I’ve done the Fred twice and against my better judgement I’m hoping to get a place for the 2019 event. I think it might be a case of sufficient time having passed since my last one that the memory of just how awful it was, battling hypothermia after coming down Cold Fell and facing the dreaded Hardknott with cramping quads, has been partially erased, haha!
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Go for it, the last 2 years have been the opposite problem for me - too hot! But it’s such beautifully brutal ride, just too soon after the brutally beautiful grind round Kielder.
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That’s awesome, they are near enough my target numbers and you are almost 10 years old than me. kudos
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UPDATE: So today’s Ramp Test in the Little Ring gave 10W less that last week’s Big Ring test - allowing for few other distractions I’ll compromise and add 5W to today’s test. I’ll continue training in LR, see how it feels and adjust accordingly. I’m going to just test in the LR from now on as I don’t enter any fast and flat events. Thanks again for your input.
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I don’t do tests (or hard workouts) on the trainer – it’s too much affective stress to be worth it, for me.
I do Hour of Power and 90min TTs on the road as workouts. Best HoP last summer was 360. Best 90min was a few weeks ago at 340. I’m 52, 1m84, 76kg.
I’ve been looking more at HR than power the last two years – keeping most days under 75% of HR max (70% working HR for Karvonen), and then doing two days hard each week. Depending on the cycle, “hard” could mean VO2 hills or it could mean 2 x 20 Sweet Spot.
Nutrition, recovery, avoiding injuries, and weight training have been the formula for improvement for me – that, and an increase in volume over the last three years (as a result of avoiding little injuries).
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That’s amazing! I assume you have a nice unobstructed climb you can do these on? What do you mean by “too much affective stress” on the trainer? I ask as the main stress I think the trainer teaches even experienced riders is the constant pressure on the pedals. But if you’re doing 360/340 for 60/90 minutes that’s basically the same thing I’m thinking.
No long climb – it’s more just learning how to keep the pressure on the pedals.
A 2.5 hour power “test” Long ride
A 90min effort CP90
By affective stress, I mean the mental/emotional stress of pushing yourself on the trainer. I find that my perceived effort on the trainer is about 10-20w lower than on the road (290 on the trainer feels like 300+ on the road, for example). In general, I would rather ride at a lower percentage of FTP for a longer period to rack up the same TSS (say an hour at 90% rather than 2 x 20 at 95%), but even more so on the trainer.
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Up to 230 on the 34 ring, didn’t expect that. All tests before were on the 50 ring. From what I’m reading here, the big ring gives you a slight flywheel effect with bump in results. Normal RPE and no knee issues at high watts 
That last minute… yikes
A lot of speculation about a single component in a complex system. How come we aren’t talking about the reduction in pedal force/torque required due to gearing? What about Erg resistance unit, does it ignore the flywheel inertia? Be suspicious of all the flywheel inertia speculation.
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Awesome insight! I am going to do the same as my events usually come with long, steep, climbs
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360 watts for 1 hour at 52 y/o is national class…maybe world class power. Add a good tt position and you’re under 50 min for a 40k easy. That is freaking awesome.
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I used to love time trials, and could ride a reasonable one in the pre-aerobar days. I’ve been tempted by a TT bike a few times, but I can’t justify the expense of a bike that I wouldn’t ride more than a few times a month (it’s also pretty hilly here, and not a great place to ride a TT rig).
Im 51 and 78kgs. My road ftp last year with power meter was 265w and with Ramp Test on TR it is 255w. I have completed SSB Med Vol 1 and 2 and now in General Build Med Vol WK2 and would love to get to 300w but not feeling positive so far but hoping the Build - Base - Build - Specialty will get me to a new level for me. Great to read so many positive 50+ scores out there keep it going and hopefullu I can sing 300w sometime.
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I am 55 in May. 18 months back I was at 268 on TR albeit on a Kurt Kinetic with virtual power, but with a higher FTP outside. I averaged 304 watts for a 10 mile TT.
I am now on the Tacx Neo which probably means if I do get back to 268 it will in reality be higher than when I hit that with the KK turbo.
I am certainly hoping to get to 270 on TR this year.
Currently at 77kg but hoping to get down to 72 which I was at 2 years ago when doing my second Marmotte and got a gold medal time.
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300 before 60yrs is my stretch goal, we will see! 
Shooting for 250-260 at my July A event in 2019. This thread has really been a great read, maybe re-title it Masters FTP 
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Just turned 51 in Dec and finished Sweet Spot Base LV II. After the 12 weeks of SSB I’ve gone from 167 → 202 → 246 (today’s ramp test) to hit 3.5W/kg. I am guessing that this is the last of the early gains from untrained to structured training.
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12 weeks? Very awesome gains there 
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52 with 2.3 watts pkg. Ramp test today starting SSBMV2 saw my ftp jump from 175 to 190. Last year I was over 3wpkg with a peak of 277ftp
300 watts seem so far away 
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Really inspiring. I love it.
IMO the W/kg values are more informative than just the FTP watts.
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