SBR Utopia ~~~~ Permanently OPEN!! (Page 107)

which Jim?  Don't know how many of us are on here....

Ok yeah that makes sense.  

All, 

The request for an account deletion has been at Fred's request.  I sincerely apologize for this.  This is the part of my job that I hate - being a mod and trying to be impartial.  Fred has been with us for a long time.  He is extremely helpful.  In fact, he is one of the very few that I have spoken with over the phone.  I respect him 100%, he has done a lot for BT.  I don't want to see him go either.  I have tried to offer options and to talk him out of it.  Up until this point, I have not forum timed-out him, banned him, etc.  I have really been trying to defuse the 'situation' over the past month and to go the extra mile to work with him.

As a mod, I know a lot more about this situation than you do.  I have exchanged pm's from all involved, etc.  Please understand that you only have half the information.  What if you, as a juror, had to decide a case only based on the prosecution's testimony?  I just served on jury duty and after one side presents the case, you are kind of thinking, 'wow...yeah, this guy needs to be hanged!'...only to then backtrack when you hear the defense's testimony.

Just know that I am not out to ban Fred and have nothing against him, that I preferred that he stayed to continue helping.  I just want people to get along, that's it.  I'm sorry that I can't go into the specifics, but I have to respect the privacy of the parties.  

I will continue to hold Fred's account through the weeks-end in case he changes his mind as I realize that emotions are high right now.  I will also continue to work with Fred, should he want, to keep him a member of the BT community.

Aw Fudge - count me in as well. One of these days I will learn that when the group goes silent that it just means we have been archived....

Thanks for that Ron - I  know everyone here appreciates the work you do, as difficult as it is to understand how the situation got this way. I too will very much miss Fred - he was the first person on BT with which I had  interaction a number of years ago and he helped me a great deal as I prepared for my first Ironman. If he truly leaves BT he will be sorely missed by many. 

Seems a little subjective for comparison though.  Heck if the pedals are still moving i'm good!

Too bad my coach would never let me do somehting like that, and I follow my workouts religiously.  Sad, cuz I'd really love to do this... Ah well...........

I love Fred, and think he's a great guy, but anyone wanna lay odds as to when he'll be back??  

Oof - that doesn't sound fun Marc! Back in the prime of race prep I had a few workouts called "tap out progressions" that were somewhat sorta-kinda similar, except they had descending recoveries built in between the progressions.  So they went something like:

Warm up 15 minutes
5 minutes of 15 seconds HARD, 45 seconds EZ
5 minutes @ 200 watts to get the HR up.
5 min EZ

Main Set:
Start at 200 watts, then every 1 minute you either add or subtract 5 watts, so the protocol went like this:

1 min 200 watts
1 min 195 watts recovery
1 min 205
1 min 190 recovery
1 min 210
1 min 185 recovery
etc, etc. to failure.

You don't reduce recovery wattage below 150. It holds there. The harder wattage of course keeps building. So as long as your lap power is over the target wattage by the end then you did it correctly.

Once you tap out pedal EZ for 5 minutes, then:

30 seconds @ 280 watts
add 20 watts each round. Recovery effort did not matter, and I could hold my wattage by every means necessary - stand, low cadence, etc.

After I tapped that one out I did another 5 minutes EZ

Then repeated the last set one last time same protocol, followed by a 10 minute warm down, so a total of 3 sets of intervals.

IIRC I tapped out at 320w on the first one, 420 on the second one, and 410 on the third one. It was a little brutal at the end of each, but it was also the quickest 2 hours I have ever spent on the trainer - was really surprised how the time flew.

HAving been a mod for a short while here back when I was sick (and I forever owe Ron a debt of gratitude on that as it kept me "in the game"), I realized what a tough job it is.   You can never, ever please everyone, and you can never, ever truly explain all of the things you have to read that has been banished ((posts, not people).  You react too harshly, or not harshly enough, or too quickly, or not quickly enough.  It's truly no win.  In fact, for a couple years there was a guy harassing me over on slowtwitch as he was convinced I was the one that got him banned (not bryand and I wasn't even a mod when this guy got banned).

One thing I did learn was that it takes a HELLUVA lot to actually get banned, but everyone knows this site is moderated, so you pull the shark's tail one too many times, you get bit sometimes. Either by havinig posts removed or being banned, temporarily or permanently. 

After a while I realized it just wasn't worth the trouble, so I asked to be removed.  So kudos to those that hang onto that job and perform it as best they can.  None of us know what actually goes on behind the scenes

Anyway, just my .02

Fred has left BT before, and then come back.  Hopefully this will be like those times.

I understand the difficulty in being impartial.  I will never know about 99% of the posts that get removed.  But I also think there's a hmm...  I think sometimes you (or other mods) are trying to be even-handed and that leads to a high level of patience towards people who are trolling or spreading misinformation.  Fred isn't one of those, and he should get the benefit of the doubt over people who detract from the site.

I've had a post pulled before (totally deserved) and I've since removed myself from that particular forum.  Fred - if the stress outweighs the benefits, I understand and I'll see you in Alcatraz   But I just wanted to voice that you're one of the people who got me to where I am today, so thanks.

- Mark

I know, I was thinking the same thing.  I'd be all over this - if only...   

.

.

.

Whomever could you be talking about??

On the one hand I'd say we also have a responsibility to simply ignore it.  There are two people in particular on BT that I will never, ever respond to or even acknowledge their existence.  But the problem is that if we all do that then the site just degrades and the trolls continue to post as they like, and people just stop going to it.   Not that I am any indication of anything, but in recent months I've gone into TT, seen a few things that bother me, start typing a response and then realize I don't really care, and delete it.  If we all end up doing that, that's obviously not good for a site.

I have no doubt-- I would hope-- that the person referenced above has had his run ins with BT mods.  That's the part we are not privy to

Hold on there, sounds dangerous!  

"Firstly it is very important that you are healthy and reasonably fit to perform such a test. These are maximal efforts and so you should always consult your
physician/doctor if in any doubt about your suitability for such testing, and most definitely if you ....are over 35 years old."

Those don't come with such dire warnings.

Honestly, it doesn't sound that bad to me....but that's only because I'd be completely spent after only a few minutes of making 25W jumps.  It might be "easier" and shorter than a 5' test :P

No such luck, you have to do 15w increments.  There is this in the fine print - "Women use 15W/min"

I would challenge everyone to simply ignore trolls.  Don't respond at all, or even acknowledge that their posts exist.  Use the ignore button.  Allow bad information to proliferate if need be.

I will miss Fred, but I totally understand his decision.  Honestly, I hope he does not come back because he shouldn't be spending his free time doing something that causes him stress.  He's tried to be a mentor group only guy in the past...it just doesn't seem to work for him.  I owe a lot to him, and I wish him well.

I'm not sure how Shane does it...or if he's even human...but he somehow makes it work in TT.  I think if you state your opinion, back it up with solid data or references...most people can decide for themselves which information or ideas have the most value.  Really no need to jockey back and forth with another poster unless you are actually bouncing ideas off each other.  Easier said than done though.

That's what I've been trying to do more of.