enve ses 8.9 – snap snap, grin grin … say no more

Zwift Big Spin | Stage 4

Tim — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 20:58:49 +0000

Again I stuck with the B Class route for the final Stage 4 – the Lutece Express route in Paris! I had ridden this route before but forgotten how long the ride in was. However it was quite enjoyable and with two laps gave two opportunities to win prizes. I won the Le Tournesol Kit and Le Beret. Annoyingly the prize I wanted – the Union Jack bucket hat wasn’t forthcoming but I wasn’t desperate enough to ride anymore from this event.

Route	Lutece Express
Distance	18.3 km
Time	33 m 22 s
Elevation	109 m
Average Power	228 W

Zwift Big Spin | Stage 3

Tim — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:59:32 +0000

This evening I chose to stick with the B Class route for Stage 3 – the Mighty Metropolitan route in New York which contained a nasty KOM that caused a lot of grief! I reverted to my usual wheels from the Tri-Spoke and Disc wheel wheels I got from the Stage 1 ride. This time round I won the Zwift Big Spin shoes. As a bonus, I also levelled up to Level 32 and unlocked the flat cap! Only one more Stage to go for next week but hopefully I’ll get a chance to ride between now and then…

Route	Mighty Metropolitan
Distance	21.0 km
Time	44m 16s
Elevation	327 m
Average Power	208 W

Zwift Big Spin | Stage 1

Tim — Sat, 16 Mar 2024 21:19:03 +0000

Well, tonight’s ride was the first ride in over a month due to travel and illness. I still wasn’t feeling particularly good but having put a lot of weight in due to a lack of exercise I forced myself to jump aboard. Stupidly I chose the Category A ride Country to Coastal. I really suffered with this one and plodded round at a very sedate pace even using the coffee break facility. Still, it felt good to be back in the saddle, literally. It was also a new route for me and I managed to level up to Level 31, and unlocked some Oakley Eyeshades.

Regards the Big Spin I managed to win the Tri-Spoke and Disc wheel combo. Woo.

Route	Country to Coastal
Distance	35.2 km
Time	1h 8m 20s
Elevation	289 m
Average Power	195 W

Zwift Tour de Zwift 2024 | Stage 7

Tim — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 22:48:01 +0000

Tonight I finished the tour with the relatively short 34.3 km Category A ride Everything Bagel in New York. This was the Stage 7 ride of 8 but I never saw the opportunity when the race was originally run so I had to complete it in the catch-up week along with Stage 5. I was dreading the ride in all honesty given the short rest time between this and the nasty Achterbahn in Stage 5. Still, it wasn’t too bad as it was just over an hour’s effort.

So that’s another Tour done and dusted and I’m chuffed I completed all the Stage A rides despite never covering myself in glory with my efforts. Amazingly I didn’t level up as the ride was quite short but I did manage to get back above 2,000,000 drops so I need to go have a look in the shop!

Route	Everything Bagel
Distance	34.3 km
Time	1h 7m 45s
Elevation	545 m
Average Power	250 W

Zwift Tour de Zwift 2024 | Stage 5

Tim — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 22:17:30 +0000

Tonight’s ride was really tough. I wasn’t feeling 100% so I knew it would be a struggle. However, this is a catch-up week in which I need to complete Stages 5 and 7 which for some reason never appeared on my schedule. Stage 5’s A route was Achterbahn in Innsbruck. This is a single loop that goes up and then back over a hill. The climb itself is neither particularly long nor particularly steep but I found it very hard going. So much so that I had to invoke the coffee break facility on the second climb.

This is reflected in the stats on the brilliant Cycling Analytics site where my short-term stress is shown to already be higher than my long-term stress before the ride.

Oh, I’m now at Level 30 and have a nice new top to wear.

Route	Achterbahn
Distance	47.7km
Time	2h 6m 35s
Elevation	990 m
Average Power	208 W

Zwift Tour de Zwift 2024 | Stage 8

Tim — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 23:02:24 +0000

Well, the missing stages continue! After Stage 5 mysteriously failed to appear on my calendar, so do was Stage 7 missing. How odd (pun intended!). So I rode Stage 8 this evening, the A Category ride was the 55 km event-only route Spiral into the Volcano. I was feeling pretty fatigued before starting this so I knew it was going to be a hard slog. Indeed it was but I held in and managed to reach Level 29 (!). Now I need to ensure I complete the two missing routes in the catch-up period which feels like it will be quite hard to do.

Tonight’s ride was on a new frame and wheel combo, after I decided to spend some of the drops I’d earned. I bought the Scott Addict RC frame and paired them with some ENVE SES 8.9 wheels. This was someone inspired by the brilliant site Zwifter Bikes.

Route	Spiral into the Volcano
Distance	55.8 km
Time	1h 34m 19s
Elevation	355 m
Average Power	240 W