Running On Zwift With Your Garmin Watch’s Virtual Run Profile
Garmin recently updated the software for some of their newer watches, adding a new “Virtual Run” profile which allows the watches to connect directly with Zwift.
Supported Garmin Watches:
Garmin 245
Garmin 945
Coming soon: Fenix 6
While in theory you could use your watch’s accelerometer to detect running speed, this is not recommended as accuracy is poor. Rather, you should pair your footpod or treadmill to the watch, then pair your watch to Zwift.
This is especially useful if you have ANT+ only devices like older Garmin footpods or heart rate monitors. Garmin’s new Virtual Run Profile lets you connect these to your Garmin watch, which will then re-broadcast that data as Bluetooth signals. Handy if you’re using Zwift on a Bluetooth-only device like an iPhone or iPad!
Watch a full explanation from Stephen Cousins below:
I’ve lost hundreds of Zwift races in a variety of ways, but today was a new experience: purposely racing up a category (moving from B to A) just to see what happened.
Sure, I’ve done some “mixed cat” races, where everyone starts together but the results are divided by category. And the A’s handed me my butt on a silver platter at those events! But I’d never raced against just the A’s. And I had never raced any A riders, even in a mixed group, in a short event like Crit City.
So I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would I get dropped by a hard start? Would repeated attacks eventually break me? Or could I hold on all the way to the finish? I didn’t think I’d make it to the end in the front group. But there was only one way to find out!
Warmup
My alarm went off at 4:45am and I immediately began questioning my plans. Was I really going to take on an A race this morning? 8 laps of Downtown Dolphin. Could I survive the punchy prime climb against the w/kg powerhouses? And why did my legs hurt already?
Running Legs
I had gone for a pathetically slow, short run the day before, and my legs were tight and sore. Does anyone else have this problem? I run so infrequently that when it does happen my legs hurt for 2 days. It’s ridiculous and fascinating how our bodies work. I can ride my bike for 4 hours with no pain the next day, but get me running for more than 15 minutes and I’ll feel it for 48 hours!
The good news is: I’ve learned that my legs being “running sore” doesn’t mean they’re ruined for cycling. And in fact, riding seems to help them recover from running. So I climbed out of bed and got to work.
Race Prep
I’d done a little reading recently about the benefits of caffeine for cyclists, and those articles seemed to agree on two things:
I need more than 100mg of caffeine for any noticeable performance effect
I needed the caffeine in my system hours before the event, not minutes, for maximum effect
I wasn’t going to wake up at 3am to chew caffeine gum, but I figured I would pop two pieces (200mg of caffeine) as early as possible this morning and see how it worked out. Slapped on some PR lotion as well, of course – because that’s what I do!
Then it was off to Tempus Fugit for a quick warmup. The legs felt ok, and I was able to get my heart rate up into the 160’s, so things looked good for a strong race effort. Let’s go!
The Start
There was a decent number of riders (39) in the A pen. I’ve noticed that some of my B race lap times have been faster than the A race happening at the same time, but in those cases the B field was always much larger than the A field so it wasn’t surprising. (My race earlier this week is a good example.)
We had a larger group today, though, so I knew our lap times would be fast. And I hoped this meant I could stay in contact with the front group by riding smart: sitting in the draft, letting the group pull me around, and letting other riders close down any breakaways. That was my survival plan.
The A start pen was all business – no pre-race chatter. “Is this how the big boys do it?” I thought to myself. I played it cool, like I knew what was going on, like I deserved to be there among these strong racers. But as Owl City’s “It’s Always a Good Time” ironically played in my earbuds I knew I was deluding myself: this was going to hurt. I’d probably get shelled quickly. How much of the race would I be riding by myself?
Focus Eric, focus. Just hold the wheels.
The clock hit zero, and we were off. I pushed especially hard, not wanting to get dropped if the group quickly charged away. But the pace wasn’t as high as I’d anticipated: ~400 watts for 50 seconds then we settled into a rhythm.
The first lap was done in 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Of course, I didn’t know this at the time: I just knew we were moving fast. (As it turns out, every lap of this race would be faster than my previous best racing as a B. More on that later.)
The Middle
Our group settled into a rhythm: easier through the start/finish banner, hard up the bricks to the prime banner, then easier again back to the start/finish. The pace was tough, but doable. We were pushing harder than any of the Crity City B races I’ve done, but I was able to hang on.
This surprised me, to be honest. Even up the little prime climb, where I thought the power-to-weight monsters would go hard and I’d get dropped, I found myself able to stay near the front of the group. Were they just waiting until later to pounce, knowing a breakaway wouldn’t stick for long at these high speeds? I wasn’t sure, but I tried to stay alert, maintain a good pack position, and recover every chance (and powerup) I got. Popping the van after the prime climb on the 4th lap was especially helpful.
Gotta love the draft boost for recovery!
Our group was whittled down from 39 to 20 by the halfway point of the race.
Fake Attacks/Real Attacks
One rider, “D. Alban”, had his FTP set too low. How did I know this? Because his avatar was out of the saddle sprinting almost the entire race! (Read how sprinting posture is determined by your FTP setting). It was comical, but it was also annoying because every time I saw him “sprinting” I instinctively went on alert to defend against his attack. But that attack never came. Not from D. Alban, at least.
On the 5th lap, some riders hit the bricks hard, stringing out the pack. Gaps were opening up, I was a ways back in the group, so all I could do was pray that we would all come back together as I worked to hold the wheels ahead. It was touch and go until we hit the hairpin before the start/finish banner, but the group eased up and came back together, “resting” until the final laps.
Chasing the attack after the prime climb
The Finish
The final two laps of a Crit City race are always nailbiters. In my experience, everyone is on edge, watching for a long attack on the penultimate lap – but that attack never comes. It’s the final lap where everything goes crazy. It’s not a question of if, but when.
On Downtown Dolphin, that when is usually up the brick climb. Whoever attacks there usually doesn’t win, but they do succeed in stretching the field out. The winners are the strong sprinters who can handle the attack and staying within striking distance until they launch their wattage assault in the final seconds.
Our front pack hit the bricks fast, and we began to stretch out as riders pushed hard off the front. I was giving it all I had to stay in touch, but the front of the group was getting further away! I kept hammering, then deployed my aero powerup near the bottom of the twisty descent. That’s when I shifted and got out of the saddle for the final sprint. I knew the front of the race was too far away for me to catch, but I thought I might be able to pass a few riders, so I gave it everything I had.
Which admittedly wasn’t much. My legs were cooked and my heart and lungs were maxed out!
I crossed the line in 11th according to Zwift’s results… ZwiftPower would place me 8th. It wasn’t a win. But finishing just 3 seconds behind the winner certainly felt like a big accomplishment to me.
Zwift’s race results showed me averaging 329 watts (3.9w/kg), which is more than I’ve ever done in a Zwift race. This makes sense: I would logically get my highest average wattage in a short Crit City race, and this was my first time racing as an A, so the pace was bound to be higher than the B’s.
Here’s where it gets weird, though. I was greeted with this when saving my ride:
I’m not sure how Zwift got the 314 number, since I averaged 329 for the race, which only lasted 19 minutes and 44 seconds. My 20-minute power for the event was 323 according to Strava, which would put my detected FTP (95% of 20 minute power) at 306-307.
TrainingPeaks sent me an automated email saying I’d hit a new threshold value of 308. That seems pretty accurate. My previous threshold value was 301, from a recent Crit City race.
Riding at Threshold
This race definitely pushed me to the edge of my abilities. One way I know this is by looking at my heart rate, which usually stays consistent throughout a Crit City race, until the final lap. Each lap will show my heart rate bumping up on the uphill portions, then dropping down as I recover – but overall, each lap’s average heart rate is about the same until the final effort. Here’s an example from a Downtown Dolphin race I did back in December (average power: 309):
Check out today’s A race, though – this is what bumping up the power average by 20 watts will do!
This is what riding just over threshold looks like. You can see how my heart rate steadily increased throughout the race – meaning this was not a sustainable (eg, 1-hour) pace for me! My first lap was done at 168bpm, then the second lap was 170, then 172, 175… it just kept climbing!
Lap Times
As I mentioned above, every lap of this race was faster than my previous best on Downtown Dolphin (2:09). Our lap times ranged from 2:03 (final lap) to 2:07, whereas most of my B races have lap times closer to 2:12-2:20.
I didn’t feel like I was working that much harder in this race, but the heart rate and power data definitely show me pushing my limits to keep up.
Takeaways
Here are my takeaways from this race:
I can hang with the A’s, at least in a short Crit City race. This is a big deal, because if I’m able to stay in contact with the front of the race, it makes things more fun. And that means I’ll be willing to race the A’s more often. Racing against stronger riders helps us get faster, but it’s no fun if you get dropped hard and early every time. But today was (type II) fun!
When I’m going hard, it’s tough to go harder. Like my B race earlier this week, today’s race showed me that I lack the fitness to deliver a strong sprint after pushing well over threshold to stay near the front of a hard-charging pack in the final seconds of the race. More training required.
Your Thoughts
Are you a B who has raced in the A’s? How does my experience line up with yours? Share below!
Our newest Rebel Route was suggested by Zwifter Gene Kruger, who rides a slightly modified version of this route. Gene named this “Three Little Sisters” in homage to Zwift’s official “Three Sisters” route which takes us over the Hilly, Volcano, and Epic KOMs.
Three Little Sisters, in contrast, takes us over the Hilly, Titans Grove, and Volcano KOMs – in that order. Each new climb is longer than the one before, and we took the shortest possible route to get from climb to climb.
Here’s an animation of this route:
The Hour Challenge
The length and difficulty of this route make it perfect for a “1-hour challenge.” Who can complete this route in under an hour? Let’s see what you’ve got!
About Rebel Routes
“Rebel Routes” are Zwift rides which are not available on Zwift’s routes list, thus requiring manual navigation.
The reward for your rebel ride? Exploring a new route, knowing you’ve gone where few Zwifters have gone before. And a Strava segment rank in the tens or hundreds instead of the thousands! They are included as a separate category on our Veloviewer Route Hunter leaderboard.
Route Description
This medium-length route begins at the downtown Watopia start/finish banner. Pick the Hilly Route from the route picker and the game will start you out at the right place.
You’ll quickly hit the first climb of the ride – the very first timed KOM to exist on Watopia! The Hilly KOM is the steepest climb on today’s route, but also the shortest. Hit it hard to finish in a couple of minutes, or take it easy. The choice is yours!
Hilly KOM kit
Titans Grove KOM kit
Volcano KOM Kit
After the first climb you’ll descend down through the statues and past Hank’s Gas Station, then turn left onto Ocean Boulevard. A right turn at Sequoia Circle takes us toward the Epic KOM, but don’t worry – we’re not tackling that climb today! Instead, we’ll turn left toward the desert and Titans Grove, then another left to get into the Grove.
Up the road a bit (just past the dinosaurs) is the start of our second KOM of the day. The Titans Grove KOM is really two sections of climbing with a small downhill in between. It’s not a steep climb, but it’s long enough to hurt if you’re trying to grab that KOM jersey!
Once you crest the Titans Grove KOM you’ll ride the rollercoaster roads down and out of Titans Grove then turn left to head back to Ocean Boulevard and downtown Watopia. Head through Watopia to the Volcano, riding around the mountain’s north side to the entrance of the Volcano KOM – our third and final climb of the day.
This is our longest climb. It’s not particularly steep, so use the draft of other riders for a little added advantage if you’re trying to make good time.
Finish the Volcano climb with a hard final kick, then circle around the top and descend back to sea level. Finish the Volcano Circuit CCW and head back to downtown Watopia where the route ends at the start/finish banner. Well done!
Profile
The KOM banners on this course come at the 2km, 15km, and 30km markers. Each climb is bigger than the one previous.
Turn by Turn
Here are the turns you’ll need to make to successfully complete Three Little Sisters. Start by choosing the Hilly Route.
A minor Zwift update was pushed out last night. Game master Jon Mayfield says this update is “primarily to add support for our upcoming March cycling mission as well as other content updates for the month.” Here are the details…
New Singletrack Slayer MTB Training Plan
This plan was announced a few months ago as “coming soon” – and now it’s here! The plan is “designed for veteran riders who are experienced in completing challenging high-intensity sessions.”
Zwift’s description says:
With a good level of volume behind you, now we prepare specifically for the demands of XC racing. By implementing specific high-intensity sessions targeting cadence and power, you will be prepared for the unique features of XC racing.
This plan is designed to be completed as your final training phase leading into your key event. It provides both a build in volume and intensity, along with an adequate taper period.
Arch Power-Up Bug Fixed
The previous update introduced a bug where some banners (most notably Watopia’s downtown start/finish) no longer awarded powerups. This has been fixed.
More Changes
This update also includes the following:
Removal of Bluetooth spindown on certain trainers due to incompatibilities. This will be re-enabled when fixed.
Zwift has announced the next big Tour, and while the details aren’t yet released, we do know some of the basics. It’s the Tour of Watopia, and if last year’s event is any indicator, ToW 2020 should be a blast!
Stage Details
Events begin March 9 and run through April 2, making ToW 25 days long. ToW has 5 stages, a reduction from the 2019 Tour’s 7 stages. (Tour de Zwift 2020 has 7 stages while TdZ 2019 had 9, so it looks like Zwift is moving toward shorter tours.)
Each stage is 4 days long, with multiple events scheduled to accommodate everyone’s availability. Make-up events will (presumably) be scheduled from March 29-April 2.
Stage 1: The Flats – March 9-12
The tour begins with group rides on two of Zwift’s special event-only routes.
Group Ride (Category A) Watopia's Waistband, 2 Laps
Group Ride (Category B & C) The Magnificent 8, 1 Lap
"The Magnificent 8" route was rolled out with Zwift's October 29th update, and is used as the route for the Halloween dinosaur costume scavenger hunt. Whether this route will hang around and be available for events or free-riding in the future remains to be seen.
Course Profile
The route begins in downtown Watopia, riding through the start/finish banner in the reverse direction. We ride around the volcano, across the land bridge, by the Italian Villas then over the reverse Hilly KOM. (This is the only significant climb of the entire route).
Next, we hang a right onto Ocean Boulevard, then a left to Fuego Flats for a spin through the desert.
This brings us all the way around to a right turn onto the Ocean Boulevard/Epic KOM spur, where we make our way back to downtown Watopia for the finish.
This is actually an excellent flat route--hopefully it will be available for future use!
Lots of desert for the second stage, making the Figure 8 route chosen for the group rides seems a bit out of place. It’s all good, though: Figure 8 is still one of Watopia’s best!
Stage four is gonna get dirty! All events are held on Watopia’s Jungle Circuit route where the sloth waves hello, mountain bikes are faster than road bikes and the dust rises to meet you.
Things really heat up on the final stage as we run and ride up, around, and through Watopia’s Volcano. Stay out of the lava!
Group Ride (Category A) Volcano Climb After Party, 1 Lap
Group Ride (Category B & C) Volcano Flat, 2 Laps
Race Ride: Volcano Circuit CCW, 3 Laps
The Volcano Circuit CCW lap perfectly matches the Volcano Circuit CCW route.
A bit of Zwift history/trivia: when it was originally launched, the lap leaderboard awarded a leader's jersey to the top riders. But once the Volcano was expanded to include the Volcano KOM, that jersey was repurposed for the KOM. Since then, no leader's jerseys have been awarded for this segment.
Group Run (Category A) Volcano Circuit, 30 minutes
The Volcano Circuit lap perfectly matches the Volcano Circuit route.
A bit of Zwift history/trivia: when it was originally launched, the lap leaderboard awarded a leader's jersey to the top riders. But once the Volcano was expanded to include the Volcano KOM, that jersey was repurposed for the KOM. Since then, no leader's jerseys have been awarded for this segment.
Like this year’s Tour de Zwift, ToW will include both Run and Ride events. There are actually three different events, each with their own categorization scheme: group runs, group rides, and group races (for cyclists). Here’s how the categories work:
For group run events, the category (A, B) selected determines your run length. It does not determine route or pace.
A: longer run
B: shorter run
For group ride events, the category (A, B, C) selected determines your route. This gives riders more control over the length and difficulty of their ride.
A: long route
B: shorter/easier route
C: women only
The bike race events use the same route regardless of category selection. Racers, choose your category based on FTPw/kg, like most Zwift races:
Mixed (Men & Women) Race Categories
A: 4+ w/kg
B: 3.2-3.9 w/kg
C: 2.5-3.1 w/kg
D: 1-2.4 w/kg
Women’s Race Categories
A: 3.7-5 w/kg
B: 3.2-3.69 w/kg
C: 2.5-3.19 w/kg
D: 1-2.49 w/kg
Double XP
The focus of this year’s ToW is “leveling up.” All ToW are awarding double the distance XP, which means riders and runners can really rack up the points! (XP is how you level up in Zwift – click to learn more about how it works for cycling and running.)
Typically riders are awarded 20XP per kilometer or 30XP per mile, depending on whether you have units set to metric or imperial. In ToW events riders receive 40XP per kilometer/60XP per mile.
Runners typically receive 10XP per .25km or 15XP per .25 mile. You will receive 20XP per .25km or 30XP per .25 mile.
Kit Unlock
Complete all 5 stages and unlock the ToW 2020 kit! Complete all 5 rides and runs to unlock both kits.
Registration
Visit the tour homepage(s) to register. Registered Zwifters will receive further ToW information as it is released.
Once the event schedule is finalized and released, Zwifters will be able to sign up for events just as we’ve done in the past.
Pro-Am Race Series
Top pro and amateur Zwift racers will take on each stage the day before the rest of Zwift rides it, and these races will be broadcast live. Get all the details here >
Got Questions?
Questions or comments? Post below, and we’ll do what we can to get them answered!
Let’s start at the beginning. Power Up announced their event as a 7-week series where the top 8 riders would be invited to race each other in the finale live. Throughout the 7 qualification races, riders could choose to compete at home or live at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri. I chose to compete from home each week since Urban Chestnut is about 2.5 hours from where I live. Racing at 6 PM every Wednesday live would have meant getting home at 10 PM; which is a big ask for someone that typically gets up at 4 AM!
Qualification: 7 Weeks of Racing
The 7 weeks of qualifiers for the series are a blur. In the weeks leading up to the first race, I had so much anticipation for who was going to register. Which big hitters from the St. Louis racing scene were going to show? Would road teams sign up and race together? I started the first race feeling like I had a big advantage. For the last 3 years, I’ve been an avid Zwifter — I know the courses, I know the gameplay, and most of all: I know how to win races by sneaking away solo for the victory.
As the weeks went by, I attacked early, but the other racers worked together and covered moves. Every race the gap between myself and the other riders slowly closed. This became extremely apparent in week 6 when I was only able to sneak away to take the win in the last few miles. In the 7th week, I took the win to maintain my win-streak in the series: capping off qualifiers with a perfect 7 out of 7 races. The only race left to do was the live race finale.
Live Event Weekend
Originally on Facebook the event was scheduled for Saturday. I had planned to go race Saturday, then head to Chicago on a work trip following the race. As the weekend approached, the races were changed to be on Sunday. My heart dropped.
For those that are newer to Zwift racing, there used to be a live-racing series called CVR that held live events around the world. I trained, trained and trained some more to compete in one of these series, but as the winter season in 2018 was about to start CVR withdrew from Zwift entirely. Ever since those series, I have been itching to race live anytime I could get the opportunity.
Power Up released the race times, and my event was slated for 4:30 PM. Just late enough in the day for me to hurry from my work trip in Chicago to make the start. Just like that, I was back in the game.
My wife and I drove the 5 1/2 hours to Chicago on Saturday. With a live event and weigh-in, I worried about the travel. I tend to gain weight on road trips from the time sitting behind the wheel (and maybe due to grabbing snacks at every gas station like a 5 year old — I don’t know!). I tried my best to eat well to fuel for the race, sticking to Subway and my favorite Salted Caramel KODA energy bars all day. We arrived in Chicago a little after 8 PM. I walked down to the hotel gym to spin out my legs briefly on the hotel “bike” before going straight to bed. Luckily, we got a great hotel room right next to the elevator… what a long night that was.
We woke the next morning at 6 AM to get started on work. There was a lot of walking involved, but we were able to make quick progress and get checked out even sooner than I had expected. By 10:30 we were on the road to St. Louis for the live event. The next 4 hours were spent listening to great motivational sports speeches (my wife was thrilled with this… NOT), interrupted by a brief stop at Subway from lunch.
We had arrived at the live event at Urban Chestnut Brewery at 3:00 with 90 minutes until the race start. Time for weigh-in, warm-up, and the race!
Pre-Race
There are two critical inputs to Zwift racing: weight and power.
Weight, weight, weight. Live event weigh-ins are nerve-wracking! I know what my weight is racing at home at 4 AM, but racing so late in the day after a weekend on the road made me nervous. My discipline and restraint from usual snacking paid off! I weighed in at 146.4 lbs — my in-game weight being set at 146 lbs throughout the series. With my weight set where I race at home, I had only one input to worry about: power.
Each week at home, I race while recording 2 separate power sources (the one used in the game: my on-bike power meter, and a secondary source as a control for verification: my Saris H3 smart trainer). After each race, I run an analysis — comparing the two outputs to make sure both are reading in a similar way. For the live finale, all racers would be using the Wahoo Kickr Snap wheel-on trainer as power source; a trainer I am completely unfamiliar with. After a few moments on the trainer, I knew I’d be okay. My short warm-up efforts felt easy on the trainer, and I knew I’d be able to race as well as I do at home.
All that remained was pre-race instructions and the race!
The Race
The gun went off, I was left in the dust! In traditional Zwift race-start form I started hard, but I quickly found myself 5 seconds behind the others. I kept the pressure on and caught back up with the group. Shortly after catching up, Tim Smith and I broke away from the pack. We traded 6 W/kg pulls as we worked to increase the gap on the chase group behind. Once we had established the breakaway with a solid 30-second gap the games began. I attacked from behind, looking to catch him off guard, but each time he quickly returned the favor until we hit the course’s featured climb: the Volcano KOM.
This is where I had planned to make my major move of the day. We hit the bottom and I punch it hard, surging on the Volcano’s steep gradient to open a gap on Tim. However, things did not go according to plan — Tim not only stayed with me, he was able to pass me and counterattack at 10 W/kg.
I immediately launched into plan-B, staying tight on his wheel. I knew my best option was to wait for the sprint finish, where tactics and timing are everything. We crested the KOM together, and both relaxed, knowing all that remained was a few kilometers and a sprint finish. We approached the final kilometer together and I noticed he let a gap open slightly behind me, so I punched it! The gap opened, but once again he closed it and came around with his own attack.
I tried to let him get a small gap on me so he would continue the attack into the sprint, where I could then slingshot around him for the win. He saw this and stopped immediately. We rolled past 300m to go side by side. As we approached 200m to go I knew it was time: I went all in. With 30m to go he started to come around me. Instinctively, I channeled a lesson I learned from our team sprinter: Holden Comeau. “Finish every sprint with 2 of your hardest pedal strokes.” I emptied the hardest two pedal strokes my legs had left, and crossed the line in the lead by half a wheel-length.
Post-Race
Completely exhausted, I soft-pedaled while I watched the racers around me who were in the chase group racing for 3rd charge towards the finish. The racers launched into a field sprint which was every bit as intense as the one we had just finished. The racers to my right and left were going head-to-head and I had a front-row seat. It was absolutely painful, incredible and showcased the beauty of live racing on Zwift.
I went to this event intent on winning. 100%, I wanted to win. I did win, but at the end of the day the event was so much more. I made new friends, reunited with old teammates and competitors, and a ridiculous number of high-fives and handshakes amounted to one heck of a fun time. Win, lose, or tie; this was an incredible experience that I will remember for a long time.
Thank you to Power Up Cycling for making this happen. I certainly can not wait for the next one!
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!
I was reminded this week of what my Chiropractor told me years ago: “If you want to stay out of my office I’d suggest not adding more than about 10% to your riding each week.“
I have an appointment booked with him this Wednesday.
The Rides Lined Up
5 new badges were added, for a grand total of 47 done. Only 20 left!
I rode 144.53 miles and climbed 14,826 feet in 13 hours on the bike this week. I’m not a math wizard but I’m pretty sure 8.5 hours on my bike last week and 13 hours on my bike this week is more than the 10% prescribed by my Chiropractor. Oops.
The Pretzel was my first 5+ bidon ride ever. I wanted to really be thorough about my write-up as I’ve been asked again and again how the ride went by people who haven’t ridden it yet. Check out my “The Pretzel” ride story >
The short and sweet version is: I shouldn’t have scheduled it in so closely between two things I already had going that day. I cried at one point. I almost lost a few toes (that may be an exaggeration). And I finished!
The Middle Rides
I think it’s important to note that two of the rides I did midweek had the word “Knickerbocker” in them. If you don’t know what that is, be sure to look it up. But most importantly, say “Knickerbocker” out loud, three times in a row. More fun to say in American English, if you ask me. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/knickerbockers
Quatch Quest
Quatch Quest was my second 5+ bidon route of the challenge. Done just 7 days after The Pretzel. My full write-up is here >
The short and sweet version is: I learned a lot from The Pretzel and while this ride was LOOOONG it was still better than The Pretzel!
Zwift Glitch?
I noticed something quirky on these longer rides that I hadn’t seen before, probably because these rides had longer breaks than I usually take. The Zwift Companion app displays the amount of time you were logged in for the ride. You have to have a screenshot of the end of your ride or check Strava to see what your actual ride time is.
According to the Companion app my Quatch Quest ride was 4 hours and 45 minutes long. But only 4 hours and 12 minutes of it was riding. Is it just me, or shouldn’t it just display ride time?
Companion shows elapsed time
Strava shows moving time
The next week in the challenge
I am really frustrated to say that I’m taking a rest week this next week. I wanted to press on, but my body is telling me I need to slow down. I’m beginning to get sick. A sore throat and general fatigue. Everyone tells me it’s a good thing to rest, but it feels like I’m quitting.
I WILL be back next week to talk about what it was like to rest up, including what I learned, what exercise I still did (if any), and how much I hated watching what I ate since I didn’t have tons of extra calories that I was burning each day.
How about you?
Please tell me you’ve cried on a ride, what you did during a rest week, and how you’re doing with this challenge!
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, and some of the rides are epic enough that they deserve their own post.
Watopia’s “Quatch Quest” is one of those epic rides – only the second “5 Bidon route” Monica has ever tackled, and this one ends on the Alpe! (Our Couch to Route Hero route rankings groups routes by the estimated number of bidons needed to complete.)
Follow along on her journey, take the challenge yourself, and be sure to give her a Ride On if you see her on course!
Chamois Creme… it helps!
I went into Quatch Quest a little bit smarter than The Pretzel. Mainly, I didn’t have a time I had to be done by AND I had chamois cream! My only real goal for this ride was to not cry in the middle. “Aim for the stars, Monica!”
Quatch Quest has you head through Titans Grove first thing. The plan was to push myself somewhat, but save some for later. I tried to keep my heart rate in Zone 3 or a bit below.
I took a quick break after Titans Grove as I forgot to change my weight (I lost another 2 pounds!) and also wanted to give my feet a break. Next was another ascent up the Epic KOM. As I was going up a gal named Cathy and I found we were both doing Quatch Quest at the same time. She was up ahead and we chatted off and on the whole rest of the ride. We were both happy to know there was no “bonus climb” up the radio tower on this route!
After another break while my gal supertucked down the backside of the Epic KOM the route turned toward the jungle. Because I had to ride through most of it I switched to my Specialized Mountain Bike in game and sailed past people putting out more watts than I!
Next quick break was to stop before the Alpe to switch to my Tarmac Pro. The second-best part about the Alpe was I didn’t have to get to the top at any particular time – I could just mind my business and do what I needed to do. (But before you start thinking that I seem to be having a lovely time please note there were many mental choices required to push myself up to each new landmark.)
The very best part of this ride was having my new friend Cathy encourage me up the Alpe. She made it up long before me but never made me feel like that mattered. She’d ask where I was and how I was feeling. At one point I told her my feet were hurting pretty bad and my knees weren’t thrilled to be there either. She encouraged me to do two things which helped so much: take a break so my feet could rest as climbing is hard on our feet. And make sure my cadence is at my usual pace.
Because my cadence had dropped significantly she said I should ignore all the recent trainer difficulty discussions and lower mine so that I had more gears to use. She was right and it was good to have a second voice say what I was thinking I should do! I finished the climb at about 20% trainer difficulty and about 30 minutes slower than the last time I went up. But guess what – I finished it!
Because I climbed the entire Alpe I felt I earned the extra miles coasting back down. So I limped my way around the loop at the top (after getting another pair of gloves on the spinner) and descended. And wouldn’t you know it, during that whole ride of 4 hours and 12 minutes I didn’t cry once! (okay, I almost did, but feeling like crying and actually crying are two different things!)
What About You?
Have you ridden Quatch Quest yet? Share your experience below!
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, and some of the rides are epic enough that they deserve their own post.
Follow along on her journey, take the challenge yourself, and be sure to give her a Ride On if you see her on course!
I scheduled this ride for a Sunday. We went to church, went out to lunch, then I zipped home early to start this, my first 5+ bidon route (based on the Couch to Route Hero ranking system). With 20+ people coming over in ~4 hours I needed to hop on the bike quickly so I could be done and showered before they arrived. I guessed that it would take me around 3 hours to ride the 45 miles with 4400’ of climb. Silly, silly Monica!
The Pretzel first takes you up the Epic KOM. No problem (except I am getting a little bored of it as of late). Next is the bonus climb we all love to hate. Managed that as well. Then there’s the meandering around the lower parts of Watopia. Rolling hills, looping back and forth. At the halfway mark I was right on track at 1.5 hours. Excellent! I was right about it only taking 3 hours!
At hour 2 my feet were burning and my toes were going numb. Because I had the extra time before company arrived I took a longer break than I normally would – 10 minutes of walking around without shoes, filling my bidons, talking myself out of a nap, taking a nature break, then wrestling my bibs back on.
I hopped back on my bike and started up the Epic KOM’s back side. I usually prefer this climb over the other side, but this was the first time I attempted it after already riding quite a while.
As I made my way up I realized this wasn’t going to end well. I started having trouble breathing (good old exercise-induced asthma was kicking in). Plus, I hadn’t been able to pull my bib shorts back on properly so the chamois was rubbing. And then suddenly a few of my toes felt like someone was stabbing a knife right into the bone!
Eric came upstairs to check on me and I was a mess! “I can’t! My toes. This is stupid. I hate everything.” He talked me into stopping mid-climb to adjust my shoe. I loosened the toe area, released the catch and felt so much better. Onward and upward!
As I continued up the climb I realized our company was coming over in 30 minutes and I was going sloooooow. That brought on all the tears. Crying and climbing and asthma aren’t a great combination. I wasn’t even close to done with my ride. I was disappointed in myself. The house wasn’t ready, the food wasn’t ready.
Yes, this happened
Eric assured me he would take care of the people, the house and the food and left me to carry on. After calming myself back down so I could breathe again I made it to the top of the climb. I was deeply relieved I didn’t have to go back up the bonus climb! I pressed on to the descent where I left my gal in her super tuck as I unclipped to relieve my little toes. Both feet were now in excruciating pain. Like someone was slowly trying to break my toes off. I took both shoes off and shook my feet out.
Eventually my gal had made it to the flat part in the castle and came to a stop. If I could just get her to the next descent she could continue to coast down! My fatigued brain decided it would be a great idea to hop back on my bike in my socks and pedal my way across the flat. Pedaling and dismounting a bike in socks off of clipless pedals doesn’t feel great!
My avatar finally descended the entire mountain as people started showing up at my house. I hopped back on my bike, WITH shoes on that were completely loose now and finished the last 5 miles of The Pretzel.
The entire thing took me just under 4 hours of ride time, with 13 minutes worth of breaks. After a quick shower and change I joined our friends and hoped no one would ask me about the ride. They didn’t. Later in the evening my face was tingly and my brain couldn’t keep full thoughts long enough to get them out of my mouth. I tried downing lots more water and food but I just couldn’t get enough. I slept well that night!
My initial reaction to the ride was “how will I ever do 5 more really big rides?” But now that it’s been a week I think it’s like having a baby: Delivery is terrible but eventually you forget and don’t mind doing it again.
What About You?
Have you ridden The Pretzel yet? Share your experience below!
Zwift has just released the schedule of events for March’s big fondo happening this Sunday. With thousands of riders turning out, these “fun races” are always popular as we push ourselves to complete long courses together. Plus, you unlock a jersey when you complete the ride!
Officially, no. For some riders, just completing the ride is accomplishment enough. But many riders will treat the event as a race, and only the strongest riders will be able to stay near the front of each event.
As Zwift says, in the end “It’s all about doing your best and trying to finish the toughest routes in Watopia.”
Routes
Zwift Fondo events have three categories (A, B, and C) which are open to all riders. These categories don’t refer to rider strength or speed–they refer to route length. Pick the category corresponding to the length of route you’d like to ride.
For March, the group and routes are (click for route details):
A: Gran Fondo - 97.2km (60.4 miles), 1148m (3766′)
B: Medio Fondo - 72.6km (45.1 miles), 981m (3219′)
C: Bambino Fondo - 52.1km (32.4 miles), 553m (1814′)
Kit Unlocks
This is a 3-month series, and each month’s fondo has its own unique kit unlock. These kits are exclusive, meaning they will never be available anywhere else in game. A true badge of honor! Here’s a shot of March’s kit:
