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Haute Route Watopia Details

Eric Schlange
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79
Haute Route Watopia Details

Haute Route Watopia Details

UPDATE: Zwift sent out the following email on April 3rd:

Haute Route Watopia is underway and it’s seen a stacked field taking to the start line. To improve your experience we’re in the process of making immediate changes to create an even better Haute Route Watopia for you!

With the events proving so popular, a small number of you might be running into technical limitations/difficulties on your device. If your ride didn’t upload, we recommend following these steps.

Didn’t complete Stage 1 and still want the kit? You’re in luck, as the only stage required to unlock the kit is Stage 3.

We don’t want anyone to miss out on the chance to win the epic prize of entry to an in-real-life Haute Route, so we’re happy to announce that we have another prize draw which we will send you an email to enter on Monday!

We’ve responded to the high demand for more event times by adding several more for every stage. We’ve also added a second category to all events. These D and E categories are identical but will help us stagger rider start times and smooth the load on the servers. Check out all the upcoming events!

Zwift has announced an event in partnership with Haute Route which is being billed as “the world’s most challenging virtual 3-day stage event.” It’s Haute Route Watopia, and it’s going to push riders to the limit as they take on tough routes three days in a row, culminating in The Pretzel!

Open to all Zwifters worldwide, this free event will be the most accessible Haute Route to date. And in terms of participation numbers, it will certainly be the largest Haute Route ever! Haute Route Director Julie Royer says, “The virtual world opens up entirely new possibilities never seen before. Haute Route Watopia will allow more people from around the world to experience the thrill of an Haute Route event.”

Sign up and details at www.zwift.com/hauteroute >

About Haute Route

Haute Route has made a name for itself by creating challenging three and seven-day events in some of the world’s most iconic cycling destinations. Their events are essentially fully-supported stage races for passionate yet amateur cyclists. Some riders race the events, others seek to only challenge themselves, while others just want to enjoy the scenery. Some do all three!

Velo News says, “Haute Route events are at, or near, the pinnacle—for every pedal stroke on every stage—at offering the pro experience, both on and off the bike.”

Test Yourself

In true Haute Route style, this is designed to be a challenging stage event. Zwift CEO Eric Min says, “I’ve looked at the route, and it’s certainly going to be a huge challenge. However, I always like to test myself, and I certainly look forward to taking part.”

Competitors must complete all three stages on back to back days in order to officially finish. Each stage will be run across multiple time zones – see the event page on Zwift.com for schedule and signup.

There will be no make-up days – stages must be completed back to back. 

Event Support

Haute Route events are reputed to be the best-supported amateur cycling events in the world, and according to Zwift’s press release, “Haute Route Watopia will be no exception.” Event participants can expect the following:

  • A rider’s handbook
  • A complete training program to help you perform at your peak for the event itself
  • An exclusive in-game Haute Route kit for all entrants
  • During the event itself, a general classification allowing all entrants to track their performance across all three stages (see it here on ZwiftPower)
  • Additional prizes and unlocks for all finishers (see below)

Stage Details

Over the course of three stages, participants will ride a total of 145km (90.2 miles) with 3,373m (11,070′) of climbing. These are double draft events.

Here are the routes for each stage (click for details):

Prizes and Unlocks

Zwifters who complete all three stages will unlock the exclusive virtual Haute Route finishers kit by Le Col to wear with pride in the game. In addition, finishers of all three stages will be entered into a prize drawing to win either entry to a 3-day Haute Route event or a Le Col Haute Route cycling kit!

Sign up and details will be at www.zwift.com/hauteroute >

Group Workout Series

Leading up to the big weekend, a group workout series has been put in place to help us train for the race.

The Haute Route Workout Series includes eight workouts that take place over six weeks. Join any event to wear and unlock the official Haute Route kit. See the event page for a workout series schedule >

Ride with Pros Events

Zwift + Haute Route are also hosting a handful of Ride with Pro events, where the group will be joined by a pro rider. Complete any Ride With Pro event to unlock the official Haute Route socks and cap to complete your look.

See the event page for upcoming Ride with Pro events > (none yet scheduled when this post was initially published)

Competing In Ironman VR Events on Zwift

Eric Schlange
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48
Competing In Ironman VR Events on Zwift

Competing In Ironman VR Events on Zwift

IRONMAN® has rolled out their “IRONMAN Virtual Club” platform, and this weekend is their first event: the IRONMAN VR1. Here’s a look at how this virtual competition works, and how to best complete it on Zwift.

How IRONMAN Virtual Racing Works

The IRONMAN Virtual Club is designed to let you “Train, compete, and celebrate your achievements with a global community of fellow athletes no matter where you are.” Once you join the Virtual Club you can sign up for different events and compete with other athletes around the globe as you complete workouts on your own time, using the platform and devices of your choice.

A good comparison here is Strava Challenges, which riders or runners compete across a particular date range for a total distance or elevation goal. IRONMAN Virtual Club events are similar, although they span fewer days and may combine a mix of running and riding. Just like a Strava Challenge, you’ll receive a badge upon completing the IRONMAN event.

Once you link your fitness tracking app (Strava, Garmin Connect, etc) to your Virtual Club account and register for an event, your activities begin counting toward that event.

IRONMAN VR1: The First Virtual IRONMAN Race

Tomorrow is the start of IRONMAN VR1 – a virtual race in which competitors must run 5km, bike 90km, and run 21km between 6pm GMT on Friday, April 3 and 11:59pm GMT on April 5.

These events could be completed outdoors. They could also be completed indoors on virtual platforms including (of course) Zwift!

Signing Up

Without going into intricate detail, here’s the signup process to join IRONMAN VR1:

  • Create an account at ironmanvirtualclub.com
  • Connect your tracking app(s) to that account (Strava, Garmin Connect, etc)
  • Register for IRONMAN VR1 through the “Register Now” link on the VR1 homepage. This will get you a bib number.
  • Return to the VR1 Homepage and click “Sign Up” to enter your bib number and join that event.

Note: registration is free, although the system is clearly set up in a way that would allow IRONMAN to charge for future events. Over 5100 athletes are registered for VR1 at the time of this post.

Tackling IRONMAN VR1 On Zwift

If you’re wanting to complete any part of VR1 on Zwift, make sure your Strava account (or whatever fitness app you’ve linked to your IRONMAN Virtual Club account) is connected to your Zwift account. This can be done at my.zwift.com under My Profile>Connections.

To finish IRONMAN VR1 you need to complete two runs and one ride:

  • Run 5km
  • Ride 90km
  • Run 21km

It appears the order of the activities doesn’t matter – you could do the ride first then both runs, etc. They just need to be done between 6pm GMT on Friday, April 3 and 11:59pm GMT on April 5.

There isn’t much strategy involved with the running portion, beyond standard running strategy! But let’s talk about the ride. Or more specifically: how do you turn in your fastest 90km ride on Zwift?

Choosing the Best Zwift Route

Your fastest time will be found riding on the flattest virtual tarmac. Zwift’s flattest routes are:

There are other flattish routes on Zwift which would be decently fast, but these are the flattest and fastest.

Event Selection

Boost your speed even more by joining a draft-enabled Zwift event (or even better, a double drafting event) on a flat course with other riders of similar ability. This gives you the benefit of a strong group draft, giving you the same speed with ~30% less power.

Zwift’s own event search tools don’t let you filter rides based on length, hilliness, or drafting setup. We recommend ZwiftHacks’ or ZwiftPower’s event search tools for the job.

Example: from ZwiftPower’s homepage click “Filter”, then choose “Flat”. This brings up all the flatter rides. You can filter additionally by length, double draft, and more.

IMPORTANT: if you choose to do this 90km ride in an event, and your event is less than 90km, you will have to keep riding once the event ends, to complete the 90km distance in one activity. So plan for that! Whatever you ride before the event won’t count, since it is uploaded automatically by Zwift as a separate effort.

Bike and Wheel Selection

The Tron bike: not a bad choice!

Since your effort will be on a flat route, choose the most aero in-game bike and wheels you’ve got. Unless you’re riding this as a TT (see below), you’ll want a frame from our fastest frames list (see frame ranking charts for a complete comparison).

And whether it’s a TT or not, you’ll want a wheelset from our fastest wheels list (see wheel ranking charts for a complete comparison).

Riding a TT?

If you’re a purist and want to ride the event on a time trial bike (which doesn’t draft other riders), just pick the best frame you can get from our fastest TT frames list (see TT frame ranking charts for a complete comparison).

Free Riding: TT or Drafting?

If you’re not riding this as an event, you’ll probably wonder: what’s faster in a free ride: a TT bike or a standard road bike that lets you draft?

The answer is: it depends. It depends on how many other riders are on the road!

Luckily, with the crazy numbers we’re seeing on Zwift lately, you can rest assured that riding a standard road bike will give you the fastest time, because you’ll be able to get a lot of drafting done on flat routes.

Exact Distance

IRONMAN’s instructions say “… make sure that you complete the exact distances specified, as your ranking is determined by your time and distance recorded on your GPS tracking device.”

As confirmed by double-checking with IRONMAN support, your ranking will be based on your overall activity time, even if your activity is well over the required distance. This seems a bit odd – it would make more sense to take the time from your initial 90km if your activity is longer than 90km. But according to support, they don’t have that ability. Therefore, you should make sure your ride is at least 90km long, but not much longer!

Questions or Comments?

Share below! And if you complete IRONMAN VR1, please share your experience!

How the Race Was Lost: Crit City Double Draft With Friends

Eric Schlange
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9
How the Race Was Lost: Crit City Double Draft With Friends

How the Race Was Lost: Crit City Double Draft With Friends

DIRT teammate Shawn McAfee and I had been talking about getting into a race together for a while, and we finally found a race that worked for both of us. Tuesday night: the Midweek Criterium Race. 18 laps of Crit City’s Downtown Dolphin.

Shawn (a B racer like myself, but ranked significantly higher) wanted to race the A’s, but I didn’t like the idea of a long 18-lapper with A racers. “Are you sure you don’t want to do B’s and have some fun trading off attacks?” I asked. “OK, I’m convinced,” he quickly answered. Apparently he wasn’t too thrilled about trying to hang with the A’s, either.

Then we invited the rest of the team. That’s when things got interesting.

Double Draft and Tactics

We thought it would be fun to introduce some mayhem into the race, via good old-fashioned team tactics. At first we thought just attacking off the front in ones and twos would be a good way to whittle down the field and make others burn matches – then we realized this event used double draft mode.

If you’re not familiar with it, double draft mode is a significantly stronger draft effect than Zwift’s “standard” draft. Zwift racers know double draft makes it very difficult to get away from the pack. This is because double draft boosts the overall pack speed by 1-2 miles per hour as riders on the front continuously churn between hammering in the wind and recovering in the big draft.

In a double draft race, unless you’re able to break away from the group with at least several riders, you probably won’t stay away. This changes your tactics.

Eventually we had 9 DIRT riders signed up for the race. We agreed to hop into the team Discord server for voice comms. This was going to be fun!

The Warmup

My legs would be well-rested heading into Tuesday, and I wanted to get some miles in and make sure it was a big training day. So Tuesday morning I put in around 30 easy miles on Zwift, with a few sprints as leg openers. Since the race was 9 hours later I figured this wouldn’t negatively impact my performance much (if at all). Who knows, it might even prep my legs a bit for a hard effort!

Riding with the Ascenders team Tuesday morning

After the morning ride I made sure to recover properly: replacing my carbs, hydrating throughout the day, and stretching my legs. Everything felt good.

I wrapped up my workday a bit early, and 30 minutes before the race I was on my regular Tempus Fugit warmup routine. I had already chewed my caffeine gum and applied the PR lotion to my legs, so my pre-race ritual was completed. I was really stoked to race as a team, knowing it adds an entirely new dimension to the race experience! 

The Start

The start of the race wasn’t any different than other Crit City starts. The first lap was a hard effort as the initial selection was made – I averaged 347 watts as we completed the first lap at 35.9mph. 2:01 – a new PR for me!

The second lap was easier, then we settled into a rhythm: hammer up the prime climb, keep the power over the top, then recover on the descent and through the lap banner. Maintain a good position, and don’t get gapped on that prime climb!

Once things settled down the initial group of 85 was whittled down to 45. Now it was time to talk team tactics.

See the feathers fly!

The Middle

Teammate Jason Muchler made a few solo attacks off the front, happy to play the sacrificial lamb because he was riding one-armed with a shoulder injury and knew he wouldn’t factor in the sprint finish. Each time he told us he was attacking we would be sure to stay off the front of the group, forcing other riders to pull us back to him.

Unfortunately, the effects of his attacks were blunted by the high pack speed and ease of sitting in the double draft. Attacking as a team was the only way we would have an effect on the race, given the large pack size and double draft mode. The question was, when to attack?

As we hashed it out on Discord it was clear that most of the team wasn’t feeling especially strong. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in an early attack being able to stick, but we did think that an attack or two before the finish would be a good way to drop a few riders and soften the legs of some of those who would be in the final mix.

Our first attack was decided: on the 11th lap, we worked our way to a good position near the front of the pack as we hit the bricks of the prime kicker. Then just as we neared the top of the short climb we went all-in to break away from the main group.

Off the front in a team breakaway

Only five of us had the legs to make the attack, which meant we didn’t stand much of a chance against the 40 riders behind. But we hammered all the way through to the lap banner anyway.

DIRT teammate Pete Butler had joined the Discord chat even though he wasn’t in the race – he was our directeur sportif, giving us tips about other riders, encouraging our hard efforts, and advising us on strategy. He was great!

Our breakaway only stayed away for less than a lap, but we dropped a few riders and made others work a bit harder. Now what?

The End

Given the frenetic pace and size of the pack, we didn’t fancy the idea of another group attack. Instead, we decided to go for a leadout train effort on the final lap. We would try to save those who had a chance at a strong sprint finish for the final meters, which meant other DIRT dudes would need to lead out.

This is classic cycling teamwork: the leadout train. In outdoor races with a flat finish you’ll see teammates assemble in a “train” near the end of the race. The idea is that your team’s sprinter sits in, following the train’s wheel as each rider in front puts in a good hard pull before pulling off and letting the next rider do the same. This progressively lifts the speed of the team’s train until the final rider pulls off and your sprinter is “delivered” to go all-in for the finish.

It’s a challenge of timing and fitness, not to mention pack positioning and handling skills as multiple teams jostle for position.

Leadout trains happen on Zwift as well, but they’re a bit… messier. DIRT’s finish in this race was a good example. A couple guys agreed to do the initial pull from the top of the prime kicker. The rest of us (whoever had the legs to hold on) would go with them, sitting in the wheels then unleashing a well-timed sprint and powerup for ultimate DIRT glory!

That was the plan, anyway. My buddy Shawn put in a great pull and got off the front. I was on his tail, but so were a few other non-DIRT riders. We descended the twisties at lightning speed, and before I knew it the sprint was upon us! I waited too long to activate my aero powerup and really hammer, and I ended up finishing in 5th. 4th on ZwiftPower.

See my race on Strava >
See my race on Zwift >
See race results on ZwiftPower >

Overall our DIRT team had a decent result, although we just missed taking the win. 3 of the top 5 in ZwiftPower were DIRT riders, with the best result coming from Jeff Beltramini in 2nd. Congrats to winner Matthew Downs!

Shawn recorded and live-streamed the race. Watch it below (you’ll hear me on Discord):

Takeaways

A few takeaways from this race:

  • I like PowerUps. Especially in Crit City. Having done races here with and without them, I really appreciate the strategic element they bring. And I enjoy being able to use them at just the right time to provide just a little bit of relief or to boost my attacks.
  • Teamwork is a blast. Probably 95% of the races I’ve done have just been solo efforts, because I’m too lazy/busy to organize anything. But the team dynamic totally changes the race for everyone, and it can give teammates who wouldn’t otherwise get a good result a real feeling of accomplishment if they’re able to fill a role in the team’s strategy. I want to be in more races like this.
  • Timing is everything. I still need to work on my Crit City sprint timing. I should have attacked this finish more aggressively, following the wheels ahead a bit closer and gone all-in a bit sooner. Perhaps hindsight is just 20/20 – or perhaps I need to get a better sense of timing.
  • Double Draft is fast. My previous best times on this route were set in 8-lap races where power numbers were even higher, yet those times were 5-10 seconds slower than today’s race. Like I said earlier: double draft boosts pack speeds by 1-2mph.

What About You?

Have you been able to work together with teammates in a race? What did you do, and how did it work out? Share some stories below!

Episode 80: The Fence is Back, Clubs Launches, and Tour de Quarantine

Simon Schofield
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1
Episode 80: The Fence is Back, Clubs Launches, and Tour de Quarantine

Episode 80: The Fence is Back, Clubs Launches, and Tour de Quarantine

Simon, Shane and Nathan are back with the second of the new cycle of weekly Zwiftcasts – and there sure is a lot to talk about.

Special guest Wes Salmon from HQ appears twice to give us a ton of detail on the return of The Fence and why it went wrong, plus the thinking behind the limited launch of the much-awaited Clubs feature.

We also have another honoured guest, Brad Sohner, the genius behind the funny and uplifting Tour de Quarantine, which now has a Zwifter in the mix.

Elsewhere the Zwiftcasters range across the very busy period on Zwift, with a few changes that come under the “let’s be nice to noobs” category, plus the turbo trainer famine and why rowing won’t be coming to Zwift anytime soon.

And of course, the podcasters make room for discussion of Peak Zwift. It seems we have a winner 😉

We hope you enjoy listening.

Zwift Classics 2020 Announced

Eric Schlange
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22
Zwift Classics 2020 Announced

Zwift Classics 2020 Announced

The Zwift Classics race series debuted in July 2019 as a simple set of monthly invitational races for 5-member men and women’s teams. Zwift has just announced the Classics series for 2020, and it has expanded in scope to include the entire racing community in the fun.

These races are sure to be hugely popular – here are the details!

Race Format

Similar to what we’ve seen with Tour de Zwift and Tour of Watopia, a Pro/Am Invitational race will be held (and live-streamed) the day before each race opens up to the full Zwift community. Watch how the world’s top Zwift racers take on the course, then tackle it yourself!

Each Pro-Am race will feature different race challenges ranging from scratch race format to team points races to individual points races. Teams lined up to race include SEG Racing, Ribble-Weldtite, Hagens Berman Axeon, NTT, Canyon-dhb, Canyon/SRAM and TWENTY20.

Race Categories

Women can join the women’s only races, or hop into the mixed race. Be sure to enter the correct category for your abilities! Here are the FTP watts per kilo breakpoints for each category:

Mixed (Men & Women) Race Categories

  • A: 4+ w/kg
  • B: 3.2-3.99 w/kg
  • C: 2.5-3.19 w/kg
  • D: 1-2.49 w/kg

Women’s Race Categories

  • A: 3.8+ w/kg
  • B: 3.2-3.79 w/kg
  • C: 2.5-3.19 w/kg
  • D: 1-2.49 w/kg

Race Results on ZwiftPower

Final race results for this series will be managed by ZwiftPower, meaning those riding below their proper category will be removed from race results.

If you aren’t already signed up for ZwiftPower – why aren’t you? It’s where all the final race results live for Zwift racing. Get to it!

See the “Getting Set up” portion of our “How to Race on Zwift” post for details on getting set up on ZwiftPower.

Race PowerUps

All five race-specific PowerUps will be enabled. Use them wisely to conserve energy and boost your attacks!

Read PowerUps in Zwift: Advanced Usage Tips >

Event Schedule

Community races are scheduled hourly for four days apiece, starting at 30 minutes past the hour.

Yorkshire Grand Prix

Route: Yorkshire 2019 UCI Worlds Harrogate Circuit, 1 lap
Distance: 13.8km (8.6 miles), Elevation Gain: 240m (787′)
Pro-Am Race (Women): April 5 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 6-9 – see schedule on ZwiftHacks

London International

Route: London Loop, 1 lap
Distance: 14.9 km (9.2 miles), Elevation Gain: 220m (722′)
Pro-Am Race (Men): April 9 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 10-13

Trofeo Bologna

Route: Bologna TT, 1 lap (pen to KOM finish)
Distance: 8km (5 miles), Elevation Gain: 230m (757′)
Pro-Am Race (Women): April 13 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 14-17

Richmond Challenge

Route: Richmond 2015 UCI Worlds, 1 lap
Distance: 16.3km (10.1 miles), Elevation Gain: 142m (467′)
Pro-Am Race (Men): April 17 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 18-21

Watopia Cup

Route: Jungle Circuit, 2 laps
Distance: 21.4km (13.3 miles), Elevation Gain: 167m (548′)
Pro-Am Race (Women): April 21 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 22-25

Crit City Slam

Route: Downtown Dolphin, 8 laps
Distance: 15.5km (9.6 miles), Elevation Gain: 64m (209′)
Pro-Am Race (Men): April 25 at 7pm BST – watch on YouTube
Community Races: April 26-29

See all the event details at zwift.com/events/series/zwift-classics >

Questions or comments?

Share below!

Parlee Speed Mission Announced

Eric Schlange
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60
Parlee Speed Mission Announced

Parlee Speed Mission Announced

Zwift has just rolled out the newest in-game mission for cyclists: the Parlee Speed Mission! Here are the details…

How to Enter

To get started, click “Let’s do this” on the Parlee Speed Mission box in your startup screen. Accept the terms and conditions, and you’re ready to go! The start screen box will show mission progress as you save each ride.

Completing the Mission

To finish this mission, you must enter the mission then ride a total of 250km (155 miles) before April 16th. You can do it all in one ride if you’re an animal, or spread it across as many rides as you’d like!

In-game Parlee RZ7

Mission Prizes

Upon completing the mission you will receive a 100,000 Drops bonus, which you can use to purchase the new Parlee RZ7 bike in-game if you’d like. Or use it to buy something else!

Everyone who completes the mission will be entered to win a real-life Parlee RZ7 bike with SRAM Red eTap AXS (approximate retail value $12,999USD). Nice!

(representative image only, actual prize bike may differ)

Run 4 Gosh Mission Announced

Eric Schlange
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3
Run 4 Gosh Mission Announced

Run 4 Gosh Mission Announced

Zwift has just rolled out its April mission for runners, and it’s all about pushing ourselves to help others. Here are the details!

Getting Started

To sign up for the mission, click “Let’s do this” on the Run 4 GOSH box on your startup screen. Once you do that, the box will change to a progress meter:

Completing the Mission

To complete the mission, run at least 4 hours this month (April). The goal is for the community to run at least 18,000 hours this month, at which point Zwift will unlock a $25,000 donation to GOSH. How cool is that? Get fit, have fun, help others.

About GOSH

Every day, 619 children and young people from across the UK arrive at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) for life-changing treatments. At GOSH doctors and nurses battle the most complex illnesses, and the brightest minds come together to achieve pioneering medical breakthroughs.

This is the second time Zwifters have collaborated to help fund a donation for GOSH. The first time was back in November 2019 during the Team Ramsay Ride with Reason week.

Welcome to 1989, Zwifters!

Eric Schlange
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116
Welcome to 1989, Zwifters!

Welcome to 1989, Zwifters!

It’s April Fools’ Day, and you know what that means – the game team at Zwift is going to have a little fun!

This is our 6th April Fools’ Day on Zwift, and each year the HQ has come up with something fun for the community. Last year we were burning rubber, and the year before that it was Paperboy. 2017 we had big heads, 2016 gave us the old-timey effect, and 2015 we rode big wheels on Jarvis.

This year we’re going back to 1989 with rad neon kits, brightly-painted steel bikes, and tube socks.

Use the color slider to change your frame’s colors, and enjoy the silliness. We all need a bit of a laugh these days!

Strava Includes Indoor Activities in Monthly Challenges for April

Eric Schlange
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9
Strava Includes Indoor Activities in Monthly Challenges for April

Strava Includes Indoor Activities in Monthly Challenges for April

Back in February 2018, Strava made it possible for Challenge organizers to include indoor activities in their challenge stats. This was big news in the world of Zwift, where riders had gotten used to only outdoor miles counting!

But even with that change, Strava’s own monthly challenges (which make up the bulk of challenges on the platform) have never allowed indoor activities. Until now.

For obvious reasons, Strava has seen fit, at least for the month of April, to allow manual entries, virtual activities, and trainer workouts to count towards completion of their challenges. This applies to both cycling and running challenges. The April challenges now include this language:

We expect all athletes to honor the Strava Community Standards, which includes abiding by all health advisements and restrictions in your area prior to undertaking any physical activity.

With this in mind, GPS, manual entries, virtual activities and trainer workouts will count toward this challenge. Many of you take a lot of well-deserved pride in your challenge accomplishments, and we want to help you stay motivated even if you aren’t able to get outside as you normally would. There’s never been a better time for us to make indoor activities count toward challenges, and so we’re happy to respond to this long-standing request.

If you’re a Strava user, go visit the Challenges page and sign up. A little extra motivation never hurts!

Your Thoughts

What do you think – does this give you a little extra motivation? What challenge(s) are you signing up for? Share below!

Couch to Route Hero, Week 11 (Not Even Somewhat) Done 

Monica Schlange
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69
Couch to Route Hero, Week 11 (Not Even Somewhat) Done 

Couch to Route Hero, Week 11 (Not Even Somewhat) Done 

Editor’s note: Monica is undertaking the “Couch to Route Hero” challenge of riding all 67 “free-ridable” Zwift routes (and getting all the badges) in 11 weeks. Each week she shares her story of the previous week’s struggles and accomplishments. Follow along on her journey, take the challenge yourself, and be sure to give her a Ride On if you see her on course!

We’re finally at week 11 of the 11-week challenge and it’s not ending in any way I could have imagined. It seems we can blame Eric as he created the challenge without factoring in a global pandemic. I will have words with him about this, don’t you worry! 

The Week Lined Up

I added 2 new route badges for a total of 61. Only 6 left, and none of them are in the 5+ category. Sweet relief! I rode 127.4 miles with 8,336 feet of elevation gain in 10 hours, 35 minutes.

Routes Completed:

The PRL Full

I started the week with the usual preparation most experienced riders would do: come down with a mild case of the flu.

It’s important to note here that I do NOT have the Coronavirus. Apparently other illnesses are also flying around out there and in all our efforts to stay Sheltered-in-Place I still found one of these bugs and succumbed to it. 

Step two of the preparation included a week of supplements, sunshine, water, and fruits and veggies. I also added in some discouragement and frustration as I considered the fact that the world might be riding the PRL Full without me. 

On Saturday I woke up somewhere around 900 times in the night wondering if it was morning and was I any better. It was not, and I was not. When the alarm went off at 6am I’d had the 21 minutes of sleep recommended before the longest ride of one’s life. So I popped out of bed and suited up. Carbs, water, and caffeinated gum were on the breakfast menu after which I hopped onto my trusty steed! 

Eric and I, starting the big ride

The plan was to stay in Zone 1 or 2 for a few laps of the London Loop, which we’d do 11 times for the PRL Full. I wanted to see if I could ride with the bug or maybe just kick sickness to the curb with a low effort. I was clearly in prime condition for this ride as just hopping onto my bike brought my heart rate almost all the way up to Zone 2! Seeing others with “PRL Full” in their in-game names added several beats per minute so I settled into a perfect Zone 3 and was off! I’ve always been an overachiever.

The first 3 laps were a breeze. Mainly because I have no recollection of even riding. With so many people sending messages it was all I could do to write back or join in the conversation. Pedaling was forgotten! Glorious!

Those around me must have gotten into a rhythm by my lap 4 as the chatter calmed down somewhat. It was then I decided I really needed to pay more attention to my heart rate. My immunity means more now than it ever has before so I needed to be a bit smarter. I slowed down (which is what all cyclists want to do) and settled in for another 2 laps. The plan was to stop for a long break after lap 6. 

During lap 5 I realized I was feeling worse than anticipated. I’d ridden about 40 miles and was quite fatigued, feeling somewhat nauseous. I let those I’d been riding with know that I’d be taking a break and hopped off once I hit the top of the Box Hill. I laid down on some towels on the floor and suddenly my entire head felt like it would explode. This was the worst headache I’d had in a long long time. The teen daughter brought me some medication and I added more carbs, more caffeine, and a freshly washed face. I was ready to ride again.

I rode most of lap 6 with a bit more cheer and decided to stop on the downhill again for a real break. I changed into my best bib shorts and ate what I referred to as “real food.” Really, it was just a brownie, some Kombucha, and a banana. I was antsy to get back on my bike and finish what I started before my legs revolted and before Eric (who was quickly riding the PRL Full beside me) was long gone from his bike.

At lap 7 I was glad I had taken the long break as it was a slow trudge up Box Hill. When I reached the end of the descent I decided I’d likely take a long break at every descent. Why not? Everyone else was doing the route at their own pace, this would be mine. But when I got to the bottom a dear friend I only know through Zwift had hopped on. Daffyd Williams, a cat A racer with KRT jumped in and said hello. That gave me the pep I needed! He instinctively jumped in front of me and I clumsily hung on to his wheel. As we neared Box Hill I warned him it would be the slowest climb of his life. He didn’t mind as he was saving his legs for a race the next day. We both meandered up and I wondered how long he could handle this pace, picturing him at his home in the UK probably out of the saddle doing one-legged, no-hands drills. Daffyd pulled me along the flats again and around to another ascent, adding in some hilarity over messaging. I decided he was my new best friend and immediately texted all my current best friends to let them know. 

Daffyd pulling me along

I was feeling the nausea and fatigue as we made our way up the climb, this being my 9th time. Only two left but I needed a break. Daffyd and I parted ways at the descent and I hopped off my bike, this time adding a second pair of bibs to my poor sit bones. 

Once my feet quit hurting I hopped back on, planning to stop at the end of each lap. Halfway up my 10th ascent I had to immediately dismount and lay on the floor. The nausea of the flu-bug was back and had decided it was here to stay. A long rest and more water gave me the edge I needed to finish climb 10 without heaving on Eric’s empty bike next to me. One. Lap. Left. 

Lap 11 brought me to my first great achievement of the ride: the 100-mile mark! It’s called the “No Big Deal” Achievement Badge and came with 750 XP Points. I yelled out “I just hit 100 miles!!!” to my family in various places in the house. They all cheered! My first century of my entire life! It also meant the sweet relief of knowing I only had ~7 miles left of this route. 

Because the end of the PRL Full is at the Classique banner on the Mall I was leaving the circuit other Zwifters were still on. That pained me as I wanted to encourage everyone along the way. I let them know I was leaving as I passed my virtual baton off to them to finish together. I limped in to victory, soaring under the banner as I pushed out 90 watts of raw power!

9 hours and 6 minutes of riding got me the most coveted of Route Badges on Zwift! Sweet relief!!!

After Hours

It was so fun to see I got exactly 1200 Ride Ons while completing the PRL Full! On the same notification screen, I also found that I rode mostly in a high zone 3. Oops. 

Eric placed a to-go order for Indian food where I figured I’d eat my weight in naan. I burned 2800 calories! Clearly I’d forgotten about the nausea while I was ordering which meant I had plenty of leftovers for Sunday! 

The Following Days

The night of the PRL Full I assumed I’d sleep well. My 21 minutes of sleep the night before, coupled with an entire day of riding seemed like a good sleep remedy. I slept solidly for 2 hours after which the 8,433 mg of caffeine I had earlier in the day must have kicked back in. I got out of bed around 11pm and didn’t feel mentally tired again until 4:30 in the morning. I slept until 9 when Eric woke me up to remind me I wanted in on a Zoom version of a church Sunday School class that was happening. I was groggy but happy and feeling proud of myself. The whole rest of Sunday was spent in my pajamas lying around the house feeling nauseous but content.

As I finish writing this piece 2 ½ days after the ride my body has completely recovered and I’m finally feeling better from the flu. I can now say with complete certainty I am glad I did the ride!

My New Friends

I have a bajillion new friends I rode with, and that was the very best part of this whole thing. We spent almost the entire time talking. Topics included what we were going to eat after the ride was over… most popular answer was “beer.” What lap we were on… 7/11, 2/11, 11th lap. Whether we were doing the PRL Full, or the Half. Explaining to non-PRL riders what “PRL” was, and so on. I think everyone was cheered on no matter what lap they’d hit. 

Various Zwifters would joke that the pain they were feeling was all my fault. I found myself responding “Blame me today, thank me tomorrow?” and hoped that would be the case as I too was really regretting my own decision to do this ride.

As I neared the end I found a few people who’d finished the ride earlier came back to cheer me on to the finish line. They logged back in very late in their timezones and kept encouraging as I rode. I felt the love! 

Once this Shelter-In-Place craziness is over I plan to travel the world and meet each of you!

Next Week

The original Route Badge Quest didn’t have a “Global Pandemic” contingency plan factored in and I’m still feeling a little sickly so I’ll see how the week plays out. I have the following routes that still need to be done: Watopia’s Figure 8 Reverse, Road to Ruins, and Out and Back Again, New York’s Rising Empire, and Innsbruck’s Lutscher CCW and Achterbahn.  I’ll just ride them as I feel like it. It may take one week. More likely two. I’ll continue to write about the journey each week. 

How About You?

Did you ride the PRL Full or the PRL Half? Let us know! We don’t have an actual count (I know it was more than 40) and would love to know just how many people got a PRL Badge this week! Also, was that your last ride for all your route badges? Are you officially a Route Hero?

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