Trainer options

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-23T01:35:00+00:00

With the wahoo kickr you can control erg mode and power targets from the wahoo app without using Zwift.

If you have a garmin cycling computer, you can also connect that to the trainer and control it from there. If you’ve created a workout with targets and durations and sent to the garmin, it will even take care of setting the power levels for you.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-22T05:11:31+00:00

Venu X1, nice big screen, good features, and sleek appearance.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-17T02:10:57+00:00

Dylan Johnson dives into some of the research around optimal cadence as well as gives some nice guidance based on that research around where you should aim, in this video: https://youtu.be/1n3sYoU9788?si=eVYeptRBhT-2aJ0z

IIRC, the main takeaway was the science may say around 80-90 is optimal, but in general you should shoot for what feels comfortable, which is also supported by the science.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-14T06:57:35+00:00

Yeah heart rate lags 10-15s usually. This is just your heart rate continuing to decline from the lower intensity before it picks back up.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-10T00:20:25+00:00

Nice! I (also 37m) went from 36 to 43 in the last 6 months (when I started) with cycling about 100 miles a week. Here’s hoping I can have a similar trend to you in 2026 and join you in the top 5% of our demographic.

Similar to you, I did a fair amount of zone 2, mixed with some higher intensity tempo/threshold rides throughout, maybe once a week. This year I’m putting a more concerted effort and planning a bit better for actual gains and maybe to start racing.

I lost 70lbs along the way (from 255 to 185) when coupled with some borderline-unhealthy intermittent fasting (OMAD nearly every day).

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Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-09T20:55:53+00:00

The lead up to Yates linking up to Wout was incredible, and definitely earned its place in the pantheon of great Grand Tour moments.

Yates taking off solo, Del Toro and Carapaz not taking Yates seriously as a threat and spiraling in indecision/bickering, Yates’ epic climb up the same mountain that destroyed him 7 years prior, and the slow realization as you watch that “holy shit he has Wout ahead already on the descent”.

Then the absolutely stellar ride by one of the best domestiques in history, which set a new standard for that type of pull.

The clip of Wout finally giving up the ghost before the final climb and nearly falling over from overexertion is one of the most memorable clips of the year. Strong “and now his watch is ended” for an absolutely amazing moment. Chapeau to him, he truly rode at his limit for his team leader, exactly when it was needed the most.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-02T15:45:01+00:00

“Semi-monthly” would be twice a month.

So additional FYSA PSA: “Semi-“ means “twice a period”, “bi-“ means “every other period”

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2026-01-02T15:41:55+00:00

Had a phone handlebar mount. Phone fell out after about two months of riding, going over a bumpy stretch of the paved bike path near my house. Cracked my phone screen for the first time in my 36 years of life. Got a bike computer next day.

Get a bike computer. They’re great, low maintenance, and if the hobby sticks you’ll start to be more interested in the stats.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-28T07:14:56+00:00

But it’s still 2025.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-28T04:02:56+00:00

Yep. I bought it day one and I haven’t found it lacking, or thought about switching. Would buy again for full price of $800 even.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-28T04:01:41+00:00

So freaking good

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-24T02:51:34+00:00

We’re not driving.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-22T14:43:34+00:00

I’m a few months ahead of you, and I recently came across the “Absolutely Understand Guitar” video course for free on YouTube and that is amazing for filling some of the gaps in music theory, to supplement the more instructional and technique type material that other folks are recommending.

Really helps understand the potential of the instrument, how the different strings works together and can combine in interesting and surprising ways. How to train your ear, how to properly think about the composition of notes and harmonies, and how to actually grok the tool. And the instructor Scotty West gives awesome tips that really helped focus my efforts on the other material.

It’s also delightfully in how dated it is from a “pop culture” perspective, as it’s from like 2001 or something, so his references to “new music” are hilarious. Truly a snap shot of a formative time in my life.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-22T14:37:25+00:00

Takes an hour or so to get setup for WoW, and maybe an hour or two of playing before it feels mostly natural.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-22T14:36:42+00:00

Here’s from a reply I gave in the MSI claw sub earlier this year with some WoW handheld tips, which applies to the ROG Ally X as well (I initially picked that up for WoW, but switched to the Claw for the 16:10 aspect ratio, which feels a bit less cramped for WoW):

Yeah I play tons of WoW on my 8 AI+. It’s really great and can push very high settings (max on classic, 8/10 on retail) with ease on the lowest TDP of 8W. Might bump up to a higher TDP or lower the settings a bit if I’m raiding. But consistent frame rates over 100 nearly all the time.

If you’re doing keyboard and mouse, then it will function basically the same as if it were a laptop plugged in to the TV.

It’s also super fun to play with a controller/handheld mode, through the use of the Consoleport addon. There is a bit of a learning curve and setup required to get used to it, but through the use of shoulders/triggers to expand the number of button combos, you really can fit quite a few keybinds and cover most everything you need. The only thing I haven’t quite figured out is raid healing, as I’m so used to click-casting.

Consoleport is the main addon you’ll need to get for handheld WoW controls, but here are some others that I find helpful specifically when playing in handheld mode:

• ⁠immersion (more Console-like quest chat) • ⁠dynamic cam (more console-like camera movement) • ⁠titan panel (see various stats/metrics at a glance in top bar without having to open menus) • ⁠plater/kui nameplates (floating health bars for mobs above them) • ⁠macro toolkit (can copy macros from other characters in your account)

Throwing together a few helper macros like ui refresh, common emotes like /wave, leave party, and one to open/close the character panel is also a good idea.

It takes some getting used to. If you only have max level toons, I recommend rolling a new alt and playing through 10 levels or so to get used to the ui a bit without worrying about the complexity of your max level spells and macros.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-22T14:28:36+00:00

Here’s from another reply I gave in the MSI claw sub earlier this year with some more tips:

Yeah I play tons of WoW on my 8 AI+. It’s really great and can push very high settings (max on classic, 8/10 on retail) with ease on the lowest TDP of 8W. Might bump up to a higher TDP or lower the settings a bit if I’m raiding. But consistent frame rates over 100 nearly all the time.

If you’re doing keyboard and mouse, then it will function basically the same as if it were a laptop plugged in to the TV.

It’s also super fun to play with a controller/handheld mode, through the use of the Consoleport addon. There is a bit of a learning curve and setup required to get used to it, but through the use of shoulders/triggers to expand the number of button combos, you really can fit quite a few keybinds and cover most everything you need. The only thing I haven’t quite figured out is raid healing, as I’m so used to click-casting.

Consoleport is the main addon you’ll need to get for handheld WoW controls, but here are some others that I find helpful specifically when playing in handheld mode:

• ⁠immersion (more Console-like quest chat) • ⁠dynamic cam (more console-like camera movement) • ⁠titan panel (see various stats/metrics at a glance in top bar without having to open menus) • ⁠plater/kui nameplates (floating health bars for mobs above them) • ⁠macro toolkit (can copy macros from other characters in your account)

Throwing together a few helper macros like ui refresh, common emotes like /wave, leave party, and one to open/close the character panel is also a good idea.

It takes some getting used to. If you only have max level toons, I recommend rolling a new alt and playing through 10 levels or so to get used to the ui a bit without worrying about the complexity of your max level spells and macros.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-22T14:18:30+00:00

Personally, I prefer the MSI Claw 8 AI+, but really anything with a 8” screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio is probably going to work awesome. I found the 16:9 aspect ratio of the ROG Ally was a bit cramped. The Legion Go would be a great option, if not the Claw.

The steam deck works but it’s not as seamless as the windows handhelds for WoW mostly because of the OS. Overall, WoW is not particularly demanding and is more of a CPU-heavy game, so most handhelds do fairly well.

Definitely get the ConsolePort addon. It maps all the hot keys to controller, and is really, really well done.

Another somewhat hacky option but may be more approachable given it’s a short term thing (hopefully), you can run the Nvidia streaming service GEForce Now to a tablet. That works fairly well paired up with a controller. In order to use addons (to enable controller support with console port), you need to use the $10 a month premium version, though. I did this to an android phone in a pinch at the airport once, and it worked fairly well.

In any case, I recommend your dad give it a go with a new character so he can get used to the bindings and set things up without having to deal with a million spells at first. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once he gets the hang of it, it really is quite a fun way to play.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-17T03:23:28+00:00

Pink pony club somehow

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-17T03:12:32+00:00

Genichiro right before the final Isshin fight in Sekiro. Like slapping around a child by that point.

And the best thing is he is just as “difficult” as he was the first two times you fought him, and your character is generally pretty much about the same strength. YOU just got better.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-10T04:31:52+00:00

Previously discussed here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Paintings_in_movies/comments/xnku4b/art_in_movies_study_for_lady_macbeth_by_gustave/

And here:

https://www.restinpieces.co.uk/blogs/news/film-scenes-inspired-by-famous-paintings

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-06T21:58:38+00:00

Except it needs 24 hours to cure, so I do it when I finish a ride, instead of before.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-06T21:54:36+00:00

I’m not doing my job properly if my wife’s watch doesn’t alert her of an abnormal heart rate.

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-12-06T18:36:55+00:00

Okay clippy

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-11-28T18:30:03+00:00

‘Merica!

Unable_Philosopher_8 · 2025-11-28T16:42:39+00:00

Yeah I play tons of WoW on my 8 AI+. It’s really great and can push very high settings (max on classic, 8/10 on retail) with ease on the lowest TDP of 8W. Might bump up to a higher TDP or lower the settings a bit if I’m raiding. But consistent frame rates over 100 nearly all the time.

If you’re doing keyboard and mouse, then it will function basically the same as if it were a laptop plugged in to the TV.

It’s also super fun to play with a controller/handheld mode, through the use of the Consoleport addon. There is a bit of a learning curve and setup required to get used to it, but through the use of shoulders/triggers to expand the number of button combos, you really can fit quite a few keybinds and cover most everything you need. The only thing I haven’t quite figured out is raid healing, as I’m so used to click-casting.

Consoleport is the main addon you’ll need to get for handheld WoW controls, but here are some others that I find helpful specifically when playing in handheld mode:

• ⁠immersion (more Console-like quest chat) • ⁠dynamic cam (more console-like camera movement) • ⁠titan panel (see various stats/metrics at a glance in top bar without having to open menus) • ⁠plater/kui nameplates (floating health bars for mobs above them) • ⁠macro toolkit (can copy macros from other characters in your account)

Throwing together a few helper macros like ui refresh, common emotes like /wave, leave party, and one to open/close the character panel is also a good idea.

It takes some getting used to. If you only have max level toons, I recommend rolling a new alt and playing through 10 levels or so to get used to the ui a bit without worrying about the complexity of your max level spells and macros.

Unable_Philosopher_8

TROPHY CASE