The longest route in Makuri Islands, Makuri 40 covers major parts of all three sections: Yumezi, Neokyo, and Urukazi.
The longest route in Makuri Islands, Makuri 40 covers major parts of all three sections: Yumezi, Neokyo, and Urukazi.
Route Basics
Length: 40.1 km (24.9 miles)
Elevation: 306.6 m (1,006‘)
Lead-In: 0.13 km (0.1 miles)
Map: Makuri Islands
Start & Finish
Starts and ends at a virtual banner just uphill from Yumezi's castle start pens.
Achievement Badge: 800 XP
Strava Segments
Bike Selection
While there are decisive climbs on this route, they are short and not steep, so your most aero bike will be your best performer. See Fastest Bike Frames and Wheels at Each Zwift Level >
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
The first half of this route takes place in Yumezi and Neokyo. You begin at the Yumezi castle start pens, riding uphill to the Castle and hitting the little-ridden Village Sprint Reverse before making your way over to the Fishing Village and descending through Village Onsen to the Country Sprint Reverse.
The road is flat and fast through the Yumezi countryside, taking you to the dirt road into Neokyo Tunnel and into the city’s permanight. Here you’ll take on the Alley Sprint Reverse and Castle Park Sprint before heading out of town over the bridge across Neokyo Harbor and entering the cavern connector road. From this direction you’ll be flying through the cavern, since it averages -2.7% gradient. Watch out for bats!
Once you’re back in the sunlight it’s time for a counter-clockwise circuit of the Urukazi islands, including a climb up to the Shisa Sprint Reverse. After Mech Isle you’ll turn left and begin you climb up the slot canyon connector road back to Yumezi, where you’ll enjoy a flat lead-in to what turns into a short uphill finish. (The route begins and ends at a virtual banner just uphill from the start pens.)
The elevation gain is wrong. In Strava it is only 138m.
This is fake scenarios over real maps. So that is probably a problem with strava that is not accepting the altitude gain from Zwift
It would be really helpful if you posted the ideal bike or bikes for a route like this. Is a Gravel bike best? For the whole route? Or combinations of road bikes and mountain bikes? The ride has like 10 off-road sections, so I was changing road to mountain and back all the time, but that was probably a bad idea.
I now do see the “Bike Selection” section on the bottom left. You didn’t mention the many off-road sections at all.
You do realize how much work goes into all of these route posts?
Just go ride it an see how it is.
If it has a bunch of off-road sections, then it’s kind of hard to say what to use. It’s trial and error.
Most of the rout in Urukazi it behaves like tarmac, coupled with the almost all tarmac in Yumezi and all tarmac Neokyo, the chose stand between an aero bike and a light road bike for climbing. Seing that most of the route is flat, and no big percentages of inclination, I’m guessing that an aero bike would be better.
Urakazi dirt roads ride like tarmac except for like 2 small sections that are similar to the dirt roads in yumezi that aren’t in this route. Wouldn’t be worth changing to gravel or mountain bike for such short sections.
Jwiffle: This is incorrect. The sand sections ride like tarmac. The dirt sections are still a lot slower.
However, I will agree with you that it’s not worth switching bikes on this route.
A good road frame with some all-around wheels will serve you well.
And, if you are riding a group ride, or race, do NOT forget the following:
“Starts and ends at a virtual banner just uphill from Yumezi’s castle start pens.”
When we went thru the regular banner 0.3mi from the actual finish, i sprinted, and then felt like a fool once, i realized what i had just done! DOH! 😣
That makes two of us 🙄
If racing this, proper warmup is critical. While every race starts with crazy w/kg they usually settle in after 2-3 minutes. The opening mini climb here, though, offers breakaway opportunity but 3-5 minute attack.
I think Zwift has a great route here but left some potential on the table. We should have started at the Mecha pens, heading into the Makuri countryside towards the Country Sprint. That reversal of the countryside would have mirrored the reverse traversal of Neokyo found in “Turf n Surf”, so a conceptual mirror. The start would be a little more measured as you traverse the canyon connector and strategies begin forming, versus the in-your-face castle climb, immediately splitting the pack right out the pens. The canyon connector is a slog where it is now, IMHO, not very interesting, especially… Read more »
Here’s the suggested route on zwiftmap – https://tinyurl.com/Makuri-40-edited
“You begin at the Yumezi castle start pens, riding uphill to the Castle…” That hill is called “Monkey Baby Hill” in honor of the mother who boards the bus at the bus stop just after the steep section. What’s the back story? Well, since you asked… A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says, “Ugh, that’s the ugliest baby I’ve ever seen!” The woman walks to the back of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to the man seated next to her, “I can’t believe the bus driver just insulted me!” The man… Read more »