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!
If I had written this article on Tuesday afternoon it would have just said “I don’t want to do this anymore.” The rest of the page would have been blank. Of course, that wouldn’t make for a very encouraging read, plus I had easier rides later in the week. So I am here with a full write up!
The Rides Lined Up
6 more badges were added this week for a total of 42! All of the 1 bidons are officially done. Only 25 routes left!
I rode 119.89 miles with 7,829 feet of climb in 8 ½ hours on my bike this week. Mercy!
Routes completed:
- Watopia’s Tick Tock
- Innsbruckring
- The London PRL Half
- London 8
- Watopia’s Big Loop
- Yorkshire’s Royal Pump Room 8
The PRL Half
As you may have guessed The London PRL Half is what made me want to quit this quest. (Quite encouraging to those of you who haven’t ridden it, I’m sure!) It’s 4 laps of the London Loop, which means climbing Box Hill 4 times! I chose to do this route for my 4 bidon day, even though there are easier 4 bidon routes to do. I knew that in the coming weeks when I’m doing 5+ bidon routes I wouldn’t want to ride this one, so I got it out of the way early.
The first 3 laps weren’t actually that bad. I put on some lively music and tried to keep a steady pace in Zone 3. I ended up improving my time up Box Hill each lap by just a bit. Things were going swimmingly!
As I started the last loop I realized I needed to be at a meeting sooner than I thought. And I knew I had more oomph in me than needed for just one last lap so I pushed myself to the max. It wasn’t my best idea.
The great part about this push is that I got a new 30-day PR up Box Hill (42 seconds faster than the lap before) and I also got one on the London Loop (by 16 seconds)! As I was descending Fox Hill though it became abundantly clear that I had given everything I had. My lower back all the way down to my left knee was hurting, some of my toes were numb, my neck ached and I had no energy in me. The problem is, the start/finish banner wasn’t the end of the route! You have to ride to the Surrey Roundabout, and then go under the banner in The Mall to really be done! I didn’t save anything for all of that. There was a lot of pain and whining at the end of my ride!
Here’s what I’m trying to say, friends: Save a little something for the last part of the journey (and don’t forget what time your meetings start)!
The Encouragement from the Community
Every ride I was on this week had someone sending me an in-game message asking what route I was doing and encouraging me in some way. It was INCREDIBLY motivating! And also distracting, which is perfect!
If you’ve ever found it quiet and lonely on some of your rides just send an in-game message to those around you asking them what route they’re doing. Or ask if there are others who are also wanting to chat. It’s likely someone else could use the personalized community time too!
Coming Up Next
Has anyone noticed yet that week 7 includes TWO 5+ bidon routes? This may be the last article I ever write, depending on how those go. I have decided I’m not quitting, so unless I flat out die on the bike I’ll be back here next week with an update!
How about you?
I LOVE hearing from you all! How many route badges do you have now? Have you done the PRL Half? If so, how did it go for you? What tips do you have for others?
I really don’t like to ride one round multiple times. I’m definitely not looking forward to the PRL (half and full)…. well done Monica! You’re an inspiration!
just finished week 3 (12 days total) one 4, one 3, one 2 and 3 1 bidon rides and Bologna for the TdZ. Total 203km / 2067m / 7h04m. Total of 17 route badges.
I missed a couple of days in week 1 and 2 due to being away from home for work, so I’m making them up doing 1 bidon rides on the rest days. That gave me the 7 day in a row Addict badge! There is also the “unemployed” badge, 14 days in a row… see if I can grab that one too!
Well done! I haven’t picked up the Unemployed badge just yet….I’m not sure at this point I could do that until after this first challenge is over. Haha!
like IRL you don’t have to stay in the saddle for 3 or more hours continuously.
Get of the bike, eat a snack, take a break and relax – cycling is not all about pain, it’s also about having fun!
@Monica Schlange ride on! great work!
@Eric Schlange thanks for that great site (may i call it blog?^^)
Yes you may, although I see it as more than that! 🙂
Yes! A great reminder! I wouldn’t stay in the saddle that long IRL so don’t do so at home!
That’s me giving you a Thumbs Up in the screen shot under How About You 😯 What a trip! Nough about me. You are awe inspiring. I have been riding bikes all my life and still haven’t found the courage to attempt the PRL half. All I can say is WOW!!!
Yup! Recognized your name when I got the Ride On so I had to screenshot it! Thanks for the support! I think this is a sign that it’s time you do the PRL Half! 🙂
I think you are right. February has been a tough month for me. I have had the flu then developed bronchitis from it. Hard to ride much when you can’t breath. I’m on the mend so the PRL Half is on my bucket list for late March.
I’ve been working through the list as well. Saving the 5 rides for later. Good luck with the challenge. Rooting for you.
Thanks much, Lisa! Ride on!
I just finished all of the 1 and 2 bidon routes. I’ve done 9 of the 3-5 bidon routes. Keep it up! You’re doing great!
Awesome!!!!! Ride On!
Congratulations! Next week will be tough, but we’re all rooting for you! Maintain that resolve.
This means a lot! Thank you!!
Tips for your 5 bidons rides: Use ERG mod or workout with steady state tempo Z1 -Z2. Don’t watch route but any nice films (probably 2 or more for every ride). Drink and eat a lot
Hmmmm…what a great idea! Thanks!
Hi well done im working though these routes- still on one biden good luck
Awesome! We can do it!
Now you’ve started to blog about it, there is no way to quit. Man up! And get it done 🙂 With 6 badges a week, you will -unfortunately- caught me soon. Good luck!
My inner Amazon-Woman won’t ever let me quit! Working to make sure they rest of me can keep up with her! Haha! Race you to the finish?
Hi Monica,
Sounds like a tough week but its good to hear that you managed to complete all the planned routes. Sounds like you’re getting PBs which hopefully means your fitness is increasing. This should help you on the tougher courses when you get to ride them.
My quest is going quite well. I’ve finished all routes on the secondary worlds and all Watopia routes which scale the Alpe. As a result, I’m now focusing solely on Watopia routes, focusing on the hardest ones first. This weekend I intend to ride the Mega Pretzel on Saturday and then Big Foot Hills on Sunday. Once I’ve completed these two I will only have 3, 2 and 1 bidden routes to complete.
To help motivate myself I like to keep track of the bonus XP I’ve been rewarded. The total sum of XP you will get for completing all courses is 40,290. So far I’ve earned 28,530 and after this weekend I expect this number to rise to 34,250.
Yes, Brandon my fitness is definitely increasing! So much so that I’m already trying to figure out what to do when this quest is over to maintain or continue getting stronger. I’ve never been this strong in my life. Then again, I’ve never worked out this long in my entire life.
I might see you out there on Saturday. I have Quatch Quest that day.
I like your XP tracking idea! Very cool!
Huge respect for this. Just started zwifting in January and tackled the mountain route, including the radio tower, for the first time. Enjoying watching your amazing progress, but not planning to follow you just yet!
Awesome! Welcome to Zwift! Thanks for the note! And you do you! I support that!
What is bidon route ? I have all the difficult ones left 🙁 I have completed 60 of the routes so far , not putting a time limit on it, but diving my other half crazy as I am now addicted and he wants me to focus on other things lol. I am doing both I said hehe
well done Monica I am following your comments and thanks
My husband Eric put together a graph with a number of bidons beside each route based on how difficult or long the route was. You can see that info and even print out a schedule to do yourself if you want: https://zwiftinsider.com/route-ride-schedule/
Top work! Impressive work and just think how amazing it will be to look back at everything you WILL have accomplished
I haven’t summoned the courage to do the really long routes…but they are sat there in the back of my mind, calling me 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement! It seems like you should probably do at least ONE of the harder routes! 😀
I have to ride on! only four routes to complete my badge collection. Pretzels and four horsemen are easy but demanding. Unlike the prl full which is boring and unfortunately is hard to complete in one go without a pause. But I will try do this hard way. Side effect of collecting route badages is that I have got some others sticks like lift off, avid climber and pair of best wheels. My next challenge will be to get masochist badage and neon bike. See you on road to the sky.
Thanks for the tips! Ride on!!!
I just managed to ride the prl full route. 100% pedaling time, 100% trainer difficulty, mostly on zone 3. This is five bidon route 🙂 I am happy. Now 2 pretzels left and four horseman. I should finish all this by the end of February.
Hola Monica, I wanted to post something for the longest time. You have inspired me to do this challenge, but I know with my schedule, kids and soon sprint time in the Easter PA it will be very hard to ride indoor when is so nice outside. But my goal is to do all 67 route in 2020. Currently I have completed 30 routes which include all of #1 Bidon. I wanted to comment about you being mad last week during your drop out. That seems to happen often, but it is always when you climbing at least on my case and that is when you want you avatar to keep on moving . (someone most fix this permanent). With that I would like to post the question if you have been mad at Eric for not positing the actual distance you need to ride to get credit for the route. Like this week when you did not saved enough energy, I think it would be very nice to know what is the actual distance you need to ride to get credit, specially when the longer rides are coming up. So M. ZWIFT INSIDER can you give your wife and her fans a little hand here : )
Well, to @Eric Schlange credit he’s put the distance based on what Strava says about the route. Which is more accurate than what some places say about the route. Sometimes the info is off by a little bit, depending on where Zwift starts you at any given ride. So if we all just look up each route on this web site beforehand we’ll see what the lead-in is. I hope that answers your question.
Another solid week Monica! Big Loop and PRL Half is pretty decent on top of the other routes. Another tough one you’ve completed before me!
After manflu (which symptoms seemed curiously similar to Covid-19) I finally felt like my lungs could handle some exercise on Sunday (12 days after the previous zwift ride!?). I managed a steady and reserved Dust in the Wind in 82 minutes, it seemed a sensible plan because it’s mostly flat, I still averaged 221W, which is around 85% of what I should be doing, so maybe not so sensible in terms of effort and my lungs still aren’t properly clear.
I pushed more last night for Bigger Loop in under 93 minutes. This included 4 bike changes, but it got me 17th on Veloviewer and I’m not going to complain at 247W average when I took it easy for the first 23 minutes and I’m not feeling at 100% fitness/strength.
Maybe Lutscher in Stage 1 of Tour of Innsbruck this Friday and one of the worst 5 Watopia routes on Sunday.
Wow! Way to jump right back into it as soon as you were feeling well enough! Although was it really best to ride a route called “Dust in the WInd” when your lungs are still trying to recover? Haha!
Your post reminds me I should include just how strong I am or am not so that others don’t assume it’ll take them quite so long to finish a longer route! Thanks!
very very inspiring – ride on!!!! And I hope you won’t fall off the bike so that you can wrrte the next article of your coming week 😀
Haha! I’ll do my best!
Hi Monica! I think it’s awesome that you’re doing this quest and that you’re sharing your experience with all of us! It actually inspired me to start collecting route badges myself! Sadly, I rode 3 different short routes the other day (I got the achievement banner on screen and saved each one individually) but my badges are not showing up. I’ve been working with Zwift to correct it, but even my screen shots showing I’ve completed the routes aren’t enough to get it fixed. Rather demoralizing. I don’t have time to ride the routes multiple times in order to get the badge so I may move on to something else.
Just wondering if you’ve had any issues like this during your quest and if so, how you resolved it.
Thanks and Ride On!
Bob
Sorry to hear that, Bob! I’ve not had a problem with any of them! I hope you get those badges!
Nicely done. Doing this challenge as well, and as a complete noob to Zwift… bought a trainer in January, did one test ride and then found this thread. Been pounding through the routes while scheduling in the TdZ rides as well. Happy to have my first Alpe climb and the first of the “long” rides (pretzel) under my belt this past week.
Anyway… I digress. My post wast just supposed to say “heads up for the new seaside sprint route 2/2020.”
Awesome job with the Alpe and Pretzel! I hope you’ve also set yourself up for the Everest challenge so you can start work on getting your tron bike with all that climbing!
Hi Monica, you’ve inspired me to also try to collect all route badges! I take on quite a different approach, I guess. First off there are some multi day events that I want to take part in (Tour de Zwift, Tour of Innsbruck, Haute Route Watopia, some weekly racing league) which already ticks off quite a few badges and also gives you some company along the way. Then I first just start doing the short routes as quickly as possible, because to me, mentally the longer routes are way easier than the short ones – perhaps this sounds counterintuitive, but for me it works that way. Especially starting a ride just in order to complete just 1 or 2 short routes just doesn’t sound appealing at all..
So in order to get rid of the short ones quickly, today I did Queen’s Highway, Duchy Estate, Grand Central Circuit, Park Perimeter Loop, Lady Liberty, The Highline, Greater London Flat and Tick Tock.. That’s 8 of the one bidon routes in one go (a bit over 3 hours of riding), which leaves only Tempus Fugit (I’ll do a TT someday, I guess…), The 6 Train and Astoria Line 8 (both already scheduled in the Kalas racing league) and then only London Loop that I haven’t already scheduled..
This way I don’t have to ride many times in a week to still make a lot of progress. And eventually I will be left with only the long routes.. You will definitely finish way sooner than me, but I’ll get there eventually 🙂 Ride on!
PS: a way to do the routes of around 20-25 kilometers could be to just do a workout of about an hour and let Zwift put you on your route of choice.. By the time you’re done with the workout, you probably picked up the badge. But in a way that is cheating, because you haven’t actually done the route.. You’ve put in the watts, but not necessarily at the time the route would have demanded so… What’s your take on that?
Very cool to hear how you’re going about it all!
My initial response about whether a workout would be cheating is to say it would not. You’re putting out the watts, even though Zwift is the one determining how many you should be putting out. You still have to do the work. I think cheating would only be if you’re doing a workout that has everyone stay together, no matter the watts. What do you think?
I think I agree.. Even though it would be kind of weird to do a hard effort on a downhill section and have a relative rest on a steep uphill, you’re still doing the work to finish the route.
I did it today (1/2 half as a workout). Those last 9 km were the worst part of it!
Well done! And agreed!
x