Erg Racing Online

[MNW]

Hi all,

I have just about perfected the https://admin.ergrace.com individual races with my small rowing team and we have had some successes with the team events too.

I am starting to post some races on line for the public to log in to.

I would love it if we could challenge another team to a race at some point. We are mainly female rowers, mainly lightweight and mainly over60 with one or two members over 55.

If anyone would like a fair race with a similar demographic please get in touch for a team race.

It is a terrific resource offered by C2 and they tell me the team software part is hardly used at all.

I have listed a race on 25th May public competition called Mercian Fitness Open Races. It is just a 1000m race to see if we get any interest.

Ian

[Carl Watts]

Did suggest to C2 a while ago they should just setup some continuous 30 min rows that overlap 15 minutes so every 15min you could just jump on and row a 30 min but C2 were not interested.

ErgRace hardly gets used because its racing and its a mission to be an admin and to row. Tested it a couple of times but there are better options.

Something like the real time loop now kills it because 99% of users don't want to race, they just want to get on at random times that suit them and join a few other people at the same pace and be distracted by something to watch, the better the graphics the more users there will be.

I love Zwift now, I can get on anytime of the day or night and join 50 other people on a pacer ride. What I hate now is fixed times you have to be online, prefer to just get on when I feel like it and when it fits in with my schedule. Fixed times you are always watching the clock as to the start time.

[stevegaspars]

I am starting to post some races on line for the public to log in to.

Thanks Ian. I noticed your competition pop up the other night so i jumped on, hope i wasn't too unwelcome. I probably shouldn't be racing at the moment because i tend to push my recovering back a little past sensible limits, but it's just so much fun.

I'm the one responsible for the Oceania 2K competition juggernaut. It's more of a online racing survey than an actual competition, i was curious whether Carl's around-the-clock competition plan had any merit. Build it and they will come kinda deal. I think i've found all the ErgRace bug tripwires, but no doubt i'll find more. Can't tell you how many competitions i've created and destroyed and recreated again over the last few weeks due to bugs screwing up the schedule.

I'm planning on creating a 1k and a 500m race competition schedule once i'm satisfied it's not going to be a management nightmare.

Also Carls suggestion of 30 minute races every 15 minutes won't work in ErgRace. I'm pretty sure races in the same competition cannot run concurrently. I think the loop works just fine for 30 minute rows anyway.

[JaapvanE]

I love Zwift now, I can get on anytime of the day or night and join 50 other people on a pacer ride. What I hate now is fixed times you have to be online, prefer to just get on when I feel like it and when it fits in with my schedule. Fixed times you are always watching the clock as to the start time.

I completely agree with you on this one. With EXR they organise rows every week, and some groups row almost daily, but for me it is more like "I feel like rowing now" and jump on the machine when I like it.

On EXR I do notice that some courses are much more popular/crowded than others. The courses range from 1.1K (called Deja Vu) to 19.9 (Boston Chrales River course), but most popular are around 4 to 5 K (of which there are 7 options now). As most courses partially overlap, you do get the crowds at the longer sections, but you also move out of all traffic when you are in a unique part of that course. Typically I encounter 3 to 4 people per row, where most are known people. I guess living in the same timezone as people has benefits.

With EXR they have a daily course, which helps as it tends to draw much people to the same course. You then typically encounter 6 to 12 people in a session, but most of them are slowly paddling. Nice to see something appear at the horizon to make me curious, but most are easily overtaken within a 1000 meters.

I notice I like rowing with some people around: it is nice to see something appear and catch up with him/her. But also seeing people row in the opposite direction is nice. Especially on my HM, I typically see a lot of people in the opposite lane when I'm near the finish, which is great. But I also notice there is a thing like too crowded: unlike cyclist who like to move in packs, I hate large group rows on a small course, as you constantly are overtaking people and have 3 people next to you. I always get HOCR images, in a bad way.

[Carl Watts]

Also Carls suggestion of 30 minute races every 15 minutes won't work in ErgRace. I'm pretty sure races in the same competition cannot run concurrently. I think the loop works just fine for 30 minute rows anyway.

Must work, do you mean you cannot have two separate rows overlap at all and ErgRace can only run one row at any one time ? If you have separate 30min rows starting every 15 minutes it must work. 15 min is good, if you miss one the next is not to far away. Worst case just run a 30min every 30min starting on the hour and half hour. The more rowers the more frequent you could run starts, down to 10 minutes or even 5 minutes if you have hundreds wanting to row online, one fills up you have to wait 5 min for the next.

Not competition, just non stop 30 min training rows, you end up doing 20 times more training than racing anyway. Racing only is almost a waste of time you are not going to get the numbers.

[stevegaspars]

you are not going to get the numbers.

Most probably. Won't know for sure unless it's tried though.

and ErgRace can only run one row at any one time ?

From the ErgRace online user manual:
'You can only have one race running at a time. To run more than one race at the same time, you will need to set up a separate competition.'

[MNW]

Cheers all.

The real winner for me has been the team events as I can match my rowers up so that a boat of 2 can race other boats of 2 in a meaningful competition.

I think it works pretty well.

I used to use Zwift but my clients arent on it so this is a free option.

Ian

[MNW]

I am starting to post some races on line for the public to log in to.

Thanks Ian. I noticed your competition pop up the other night so i jumped on, hope i wasn't too unwelcome. I probably shouldn't be racing at the moment because i tend to push my recovering back a little past sensible limits, but it's just so much fun.

I'm the one responsible for the Oceania 2K competition juggernaut. It's more of a online racing survey than an actual competition, i was curious whether Carl's around-the-clock competition plan had any merit. Build it and they will come kinda deal. I think i've found all the ErgRace bug tripwires, but no doubt i'll find more. Can't tell you how many competitions i've created and destroyed and recreated again over the last few weeks due to bugs screwing up the schedule.

I'm planning on creating a 1k and a 500m race competition schedule once i'm satisfied it's not going to be a management nightmare.

Also Carls suggestion of 30 minute races every 15 minutes won't work in ErgRace. I'm pretty sure races in the same competition cannot run concurrently. I think the loop works just fine for 30 minute rows anyway.

It was great when you popped up.

My clients loved the fact they were interacting with someone else.

We have used it privately and I give handicaps to the more gifted rowers which keeps it all like a fair race.

I love it.

The best has been to put a long team event on and have a team all rowing to count down the meters so that all rowers feel they have helped in the mission.

Ian

[stevegaspars]

its a mission to be an admin and to row.

I have my fair share of issues with ErgRace, i was just curious what yours were specifically?

[MNW]

Sometimes the races drop out but its more of an issue with team races.

The connection is sometimes poor but I have no way of knowing if it is the ergrace software or peoples own internet connection.

Sometimes it wont let me load a full team if I have more than 2 rowers per boat. It keeps unseating the last one for the new one I am trying to add (I have the setting correct) - It worked great on Saturday though.

All in all a positive experience and I hope we can get some races going.

[stevegaspars]

There are a lot of bugs in the system currently. It really needs a lot more people using it to flesh them out.

Currently i'm having a lot of trouble getting races to start with the bot controlling. It was working fine a few days ago, but since yesterday it's taken a nosedive. I'm haven't figured out if it's something i've done or if it's a software issue. Support aren't particularly conversive when it comes to bug reporting.

[Citroen]

Support aren't particularly conversive when it comes to bug reporting.

Concept2 are supremely responsive, send an email to info@concept2.com with details of your concern.

Note: they don't follow this forum.

[MNW]

Support aren't particularly conversive when it comes to bug reporting.

Concept2 are supremely responsive, send an email to info@concept2.com with details of your concern.

Note: they don't follow this forum.

Yes I had a reply from Scott within 1 hour on a Friday evening.

[MNW]

Our first scheduled race on Thursday went well. 2 people joined but their connection fell out before I started the race procedure and we lost them which was a shame.

Otherwise it was great.

Ian

[stevegaspars]

Your race is way too early for us GMT+10 folk. I would have been happy to join otherwise. Glad it went well.