Riding 1000km in 25 hours on Zwift

It’s been one day since I rode for 25 hours on the smart trainer, covering 1000km. This is my story…

Planning and Preparation

One of my goals this year was to try pedaling for 1000km non-stop. My wife, who is involved with the Red Cross, suggested that I do it for charity, and I didn’t think twice! I called the Red Cross, explained to them the project, and the event was planned before the call was finished.

I only had 8 days to organize everything, but luckily I’m in a period of excellent form this year. Due to the various lockdowns we have had, I will have covered (between indoor and outdoor rides) a personal record of 40,000km this year!

In the week before the big ride I only rode have my usual time each day. I usually train 3 hours a day, waking up at 3:30, but for this week I tried to wake up later, around 5. I also decided to ride in my comfortable living room instead of the basement.

Among other firsts, this would also be the first time in my life where there would be Red Cross staff to monitor and assist me for the entire duration of the ride, to ensure my health and safety. The day before the event my wife and I were invited to meet the president of the Red Cross, who thanked us for our work and handed me the jersey and shorts that I wore throughout the event (they performed admirably over 25 hours, with no bad consequences.)

The Day Arrives

On the day of the event, Saturday 19 December I woke up at 6 and ate breakfast with a nice big slice of panettone, an orange juice, and a multivitamin. I had avoided drinking coffee for the previous 3 days so I could use it during the night, which would be the hardest time of the day to ride.

After the last hardware and software check, at 7:59 am I started my long adventure. The goal was to ride 1000km on Zwift non-stop except for some normal physiological breaks and all within 26/27 hours total. The route I chose was the Tempus Fugit in Watopia. At about 17.7km in length, it would be covered 57 times!

The plan was to stay in the company of the C. Cadence pacer bot, which usually goes at a speed of 39-42km/h. What was difficult about this feat was that, in addition to pedaling continuously for 25 hours, I would have to maintain a constant solid pace for the entire duration without ever giving up!

The event was also live-streamed on Facebook, where while I was pedaling, I interacted with those who were watching me, answering their questions. This helped me pedal a lot without thinking too much about the fatigue and boredom.

25 hours of pedaling are long to describe I will limit myself only to the highlights. Let me start by saying that I was surprised by how many people supported me in every way, both by pedaling with me, by donating, by writing me messages… I was very impressed by all of this. I apologize if I couldn’t reply to all the messages and thank you in the moment.

The first hours passed quickly, between emotion and adrenaline I didn’t really feel them. Seeing the low number of kilometers and thinking about the final finish line made me feel a little discouraged, but I’m used to this kind of enterprise where the head counts as well as the legs.

My food supplies for the ride

Eat, Sweat, Gab

Every hour I ate something, trying to alternate the salty with the sweet and also trying to eat proteins and fats and not just carbohydrates. For an effort and duration of this kind, it is necessary to eat proteins and fats to avoid muscle catabolism (the body destroying muscles for energy). Drinking is as fundamental as eating. Never get dehydrated! Every hour I tried to drink at least half a liter of liquids,

In the house it was 17 degrees and 45% humidity, which was the perfect environment. In fact, with the fan always on and oriented on me I did not sweat that much.

Looking back at my videos I realize that I was squinting – this was due to the sweat salt that accumulated near my eyes. I pedaled and talked, ate and drank. A nice loop, interrupted only by the Red Cross checking my vitals while I continued pedaling. Kilometer after kilometer, the goal was getting closer…

Finding something to say for 25 hours is not so simple! But it was rather easy because I always had numerous questions or curiosities to answer as well as greet the many friends from all over the world who follow me and encouraged me with their messages.

For lunch, I decided to eat a plate of dry pasta seasoned only with a little Parmesan, all while continuing to pedal. The problem was my portion was too abundant, and in the following hours, I felt affected. The blood goes to the stomach and muscles don’t feel so strong anymore. I made a small mistake but fortunately, apart from a bit of difficulty in staying with my pace group, I survived and had no performance drops.

Hanging In with Friends

Miles and time passed, among other things on Zwift I was accompanied by several friends who accompanied me from all over the world. In my difficult moments they helped by pulling me back into the main group. I do not hide the fact that in the central part of the day the group was very large: the average speed was always around 42km per hour and I had to focus on not losing it due to the constant changes in speed.

The first 12 hours flew by. My dinner was 2 small slices of margherita pizza that I enjoyed like never before. I would have eaten two whole pizzas but then I would have been off the bike! 😊

Around midnight I had my only brief crisis of the whole ride. My feet were quite sore, I couldn’t push as much as I should, and I was struggling to keep up with the expected speed. So I decided to lie down on the sofa for 5 minutes and take off my shoes. After that, I got up immediately and I never stopped except for another very short pee stop until the end.

Taking a short break with sore feet

The boys of the Red Cross measured my blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and BPM 8 different times. Each time it was the same values: 170/60, 99%, and 125-135bpm.

From 1-3am I thought I might have another crisis, but instead the hours passed smoothly. My legs were spinning well. During the night, many American friends of Team USMES kept me company, but also many other friends that I’ve met when training. I took some coffees to keep my body stimulated, wanting to keep a good pedal stroke.

The Final Hours

The last 3 hours were the hardest in every sense, but I always had someone pedaling with me and helping me. If they saw me in trouble, they would help me rejoin the group or lend me a wheel to help maintain my average speed.

In the last 2 hours, I came detached from the pace partner group., it was hard to stay in the group, and when you detach it’s difficult to come back unless you can pedal at 4-5 watts per kilo. I did not have enough energy to do it, but when I came detached so did some other friends, many from Team Italy.

We ended up as a real team, crossing the 1000km finish line with applause from the people who were present in the house. The president and vice president of the Red Cross of Bolzano also arrived for the occasion.

Wrapping It Up

Although it was the most tiring experience on a bike of my life, at the same time it was also the most exciting from all points of view.

In the end we managed to collect 2500 euros and for this I sincerely thank everyone. I also thank my family who allowed me to do all this by supporting me at all times when I needed it, and I thank all those who followed and encouraged me from their homes, and all the staff of the Italian Red Cross in Bolzano.

For data lovers, here are some key numbers from the event:

  • FUNDS RAISED FOR RED CROSS: €2520
  • KM COVERED: 1000.53
  • ELAPSED TIME: 25 hours 19 minutes
  • AVERAGE SPEED: 39.5KM / H MAX 48 KM / H
  • ELEVATION GAIN: 1458 meters
  • AVERAGE BPM: 136
  • MAX BPM: 161BPM
  • AVERAGE POWER: 152
  • MAX POWER: 541
  • AVERAGE CADENCE: 73RPM
  • MAX CADENCE: 101RPM
  • CALORIES BURNED: 13891 + 3200 METABOLISM
  • WATER DRANK: 10 LITERS
  • FOOD EATEN: 5 BANANAS 5 MILK BUNS WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND JAM 5 MILK BUNS WITH BRESAOLA 4 SLICES OF PIZZA 2 CROSTATIN 1 SLICE OF PANETTONE 4 SLICES BLACK BREAD WITH BRESAOLA AND SLIMS 6 CUBES OF GRANA 1 PLATE OF PASTA MIT PARMESAN DRIED DATES 2 GEL 2 COFFEE 1 GINSENG COFFEE 6 SQUARES OF DARK CHOCOLATE 1 POCKET COFFEE
  • See my activity on Strava

I would like to emphasize that the whole event was carried out in total safety with regard to the anti-COVID provisions. At home, the people present wore masks, except for me who was pedaling – I wore it when the safety distance was not guaranteed (photos and greetings). In addition, the whole apartment was constantly ventilated with the windows open. Thank you all for the affection you gave me!

Want to Donate?

Since this post went live, I’ve had multiple requests for a donation link. Here it is: http://gofund.me/a1eea9a5

Questions or Comments

Thinking of doing a long ride on Zwift? Or perhaps you already have? Share your thoughts below!

Saverio Addante
Saverio Addante
Saverio has been riding on the road since 2004, and counts himself lucky to live in a beautiful place near the Dolomites in Italy. He currently leads both the USMES and Team Italy teams on Zwift, training daily for 2.5-3 hours beginning at 4am. Thanks to COVID and various lockdowns he will surpass his personal record of 40000km ridden for 2020!

39 COMMENTS

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Sylvain Roy
Sylvain Roy
2 years ago

WOW man you have my respect. Amazing feat!

Pete McDonnell
Pete McDonnell
2 years ago

You forgot an important part, how much money was raised for Red Cross?

Oliver
Oliver(@oliver-thwaites)
2 years ago

Well done! Do you have a link we can use to make a donation?

Paul Rayner
Paul Rayner(@paulrayner)
2 years ago

Well done – that’s an incredible achievement!!!

Eric Schlange
Admin
Top Member
Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
2 years ago
Reply to  Pete McDonnell

Didn’t forget it – it’s at the end of the article! But we just added it in another place so folks don’t miss it. 🙂

Adam
Adam
2 years ago
Reply to  Eric Schlange

Looked through the article a couple of times for the donation link but still can’t find it.

Rob GZ
Rob GZ(@robgrootzwaaftink)
2 years ago

Wow!!! So impressive!

Adam Honey
Adam Honey
2 years ago

I was riding with the Pace Partner that day and you were at the 550km. A top effort, well done!

Weiwen
Weiwen
2 years ago

Even the pace bots are not as determined as you are!

Callum Rose
Callum Rose
2 years ago

Holy crap dude! Awesome job!

Drew Jarvis
Drew Jarvis
2 years ago

I wonder if the link is not available on Android for some reason? I also can’t see the link to dobate

Valerie Gladwell
Valerie Gladwell
2 years ago

A great ride… It must have been tough. I watched my 15 year old son do 450km in 15 hours… 1 hour for ever year he was alive..he raised £1000 for Addenbrooks charitable trust. We timed it so he finished at the time he was born just before midnight (he allowed himself some short breaks throughout including eating pizza!) He also had to do school at the same time in the morning 😬 and his mistake was climbing up a large mountain as part of his ride. Well done to you.

Brian Darnell
Brian Darnell
2 years ago

I was watching you at around 740km and yes you were squinting but you seemed to keep unclipping the right foot. I was wondering if you were having swelling or pain in the feet or knees. Great job. Always fun to pace with you and Coco.

Morgan Coney
Morgan Coney
2 years ago

Chapeau Sav!

Bo Oxlund
Super Member
Bo Oxlund(@boxlund)
2 years ago

Amazing ride and effort 💪👍 Love the article, thanks for sharing 🙂

Vidar Sørensen
Vidar Sørensen
2 years ago

Wow.. thats amazing! Well done! 🙂 Btw, how much drops did you earn from the 1000 km ride?

Paul Rayner
Paul Rayner(@paulrayner)
2 years ago

Is there a way to see how many drops you earn from any given ride? I can see he got “999+” Ride Ons.

Gabor Szekeres
Gabor Szekeres
2 years ago

Hi, Respect your achievement. The 150-is avg watts accounts for what watts/kg ratio? In other terms, whats your weight?

Karsten Kröger
Karsten Kröger
2 years ago

Hero Saverio! Again: So awesome! Guys like you a very inspiring!

Stuart Spokes
Stuart Spokes
2 years ago

Bravo – huge effort for a fantastic cause. Well done

Chris Mccombs
Chris Mccombs
2 years ago

So Amazing! I rode with Coco that day and was a bit confused because initially it seemed there were two pacer bots according to the number of KM you and Coco had ridden ;-). Quickly figured out this was no glitch and you were no bot. Chapeau!

VG Prasad
VG Prasad
2 years ago

Wow wonderful, that’s a great endurance, that too onbthe trainer. For me it’s difficult to ride more than two hours on the Trainer, and you peddled 25 + hours, that’s amazing. Your speed and Cadence were excellent for such a long period. Nutrition and Hydration strategies worked excellent. Congratulations on this great achievement with a great cause 👏 🙌

Danny (Brooklyn NY)
Danny (Brooklyn NY)
2 years ago

Awesome Accomplishment!!! Bravo!!! Kudos!!! MAJOR RESPECT!!!
Thank you for the donation link! I just donated. Thank you for the opportunity!
I am thinking about something similar, meaning a 24 hour ride, possibly an Everesting ROAM on Zwift. Can you please let me how often you stopped and for how long each time? Looks like only twice from the article.
Did you change kits during the ride?
Also, riding with the C. Cadence pacer bot is genius! When you did stop, how did you get back on to the pacer bot group?
Once again, BRAVO!!! You are simply AWESOME!!!

Ema Lesiecka-Ennis
Ema Lesiecka-Ennis
1 year ago

🚴🏽‍♂️😍🚴🏽‍♂️👌🏾🚴🏽‍♂️🌟Absolutely mammoth ride… executed in true Saverio style! Brilliant! Congratulations on completing this epic ride in an awesome time & of course for raising awareness of & funds for an invaluable charity.🙏🏽An inspiration to so many…🎊Bravo bravissimo!🌟 ♥️👊🏽♥️

Martin
Martin
1 year ago

Fantastic achievement!

Im 60 in March and would like to spend the 24hours riding on Zwift for Charity!

Is there a support group here, or a set of rules for official 24 hrs attempts? I’m not massively experienced, but have been an endurance swim specialist in the past. Zwift offers the option of a simple 24hour attempt.

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