Team BKool CycleChat

[Runexeter]

I will try and do Stage 1 tomorrow or Monday, I think I will struggle up that hill as well lol.
Hopefully the legs wont be to bad as I'm off for my long slow run of 13-15 miles in a minute, I do run most days so the legs are always tired, not an excuse but running is my main thing and I just use the bike as cross training.
I cant knock out the Wattage with my chicken legs! But I will do my best.
Well done all that have done it so far though

 

[gbrown]

Blimey, it's like wading through treacle setting up a Group, League and Stages. I kept getting page not found errors, and had to delete and re-add several times, then found I had about 6 sessions scheduled in My Activities!

I wasn't sure how long each league should last, so thought we could start with one for each calendar month and see how it goes?

I've hopefully just published the December League, with the first Stage. I scheduled it from today to Wednesday 17th to allow members to try the stage out before the Thursday group ride, and/or to catch up afterwards if they miss it.

The first stage might as well stay open until just before the second group ride, to give maximum time for everyone to join in, but subsequent stages should perhaps close at the end of the weekend, to allow the classification to be updated.

Not sure why, but the Group only shows two members, even though it lists 9 active members? I'm hoping it will update eventually. Do members have to accept their acceptance? I may have to invite everyone again.

They certainly have a few bugs to iron out, not only on the web site, but in the simulator as well (the iPad app constantly crashes for me).

Cheers,

Geoff

 

[Add]

Ooh, we forgot to mention, don't suppose you collaborated with Bill about adjusting some of the heart rate and disconnection parameters? We had a problem with this in the original group we set up.
Should perhaps have mentioned this before, but only just thought of it now!

 

[gbrown]

I found a 3D session (Sky Road) that was an 11.5 mile "Moderate" with a mixture of climbs, descents and the odd flat bit. Max gradient says it is an alarming 14% but the average is only 3.36% so it should hopefully be doable by all.

I tried setting up a few splits, a couple of climbing intervals, a couple of sprint points and a sprint interval at the end, along with a target power zone on the steepest climb, just to see how (if) they work!

I'd welcome suggestions for subsequent stages, preferably with 3D for the group rides.

Geoff

 

[gbrown]

Ooh, we forgot to mention, don't suppose you collaborated with Bill about adjusting some of the heart rate and disconnection parameters? We had a problem with this in the original group we set up.
Should perhaps have mentioned this before, but only just thought of it now!

I did adjust the parameters to allow any heart rate (0) and cadence (0). I'll keep an eye out for rides that need validation, hopefully they'll all go through OK.

Geoff

 

[RickB]

I've hopefully just published the December League, with the first Stage. I scheduled it from today to Wednesday 17th to allow members to try the stage out before the Thursday group ride, and/or to catch up afterwards if they miss it.

..............Not sure why, but the Group only shows two members, even though it lists 9 active members? I'm hoping it will update eventually. Do members have to accept their acceptance? I may have to invite everyone again.

Geoff

Hi Geoff, i dont see the league under my groups/leagues - just the one Bill set up with Alpe Duez etc... What group is it under? Rebels?

 

[gbrown]

Hi Geoff, i dont see the league under my groups/leagues - just the one Bill set up with Alpe Duez etc... What group is it under? Rebels?

Thursday Night Group

I'd invite you if it would let me, probably best if you join and I'll accept you.

Geoff

 

[gbrown]

A couple of thoughts on session validation I came across while setting up the League.

One of the validation criteria is weight, if your weight changes during the entirety of the league your sessions need validating.

If your sessions are marked private then the league admin can't see them to validate them, so I would ensure that they are marked public or "Groups and Friends".

Geoff

 

[gbrown]

Hi Geoff, i dont see the league under my groups/leagues - just the one Bill set up with Alpe Duez etc... What group is it under? Rebels?

Thursday Night Group

I'd invite you if it would let me, probably best if you join and I'll accept you.

Geoff

OK, I've accepted you. It still only says 2 members!

Can you see the league and the first stage?

Geoff

 

[gbrown]

"Users who configure their sessions as private in the privacy settings won’t have their details visible to other league users, including the group administrator. This poses a problem if an attempt is not validated because the administrator won’t be able to verify the attempt information, and therefore won’t be able to validate it."

"Each league has validation rules that are determined by the group administrators when creating the league. The purpose of these rules is mainly to avoid cheating. For example, one of the rules is that you can’t change your weight during the league. If you violate any of the validation rules, your attempt will have to be reviewed by the group administrators, who will determine whether to validate it, void it, or to reward or dock you a few seconds. You’ll be told that your session is pending approval and the reason. Be patient and give the administrators time to review it."

 

[harly]

OK, I've accepted you. It still only says 2 members!

Can you see the league and the first stage?

Geoff

10 members in at the moment altho it only says 2

 

[Rayvon]

Sent email invites to all my listed friends to join the group Geoff, Bkool does sometimes take 24hr to update itself i've noticed.

 

[Add]

Well I'm showing as in on my screen! Just done my Alpe d'Huez! Brutal, just brutal! I actually tried to steer off the edge a couple of times and end it all, but to no avail! Berty...... you are a machine! Just tried my new S-Works, £260 shoes too.....hurt like hell from about halfway, but for gods sake don't tell my wife, she will literally kill me!

Just thinking, I didn't miss the league deadline for the Alpe run did I?

 

[Rayvon]

Bloody hell, keep getting emails form Bkool saying I've been challenged and beaten... they certainly know how to put the pressure on to make you try harder- wont work with me thou wifes been trying for years

 

[Campy12]

Guys, I'm buying a new trainer and torn between the Bkool and wahoo kickr. There is a £500 price difference between the two and i'm not sure if its worth it. With all your experiences, is the Bkool a safe bet and does the trainer make it feel like your cycling on the road? My only other concern is that your locked into the Bkool software whereas the kickr is open so can use any. Is the Bkool software good? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks