I've really enjoyed the Hilly Vanilli group rides over the past several weeks. However, I think both C and D groups really do need a leader on each ride to have a good chance of maintaining packs and get the real benefit and enjoyment of the group.
I had a got some good training in last night but it was nowhere near as enjoyable as usual since the C group I was planning to ride with splintered in the first 15 - 20mins and as far as I could see most were riding solo for the majority of the ride with a couple of groups of 2 or 3 riders.

I'm going to suggest we need to tweak the structure of the ride slightly at least for group C.

We have built in a warmup period to the ride which is fine but it is a bit slow for anyone who has warmed up before the ride. As a result the group is very difficult to keep together at the beginning. I would suggesting upping the intensity for the first 5 min to 2.5 w/kg and then going straight to 3.0 w/kg. Looking at the Zwift power numbers from the last 7 weeks this should hit the sweet spot of allowing strong riders to drift to front while allowing the weaker riders to still hold wheels.

There is still room to introduce structured increases into the ride but I think the flow will be better if we go a bit harder at first rather than waiting for fireworks at the end. I plan on being there again next week and can try leading if its helpful.

I quite like a 1.8-2.0 warmup. It's only 5mins after all and gives a chance to those who haven't warmed up in advance. Usually that includes me!

However a 2.5 start wouldn't ruin it for me.
The biggest problem I think is when there's no beacon everyone's afraid they'll get left behind and be unable to rejoin the pack so flyers get chased. Then those who stick to the pace or can't chase get dropped and it falls apart. Even with a higher early pace the pattern will be similar. If the pack stays together it'll tend to sweep up fast starters anyway after a little while - unless they just wanted a much harder ride than the pace advertised!

Another thing that would help is switching off non-event riders. This was the case for a few of the Hilly Vanilli rides but not all. It makes it easier to maintain a pack in a few ways:
- It's easier to see everyone else
- You don't get split as the pack overtakes other Zwifters
- There's no-one to draft if you fly off the front.

i finally engaged in a systematic hunt for good, experience zwifters to be ride leaders. my goal was to have at least a dozen good reliable engaged leaders. it looks like we'll have between 15 and 20. i really do think you should be among them, by the way.

obviously we don't need that many ride leaders for 2 rides, but i'd like to have a lot more than 2 rides. we need the ride leaders ready and in place before we place any more rides on the schedule.

the 2 rides we have are inconvenient for a lot of slowtwitchers. the hilly vanilli has routinely been populated mostly by europeans, who are by that time off work. we don't have any rides that take place in that 6:30 or 7:00pm weekday slot that i suspect would be ideal for most north american slowtwitchers. the tuesday ride is at 4pm pacific, and that's good for east coast north americans, maybe one more time zone over for those who can get home and on their bikes by 6pm. mountain or west coast? you'd better have a flexible schedule!

so, aiden, if you agree, i'll stick you on the list of ride leaders, and we'll begin to formalize how we'll move forward as to new rides, when, what, and the best management of existing rides.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

That sounds good Dan. Feel free to add my name to the list. I'd be happy to lead when I can. Generally that's been possible so far but we're expecting our first baby in a few weeks so I don't dare claim to know how my schedule will end up!
I'm in Ireland so the Hilly Vanilli slot is a good one for me. Might be able to do some weekend rides too if that's on the agenda...

Is Hilly Vanilli going ahead tomorrow Dan?

yes, but i won't be on it. i'll be at Wildflower. i'll make sure jordan has it up to join. just, you're sort of on your own tomorrow.

i have a bunch of new ride leaders. like, 20. but i can't install them as leaders. zwift must do it. so, them, and you, it'll take a week or two to get you all up and functional. bear with us for a couple of weeks.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman