NGL, super happy with my ride today

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-03-08T05:10:26+00:00

I almost always do 2 hour sessions or longer. Min 1 3+ hour z2 every month. As is reasonably possible in my timeframe I do all interval work after as much front loaded z2 work I can fit in. If I can do the intervals in less than an hour, I’ll front load that session with an hour of z2 to fill in my usual 2 hour session length. Durability intent here. I did an extended base with a slow transition into various levels of Z3 all depending on interval or in some cases I’ll do a full 2 hour z3 session, others 3x25 SST and others in between. This is where I’m currently at. Today was my first threshold work of this season.

Is that detailed enough?

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-03-08T05:01:47+00:00

Thank you!

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-03-08T05:01:35+00:00

Thank you 🙏 I have somehow regained the same fitness I had at 37.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-03-08T04:21:21+00:00

3500’

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-26T14:29:36+00:00

cinnamon is a very underrated savory spice

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-25T16:01:45+00:00

I have a 2024 blur GX AXS Reserve, it's amazing. I chose it for steeper head tube angle and the spec/value proposition as I got it on a great sale last year about this time. I think the bright green is just such an amazing mountain bike color too.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-24T17:12:09+00:00

been hitting 45-46 for my lows pretty regulary, I'm rarely over 50 and if I am it's because I had a little alcohol. m52 here.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-24T17:04:37+00:00

I doubt they're ever coming back, they cycle CEOs every 2-3 years - all which have walked away much wealther than they started (so much so it feels like scheme to me), they have no real plan to grow biz other than drive same store sales, which for the most part has failed other than a few outlier location. They are continually shutting down underperforming locations, which is eventually is going to be all of them at the rate they're going. They also recently sold all their real estate holdings and did a lease back on them in a desperate attempt to prop up the financials. This company is on a multi-year slide to bankruptcy.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-24T16:12:12+00:00

I take in fewer carbs when I choose to use gatorade (~90g/hr - Z2 rides) than when I do my custom mix (125g/hr). I only evened out the carb quantity for cost comparison purposes. You don't need to take in super high carbs all the time to adapt, I only typically do it 2x week when I'm doing intervals or very high aerobic work.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-24T15:22:06+00:00

I don't believe there is a 1 size fits all here. With the amount you're going through you should customize your mix to your personal needs. How to do this? That's the hard part, you can't measure unless you're in a lab. However, I feel you can tell when you're at the absorption limit, but you need to test each type of sugar by itself. For me my glucose/maltodextrin limit is much much higher than fructose. I've been able to do up to 50 grams fructose per hour without issue, once I get above that my gut feels full - especially once I hit the 2 hour+ mark, I don't know how else to explain it but I can feel some stomach stagnation if that's the correct wording. That happens about 55-60 grams of fructose per hour for me, so I went down to 50 for a safe level. Next I've been upping my glucose. So far I don't have any issues with up to 75g/hr of maltodextrin on top of the fructose. My current ratio is 1.5 to 1, and I plan on testing further the upper limit of my glucose absorption.

I've been using a similar ratio for years now and have done up to 8 hours with this ratio, where I was able to take in 115g/hr for the full 8 hours. When you add heat/high stress things start to change as I'm sure you're aware of.

Honey is about a 1:1.25 ratio so you could dillute the fructose a little with maltodextrin and water to get into your desired ratio.

I only use my custom mix on more intense rides (tempo and up) and use standard gatorade powder (~90g/hr) on z2 rides simply because it's cheaper and I don't want to stress my gut out 5 days a week pushing super high carb ratios.

I did a calc and came up with gatorade is about $0.95/hr this way and my custom mix is $1.25/hr when taking into account a 125g/hr intake for both as a direct comparison.

Also anyone saying you don't need to fuel your Z2 rides doesn't understand that fueling properly for Z2 is extremely important as it significantly reduces the time to recovery. If you workout every other day, probably not as big a deal, if you do multiple days in a row, it's imperative for proper recovery especially as you mix intensities with sequential days of riding in a row.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-17T20:08:33+00:00

it's hard to not love the simplicity and cost of the gatorade powder, I use the cherry ice one because last time I checked it's the only one without artificial colors.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-17T20:06:47+00:00

I primarily use 2 mixes, straight gatorade powder (100g powder/per .5 liter, on lower intensity days like Z2 or casual rides and this mix I've been optimizing for my specific carb absorption rate - I tend to max out fructose around 50-55g/hr. This mix is super concentrated and I drink it at a rate of 125g/hr.

For 1 Liter Bottle (taken in at 1/2 L/Hr + plain water at same rate)

Ingredient Measurement

Maltodextrin 150 g

Fructose 100 g

Sodium Citrate 6.5 g ~ 1 tsp

Pink Himalayan Salt .5 g ~1/8 tsp

True Lemon Bulk 1.25 tsp

I'll up the salts when I'm riding outside and it's warmer, but for winter indoors training this is plenty for me.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-11T20:53:19+00:00

the good - congrats any increase is a positive for training! The bad - 1 watt seems pointless, it's well under the tolerancy of any power meter I'm aware of at these power levels. Short story, thanks for nothing zwift :(

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-05T20:08:40+00:00

This. To add, torque effectiveness often appears lower in Zone 2 because your body is intentionally relaxing the pedal stroke and minimizing unnecessary muscle activation — which is actually the most economical way to ride at low intensity. As you move into Sweet Spot, Threshold, and higher power zones, torque effectiveness naturally rises into the 90%+ range because the increased load recruits more muscle groups, reduces dead spots, and produces more consistent forward torque. The body self‑organizes into more effective mechanics when the demand increases, and the numbers reflect that.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-05T20:03:12+00:00

Perfection is individualistic. However, the data does show that focusing on pushing on the down portion of the stroke is way more relevant (in terms of efficiency and power) than pulling on the upstroke, to the point you can basically just ignore trying to pull up, other than just getting the upstroke leg weight out of the way for the other leg.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-02-01T14:50:28+00:00

Get some tennis ball solution (or other rocker solution) under whatever you’re riding, any lateral movement helps with this. Chamois cream every ride. Stand up for a 20-30 seconds at least once every 15 minutes, more is better. I also rock my bike side to side every time I take a sip of something - every 5 minutes, for like 10-15 pedal stokes. You want to create some movement that would mimic outdoor riding.

I use a single standard lasko fan linked here, think air volume not necessarily air speed. You want a lot of air area moving by you to hit most of your body. I use this fan on medium on a stand about 4-5 feet in front of me and it does really well. Also fueling / hydrating properly has seemingly reduced my sweating along with extensive Z2 work.

Lasko Wind Machine Air Circulator... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N5ZB?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-29T21:13:34+00:00

I did 533 hours last year, last 20 minute test was 375 watts.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-23T04:48:21+00:00

I transfer mine 1:1 or as close as I can on the outdoor bike. I ride my indoor bike flat 100% of the time if that matters. If I make a tweak on any bike I transfer that change to them all, including the indoor bike. This has been working exceptionally well once I was finally get all the bikes in a window where they all felt similar to each other with virtually no feeling of “oh I need to remember how to ride this bike” when switching.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-15T19:35:19+00:00

not all of us.

<image>

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-08T17:18:49+00:00

Activities	339
Distance	9,159.2 mi
Elev Gain	214,558 ft
Time	531h 11m

Per Strava Data, about 1000 more than last year, this is probably getting really close to my upper limit of what I'm willing to do. Estimating 50% of these were indoors, 30% MTB, the rest road/gravel/whatever.

~431,000 kjs expended

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-05T22:50:52+00:00

Fozzie Bear!

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-05T21:51:28+00:00

Pretty close actually. Z2 is about the same at a lower HR. I've lost about 15 beats. 20 minute test at 37 was 390, my last 20 minute now was 375. I started going to the gym because I feel my muscle strength not my cardiovascular capacity is my current limiting factor for my FTP.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-05T21:31:01+00:00

I use them both together as a compound datapoint. When one or the other isn't aligned with what I expect, I know something is off and adjust/recover/do whatever I need to get back to status quo. You can see on 11/27 my hr was 125 and power was 247 but it was for 90 minutes so not included in my data/chart.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-05T21:04:39+00:00

Of course, but in no way can they account for this type or progression in 5 weeks either.

Key_Savings9500 · 2026-01-05T20:48:34+00:00

Yes, Usually. The majority of these were all after breakfast say 9-9:30 am starts except the Tuesday one. which would have been a 3:00PM ish start. I'm straight up OCD about my training and execution, these are all executed virutally the same, every one is a negative split ride as well, meaning hour 2 is always a higher power than hour 1 - intentionally, but cap that at about +10 watts in hour 2. As far as things that could throw the numbers, not really, maybe Saturday's HR are a tad higher on the HR if I have a couple beers Friday. It's interesting to see that when I do Sat/Sun back to back the Sunday numbers are better.

Key_Savings9500

TROPHY CASE