100 Miles to Nowhere Analysis

As you may have noticed I ride my trainer a lot. Five out a six or seven rides a week are indoors. Time, daylight, kids all factor into this but the real reason is that I thrive on structure. Their plans make sense, they are easy to follow and based on following them I improve.

Most of the rides max out at around 3 hours and it’s rare that I go much longer than 4 hours on a trainer at an absolute push. Last Sunday I rode the Fat Cyclists 100 Miles to Nowhere ride for the second time. The one and only time prior was last November in a hotel room in Tempe Arizona while Becca was volunteering at Ironman Arizona to get her entry into this year’s race. So having ridden it twice I thought it would be interesting to compare the two.

Other than the geographical difference there were a couple of other differences:

• My FTP in November was 233 vs 243 now
• My Weight in November was around 160lb vs 168lb now
• The day prior in November I rode 53 miles vs 31 miles this year

Other than these three things everything else was the same, this included the gearing, trainer tire and so on.

So how did the two rides compare? Click picture to enlarge.

March 2016	November 2015	Comments
		Higher FTP means increased TSS, NP and IF. Overall just a more intense effort.
		More time spent in Zone 3 and 4 this year vs. Zone 2 and 3 last year.
		Time predominantly spent in Zone 6. A faster overall ride.
		More time in Zones 3, 4 and 5 vs Zones 2 and 4. High output overall
		Overall cadence is higher and more time spent above 90 rpm. Less overall revolutions as time of the total ride was less.

So what does this all tell me, well four months later I am fitter, I can sustain a greater output of power and hold my HR higher and for longer. Essentially my endurance has improved as has my stamina.

All good things!