Here’s a question someone recently asked us:
Sometimes I’m working to complete a long route and get the badge, but I can’t do it all in one session because of scheduling issues. I know I can get off the bike, keep my Zwift session running, then come back and finish the route even an hour or two later. But is there a limit to how long of a break I can take in the middle of my session?
That’s a great question! Here’s the answer…
Why Take a Break?
We’ve all taken short intermissions during a Zwift session, pausing things for a nature break, a bidon refill, or a variety of other reasons. But why would someone want to take a longer break? Here are a few reasons:
- Schedules: you’re trying to complete an event or route which will take 3-4 hours, but you only have 1-2 hours free at a time. Parents of young kids, people with busy schedules – you know how it is!
- Recovery: you desperately want the PRL Full badge, but your nethers can’t handle being in the saddle that long. So you consider splitting the effort up over two days.
- Unexpected emergency: we’ve heard of Zwifters who were in the middle of a long session when they got a phone call requiring them to drop everything and address an urgent matter. They may want to pause their workout and come back to it hours later so they can get all the stars for completing it and/or receive the route badge.
- Hardware malfunction: if your trainer or bike breaks in the middle of a long, hard session, you may want to finish the session hours or days later after everything gets fixed.
- Internet outage: your Internet connection may drop in the middle of a session, and you want to ride with others and/or make sure the session will save properly when you’re done. This may mean waiting hours or days before your Internet is restored.
How Long Can It Be?
The official word from Zwift is that there is no limit to the length of time you can rest in the middle of a Zwift session.
Zwift does automatically put you into a “lurking” state if you’re inactive long enough, which basically means you stop being broadcasted to the network so others won’t see you on course or see you in the list of active riders to join. Once you start moving again, though, you’ll be taken out of “lurking” mode. We aren’t sure how long you must be inactive before you’re set to lurking status, but it’s at least 5 hours in our tests.
To test how Zwift would behave if we took an especially long break, we began a session at 10:23PM on February 23rd, rode a couple of kilometers, then got off the bike and left the session running. We returned at 9:25AM on February 27th (~83 hours later), rode a few kilometers, then saved the ride. Here it is on Strava >
Everything worked perfectly fine on Strava’s side. The only weirdness we spotted is Zwift displaying the overall ride time (from the start of the ride to the last pedal stroke) instead of the “moving time.” So it shows the activity time both in Companion and in our zwift.com dashboard as 3 days, 11 hours, 4 minutes, and 38 seconds!
A Few Considerations
So Zwift allows us to take very long breaks if desired, which is great. But that doesn’t mean we should all start recording crazy-long Zwift sessions! Here are a few things to consider:
- Hardware/software glitches: the longer you leave an active session running on your device, the better chance some sort of glitch will occur and you’ll lose your session data. Sure, it can usually be retrieved one way or another, but there is a risk you could lose your activity to a computer crash, power outage, or other unexpected glitch.
- Training data accuracy: taking big breaks in the middle of a “single activity” can play tricks on your training metrics. The various calculators and tools are really built around the idea of measuring one continuous activity, and throwing a long break in the middle can have some unintended consequences.
- Tainted achievement: taking a 12-hour break in order to finish the PRL Full route may let you get the badge, but that’s a different “achievement” than doing it all in one go. There’s nothing wrong with it as far as we’re concerned, but make sure you’ll be able to live with yourself if you make the decision to take a long break in order to complete a route.
- Massive “ride time”: again, as mentioned above, Zwift currently displays the total time from your first pedal stroke or step to your final one, which will make it look like you did one very long activity.
- Loneliness: if you’re riding on the guest map then stop to take a long break, you may return only to discover everyone is riding on a different guest map due to the scheduled world changing (Zwift’s version of the first Twilight Zone episode). You may be rather lonely for the remainder of your activity.
What about you?
What’s the longest break you’ve ever taken in the middle of a Zwift session, and why did you take it? Share below!
Thanks! I’ve always been reluctantly leaving Zwift running to get a break. So far I’ve always stayed on my bike, up to 6+ hours to get the 100 miles badge. I might reconsider that if I do the everesting …
Interesting that the Strava segments that crossed the break point recorded just the moving time, not the overall time. Normally when you stop during a segment, the clock keeps running (which is the expected behavior), but that didn’t happen here.
The Strava segments that cross through the break point are showing the moving time for the segment, not the overall, which is interesting. When you stop during a segment, Strava will normally keep the clock running (which is the expected behavior), but that is not what is happening here.
Strava gives you the moving time and the elapsed time.
Yes, but in this case they are both showing the same value (the moving time) — it is showing the moving time for both.
Very interesting post. Thanks
Is there a difference of how Zwift tracks/reacts if you take a break by just stop peddling vs hitting the menu and pause? When I take breaks for longer rides to rejuvenate sore body parts, I usually hit the menu button that takes me to the stats/pause screen.
I did 100mi round Richmond and had to take multiple perineum, food & drink and loo breaks but none amounted for more than 10 mins each. I’ve also done route challenges where I’ve had to stop for a family meal and got back on 30 mins later, all cooled down and in wet gear 🙁
Several times I’ve signed up for a Tour de Zwift stage that didn’t fit my schedule (ex. 1am), logged in, and then gone to bed. The next morning, my avatars just waiting at the starting line. I’m last place, but I get the stage done – even if I complete it 8 hours after everyone else.
That’s an excellent hack to get a start time that suits your schedule.
Same here Alex. Exactly the post I would have made! I do (and have done) the same thing.
Soooo…if you time it right, you can ride solo. Introverts dream!
I’ve world hacked a couple of times just for that reason, and to see how I would look in a sprint and climbers jersey! 😉
I’ve never taken a break. I didn’t know it was possible. I’ll have to take advantage in the future.
Ditto, never taken a break longer than moving a load from the washer to the dryer. Anything longer than a cold drink and a snack seems like cheating. WWJD (What Would Jens Do)?
Zwift demo stations at bike shops probably dominate the top of the list when it comes to session duration. If you go to any non-Watopia world on an off day, you’ll probably see a couple dozen riders standing still in random places that have ridden a grand total of around the block or so, most of them named something that sounds like a bike shop. Them being there on an off day means that they have started the session the previous time the world was active or maybe even weeks before (unlikely that they would use the world hack).
i saw some chinese dude riding London, and was well over 2200km (*he was riding at the time), Im sure he took breaks, and wasnt ending his session.
From actual experience….Zwift put me into a “Lurking State” after approx 30 minutes. Was doing an open ride (not a Zwift event or a Meet-Up) where other riders were going to meet me at a specified landmark. I logged in and went to my spot with about 35 minutes to go before the ride start. With 5 minutes to go…everyone claimed I disappeared (we were talking on Discord). At first I thought I had an internet drop. But I could still see my avatar…so I began to pedal…and boom…I re-appeared to all the others. Hopefully this makes sense. Thanks
I had a one and a half hour break but my trainer disconnected so I had to re open the app
you should be able to reconnect the devices from the pair screen in the menu, without a need to quit and re-open the app.
It reconnected to the app but the gradient would not come through any more
I understand taking a break mid ride to have some food and drink. This is what a lot of club riders do when riding on the road.
Stopping for hours though or going to bed and continuing the next day is a bit of a cheat though. This is never something you would do when riding outdoors. If you did them I would ride a century every weekend. Two 3 hour rides is not the same as one 6 hour ride.
That is so true. That’s exactly how I feel.
Cheating def.: act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage, especially in a game or examination. – Unless it’s done with the intention of gaining an advantage, there is no cheating going on. Stop judging and ride more… 😁
You are right, 6 hours is different to 2x 3 hours. But here is some information on the other aspects you mention: in the real world there are indeed some outdoor riding events that are multi-day, with the clock always ticking. In other words, these are rides or races that are NOT split into stages (like the Tour de France). Some examples include the Race Across America (since 1982) and the more recent Transcontinental Race (Europe). It’s clear that stopping and sleeping is allowed for those, and because everyone can do it, it’s not cheating. 😉
Tried this tactic overnight: did Quatch Quest and parked at the base of ADZ. Climbed the Alpe today in about an hour. The route/badge banner came up with 920XP for finishing and I got 1000XP on the lucky dip, another 240XP down the Alpe. Total of 1700m towards a Tron bike. Or so I thought…
Just logged in again 5 minutes after to find the ride hasn’t uploaded 😭
I’m glad I came across your comment, because this has happened TWICE to me already. I had Quatch Quest up yesterday morning, and then had a major interruption which meant I wasn’t able to hop back on within a few hours. Today (so, approx. 24 hours later) I went to finish out my ride and after riding another hour plus, went to save it at the end and it didn’t upload. Just totally gone, like I never biked the 60km. 😭
I already did half of the Uber Pretzel and then the other half the following day, the only problem wasn’t a ‘tainted achievement’ as i got 2 great workouts it was more that my iPad battery was getting very low despite charging overnight and got quite warm in the process . Next badge with a long distance i’ll be using my PC.
Hi, Myself and a Friend are riding 26 hours straight on the wattbike on sat/sun for the 2.6 Challenge in the UK. I take it it is possible to set up a group ride for 26 hours? Also would it be possible for others to join the ride at any point throughout the 26 hours? Many Thanks, Ewan
Hi, Myself and a Friend are riding 26 hours straight on our wattbike’s on sat/sun for the 2.6 Challenge in the UK. I take it it is possible to set up a group ride for 26 hours? Also would it be possible for others to join the ride at any point throughout the 26 hours? Many Thanks, Ewan
I have never taken a break during a Zwift session but would consider an hour break for the two longest rides.
I took a break from the Surrey Hills ride for no more than 5 minutes but when I started riding again it changed my direction and took me downhill without me doing anything (I didn’t even have Companion running at the time!) Had to open Companion and turn around and climb Keith Hill all over! Also couldn’t see the finish after the bottom of Keith Hill, started climbing Fox Hill again but wasn’t sure how far up I’d need to go! Bit frustrated as I didn’t get the badge…ho hum will have to go again!
The finish line of Surrey Hills is on top of Fox Hill (at the banner).
I want to get the Uber pretzel route badge, split across multiple days. I’ve done a 1hr workout in watopia. Stayed logged in. Laptop on wifi. Came back 12 hrs later and session still active, but no other riders showing (although the empty rider list does say “and 3229+ more”), and companion app isn’t showing game screens. Weird!
What if you pause then the next day that route isn’t available?
Doesn’t matter. As long as you stay in-game, Zwift won’t move you to another map or anything like that. But you may find yourself riding alone!
So i went for surrey hills over two days. Everything perfect – an hour each day, got my badge at the end according to the live feed. Then when i went back online to check i hadnt got my badge or the points. What happened there?
And here I was needing a water bottle refill, waited for a downhill where I could go 35km/hr, hopped off, ran to the bathroom, filled my bottle, was back on my bike in 25 SECONDS. Ride was dropped. Had to restart. Was so bummed, now I know it was a glitch.
I was 3/4 of the way through a workout and simply had to pause Zwift before I had a heart attack!! When I got back on again 15 minutes later I couldn’t turn the pedals they were so stiff. No way could a turn the pedals let alone spin my legs as the prompts were telling me, So I had to abort. Fortunately the workout saved to Strava and I wasn’t shamed in public.
Sounds like ERG mode stayed on instead of disengaging. If that happens again, try turning ERG mode off, spinning the pedals up to speed, then enabling ERG again.
I took a break today while working towards my 100K badge. I sweat a lot but using a fan makes me cold. I changed my jersey twice without stopping, but my shoes and my shorts necessitate a stop. So it was just long enough to get undressed, towel down, and get some shorts back on. I went through 2 water bottles and a half-gallon thermos on the ride. I ran out of something to drink at 90K.
Took a break (15-20 min) in the middle of a training plan workout because of the heat. When O started back up again I was ‘kicked off’ the route I was trying to complete (Muir and the Mountain). Unfortunately, I didn’t notice until I was se down the incorrect route. 🤦♂️
This is good news indeed. I just turned 68 and in mid-July 2020 I suffered a very unfortunate brain stem hemorrhage while on a solo relatively normal weekend ride (1/2 century). I haven’t been on a bike outdoors since. However in September I began rehabbing on my indoor trainer. First short easy spins which grew into long easy spins which morphed into workouts at easy/moderate intervals. blah blah blah my point is that somewhere between getting back on the saddle and early October I decided to set my goals on completing every course that zwift had to offer. Ten (10)… Read more »
In anticipation of a few of the longer upcoming courses I attempted this on the PRL Half. Twice up and over Box Hill selected menu which I assumed would take me into pause mode. Returned a day later and Zwift was still active on my status bar but the game window would not display? I had also left Zwift Companion active on my mobile device but I could not pull up the game. I am so glad that I had not ridden 1/2 of the PRL Full only to find out I was doing something wrong. I am still not… Read more »
😖I do believe that in this case my problems were self inflicted. I run with my laptop and 2 widescreen monitors. The monitor that I typically use to watch sporting events either live or DVR’d while zwifting was the monitor that the app wanted to open in. I experimented a bit and figured out that I need to switch that monitor to computer input, move the app window to the desired monitor then back to business as usual. I need to do this every time my laptop goes to sleep. It is weird, but won’t be a problem in the… Read more »
I wanted to get the kit for a ride that was in the wrong time zone for me. I started and logged into the start lineup and sat there! I went to work and came back to find myself still sitting in the start pen. I rode the route alone but got the kit!
My friends and I take all day IRL rides where we stop for lunch, bathroom breaks, snacks, coffee and whatnot. Taking a break from the trainer is the same thing, so its not unethical in the least. Sleeping? Well, I guess you could make a case for “Bikepacking Watopia”. You have to increase your weight and set up a tent in your pain cave though 😀
Thanks for this advice. I’m almost 68 years of age and I’m thinking of starting to do the Alpe, it’ll be good to have a couple of breaks during the attempt. Even if just to get my breath back. To be honest I might even do it in stages and build up to doing the full Alpe, but it’s good to know that if I made a proper attempt doing it all at once that I wouldn’t be penalised for having a bit of a break.
I started a route and left the session running for a week, I was able to finish the route and it shows in strava but zwift doesn’t credit me with the route badge.
If I am doing a long ride i just take sag breaks like i would in IRL rides. Maybe 10 to 15 minutes.