“I even tried hiding my power readout - it made no difference"

Watt's up? The Doc's stuck in a threshold rut

- Dr Hutch

One of my most regular habits as a rider is the Cycling Weekly Club 10-mile time trial on Zwift of a Wednesday evening.

It's simple, it's quick, it's sort of fun, and it's easy to do at the end of a working day.

However, I've noticed something disturbing. My average power never varies. It's a very controlled event - the weather doesn't change, the time of day is the same, there's no traffic to hold you up, no junctions. Allowing for one or two different bike and power meter set-ups, and for some minor variations in the course, so far this year the worst it's been was 375 watts and the best 382 watts. I even tried hiding the power readout. It made no difference. These numbers are within the normal day-to-day variations you'd expect. It's essentially a flat line.

Meanwhile, it's been the most random year of riding and training since I started cycling, and in that I include a season where I broke my hip. There were eight weeks in early spring that were exemplary - consistent, structured, with a 95% rate of session completion, accompanied by good sleep and sound nutrition. It also included July and August when I sat at my desk all day and all night for eight weeks eating Smarties and writing a book.