialized Venge for a ride. 
This is a bike that likes going fast as it is primarily aerodynamic rather than a bike for climbing hills. By leaving in later morning I seemed to miss a lot of the traffic despite sticking to the main roads. A good session that saw me complete just short of 50 miles in a little over 3 hours without having to work too hard on the bike. Here is a link to the ride on Strava.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1357032302/embed/1f31b4b18e294d366d236a169d1e66b52c275f29
Any way, a good week of training and no injuries which always an added bonus.
You can sponsor me for my Ride Across Britain here
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