LAMA CATCH-UPS: Santa Monica Beach Edition

[@PDarcy]

I was in that exact spot the day before you were there. Glad you saw the potential in the area and plan to return!

[@RobertJamieson]

Great update regarding your time in the US of A. Nice to see people just cruising around on bikes, that first tandem was pretty funny, spin to win!

[@macolganjames3356]

Enjoyed your blvd vlog over a morning coffee. seeing yourself and all those lovely people enjoying the sun while it's still dark and dreich here. Brightened my morning up. As you say Shane, if it's not what you're about ;)

[@gplama]

It's a great place. Well worth a visit if you're ever in the US.

[@AlexSwan]

The Green Edge in Brisbane stocks every single Clif Bar flavour! ;)

[@886014]

The guy pushing along an esky on a skateboard is a classic!

[@gplama]

There was soooooooooooo much more along the blvd today.... that place gets more freaky the further south you go. Wasn't up for doing the 'Tourism California' thing with the camera... just soaked up the sun today and killed some time before hitting LAX.

[@886014]

Ha ha, oh yeah. Venice Beach is a freak-show! Keep going way south and it becomes expensive. No less freaky in my opinion, but I don't object to Dow Corning sponsoring the sights! Have a good flight back.

[@camnugent5732]

TIL australians call coolers 'eskys'... who knew.

[@ronypsp]

it doesn't have to be cycling related. i'll watch it. you cracking gentleman ☺

[@johnbailey520]

Don't know who would bother to down vote anything here. Glad you had a nice time at Cal, Adventure. Coming into the busy season which means you would be lucky to get 4 rides in the whole day. Sorry you couldn't find a good coffee. Safe travels home!

[@irvingabbott6]

they are so many great group rides out there.. plus the coffee is bad because everything from Starbucks but if you had gone to a local shop you would have find some good coffee.

[@gplama]

I went to a few local shops.... one whacked vanilla in my coffee before I had the chance to correct the order! Wasn't too bad. The diabetes I now have wasn't worth it. ;)

[@886014]

Believe it or not there IS good coffee in the US, but definitely the exception and not the norm. I roast and blend my own coffee and have a commercial machine I rebuilt and plumbed in at home, so I guess I could say it's an "interest" of mine ;) I attended the SCAA national coffee convention in LA a number of years ago, and it was a good indication that there are plenty of excellent coffee outlets in the US, you just need to seek them out. To the non-Aussies who may not know, Shane is from Melbourne, the coffee capital of the world. Serve a bad coffee there, and there's a good chance you'll have it thrown back at you!

[@roxic1212]

Ahh good to know. Never knew that about Melbourne.

[@drouleau]

Next time you're in the L.A. area and can ride, check out Angeles National Forest - there's some seriously good climbing around here (did a 56 mile ride on Thanksgiving with 6,000 feet of climbing - mountains are only 5 miles from my doorstep) . I hear there's some good climbs in the Malibu area, but I've only been up those in my car - the roads in the Malibu hills seem more narrow though, so I haven't made it a priority yet to head over there. Also, there's an endless supply of dirt/fire roads for gravel bikes here as well.

[@hchernandez03]

Shane! you're in my neck of the woods! enjoy your time in southern California (if you're still here)

[@gplama]

Had a great few days here. I'll be back for longer next time I hope.

[@hchernandez03]

Shane Miller that would be awesome. I'm sure many cyclists here in LA would like to join you in a group ride. Cheers.

[@gplama]

Down votes in the first few minutes..... People. If this content is so shit then speak up. I tag these with LAMA LIVE so you can quickly skip them if they're not your thing. If the email notifications of new content are shitting you up the wall, change your preferences. I'm not here to piss anyone off.... honestly, the content is vanilla as it comes.

[@886014]

Don't sweat it mate, the one thing I've learnt about the internet is it breeds wankers. Trolls who have been beaten up all their lives will just take the opportunity to hate on others with no real rationale behind it, but just because they can. Your channels is going great Lama ... and you'd know I'd say otherwise if I thought it wasn't. Steady as she goes, and don't let the tossers get you down.

[@gplama]

I know... Not even a courtesy flush from those who think this shit stinks. Either way, any interaction bumps the stats because they're interacting with the content. Maybe I will upload Lama Rides 'the rollercoaster' after all? :)

[@886014]

PS Congratulations on >10,000 subscribers.

[@dal3767]

I thought it was a decent and enjoyable vlog IMO. Nice and interesting setting, lots of info on your trip and upcoming events and nice to hear your thoughts on the direction you wish/wish not to take your channel. I'd say you nailed it :)

[@AHa44-g6h]

Any chance of doing a Kinetic Rock & Roll trainer review?

[@gplama]

Yes..... and very soon if they get delivered back to Sydney. :)

[@EllisPedersen]

Filming three blocks from my house yew

[@barefeg]

Can I pick a zwift workout plan to do base/build training during the winter? I can't decide wether to spend money on say training peaks plans and then create custom zwift workouts off those... please help!

[@gplama]

If you're looking for guidance, spend the money on a coach. They'll point you on the right path there for your goals.

[@DJRanoia]

Wait the coffee how is it compared?

[@gplama]

I compared the coffee, yes. Then didn't go there. Then discussed a whole world of greatness.

[@OurBengals]

Shane, do all of us Zwifters a favor and tell the guys in charge at Zwift to make the roads wider. There are no cars in the Zwift world, I'm not sure why we are doing massive 100-300 person group rides on these super skinny roads. I get pushed off the side of the road quite often. Also have lots of issues while drafting in a group ill get kicked out to the side loose my draft and fall the the back of the group until it pushes me back over.

[@gplama]

That's one to raise as a product request. If it gets enough traction, it'll get attention. My 2c is that the roads replicate what we're all familiar with. Or familiar seeing at the Tour. What might need tweaking is rider positioning so it's harder to get to the front, and easier to stay up the back. Wider roads would feel like racing at an airport.. which would be fun, but not realistic for all roads.

[@886014]

Does the physics engine actually "see" that you're off to the side of a bunch or is that just a graphics function? I've always figured if I was basically with the bunch/other riders I was gaining their draft. It hasn't stopped me from being dropped, but I figured that was just because I'm piss-weak as a rider! The graphics will have the bunch splitting laterally, riding through walls, all sorts of shenanigans, but I'm curious as to how many of those things relate to the physics. I'm not a gamer, so have no clue as to what they physics engines do these days, but I'd think the engine used would be fairly simple and what you see isn't always what you get. I'm keen to know if that's true however.

[@AndrewJCW]

Yes, I think it's safe to assume the graphics are just client side and your position across the road is irrelevant to the engine calculating speed/draft/times which all happens on the server. I don't think they're going to remodel huge parts of the world to accommodate wider roads, their development team will be all working on adding brand new routes. The client side is pretty dodgy, you often see in finishes placings you see on the screen are completely wrong and riders show up with the wrong gender/customization to others. I think this is a part of the reason they're so hesitant to support proper racing/events/leagues/grading in-game. You can't do that stuff while people are seeing completely different race results on their screen.

[@OurBengals]

I do group rides 6 days a weeks it been my experience that I can be towards the front in a tight group and all of a sudden get kicked off to the side and no longer benefit from the draft even though i was still going the same speed as the group when it happened. It usually happens if a rider or 2 comes up from the back causing a shift in the group and then u can get kicked off to the side. When one side of the group gets pushed off the road as long as it still shows me in the group i still get draft effects. Just kind of annoying u can have half a group riding through street lamps or hanging off the side of a bridge when the roads could just be bigger. Theres no reason there shouldnt be room for the group in a virtual world created specifically for biking. Still love Zwift and its been keeping me extra fit in the winter, but it would be nice to have someome like Shane with his connection to the folks at Zwift say something about these things. Wider roads and not getting kicked out to the side of the bunch im riding in would definitely improve the experience for all who have noticed these issues.

[@886014]

Yes but the point is if the "hanging off the side of the road effect" is simply a graphics anomaly, making the roads, say 3m/10' wider isn't really going to help. The bunch will just be spread out over a wider road and still sometime people will be in the gutter/footpath/riding through walls/etc. As it is I sometimes find myself gapped across the existing road, or even on the wrong side of it! I agree, I'd rather the team put their effort into more routes.

[@WhatAreYouDoing4]

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner

[@gplama]

RIP Social Spinner. He'll need to don a Baywatch bikini now to redeem himself for missing this one!

[@LeviBikely]

Are you going to e in San Diego?

[@keithhinchley846]

Any update on Zwift IOS release ?

[@gplama]

Posted deep down a rabbit hole on anther forum in response to a query. This is from a Zwift representative: "Here's the latest. The iOS build has been submitted to Apple & we're now in a process of getting it approved. The iOS build is consistent with Mac/PC but gaming subscription products (which Zwift is categorised as) are new to the App Store and its also a whole new thing to our engineering team. The inevitable wave of submissions for Turkey app approvals slowed things down pre Thanksgiving but we're pressing from our end. We apologise for any frustrations your end."

[@gplama]

They found Carmen long ago. No visit there this time around.