The Technology of Cycling!! Grrrrr!!

My friends have started to joke about my apparent superpower - the ability to disable technology just by my mere presence. I happen to consider myself quite tech-savvy (as long as I don't have to fix anything), but my confidence is shaken and I have developed a shocking love-hate relationship with Zwift.

So, when I say I'm going for a ride, a non-cyclist may think of a few necessities: bicycle, helmet, cycling clothes, maybe some tools, water and a snack.

This is my list of the gear needed on each and every training ride we do outdoors:

• lights
• spare tube
• tire levers
• multi-tool
• pump
• Garmin computer
• mobile phone for photos, maps, and emergencies
• heart rate monitor
• cadence sensor
• power meter
• asthma inhaler
• sunglasses
• sunscreen
• water - lots and lots of water, preferably some of it frozen
• gels or other nutrition
• resident ID and health card
• emergency money or money to pay the support car driver
• helmet
• SPD shoes
• cycling shorts with chamois padding
• cycling jersey with pockets for storing the many things you need to carry
• gloves
  
• Oh, right. And a bike!

Have I forgotten anything?

Indoors is a similar story, though with slightly less to remember since you can always pop out of the pain cave to refill your water or find something you forgot. Indoors, however, I have been increasingly frustrated by issues that are out of my control. Namely, troubleshooting Zwift and my absolutely horrific excuse for high speed internet (the provider tells us we live in a particularly bad neighbourhood for wifi - oh wonderful!). 

So, indoors, I am dealing with subscriptions, passwords, websites, phone apps, and my indoor smart trainer - a fancy schmancy Wahoo Kickr that, quite frankly, is probably a little too smart for my technological capabilities. 

Last week, I had a fantastic week using Zwift after taking a 2-year hiatus due to initial glitches with the technology. Now that all my friends are doing it (yes! I am weak to the peer pressure!), and lots of our local training spots have been ruined by construction and road diversions, Zwift seems the perfect way to train and get my money's worth for the trainer.

But this week, my Zwift experience has been nothing but frustrating. First, I have gone through two different heart rate sensors in the past week - one Garmin and one Wahoo. The Garmin is most irritating because I have broken more than one trying to get those frustratingly tiny screws out. At least the Wahoo sensor can easily be opened to replace the battery.

Also, my Garmin is recording data from my Kickr, but my Zwift avatar is only moving once in awhile and the other riders disappear. My power increases on my Garmin as I step up into higher zone training, and all of my other measures taper to zero (with the exception of my heart rate which is peaking due to frustration rather than training effort). Grrr!!!

Thanks to my wonderful husband and our ever-supportive (and piss-taking) whatsapp group, I think we have finally solved the matter. The test will come tomorrow for another recovery week ride indoors.

For today, I have a strength session in the gym, which will be challenging since my calves are still barely functioning after a killer legs session followed by a short run and a Pilates class on Saturday morning. I'm looking forward to it!