Zwift

Zwift is an online game that uses your indoor bike trainer to control your character. You ride farther, harder and faster for in-game rewards. I don’t tend to play online games, so I don’t know the terminology, so I might not be saying everything quite right. You can unlock new and different frames, wheels, kits, gloves, helmets, and accessories. You can also unlock game modifiers like extra bursts of speed, drafting, and other perks. If you ride in a particular event, you can unlock special gear unique to that ride. The all-black kit my avatar is wearing in the picture above is from one of those rides. It was for a 3-day hill climbing tour. I had no idea what I was getting into when I signed up for the tour. It ended up being too hard and I didn’t ride again for a long time after. It was too hard, but I started and I had to finish. Only finishers get the jersey!

pRIDE ON!

Today I participated in the Zwift PRIDE RIDE, which they are hosting several times a week all month long. Today was my day to do it. My heart is warm. My pockets are full of hands; yes, hands in my pants. You have to play the game to get it. But it’s every bit as much fun as it sounds. Normally, you can click on another user to give them a “ride on!” a collectable thumbs-up that packs in your jersey pockets. FOr the Pride Ride, we have rainbow colored Pride on! thumbs instead. It made the ride more fun.

“THe Purple Armada”is a trans-centric cycling team and this particular ride was hosted by a pro cyclist. It really got me into the groove.

Strava Summary

Swift Social Distance Cycling Club

The Seattle event to top all Seattle events; the “Swift Social Distance Ride.” All I had to do was take a ride BY MYSELF and take picture of all the things Swift Industries decided I should take pictures of and they would send me this nifty patch! I just got the patch in the mail today! I was so excited to see it, that I opened it up before letting it sit in the 3-day mail quarantine zone. Don’t worry, I opened the letter with tongs, recycled the paper, and then washed my hands before touching the patch inside. I am so happy with this patch! The question now is, where do I put it?

Zwift Thoughts

Like shower thoughts, but even less interesting....

These are the things that rattle through my head while riding on the trainer:

• I'm doing a really good job keeping my watts on track! Go me!
• Hey...my chain just fell off! Can it do that?
• Wow...They really want me to push it! Do they seriously want me to ride that many watts? Will I fall off the bike? Will I break it?
• This is boring. I'll stop after I hit 5 miles.
• Looks at all that detail on the graphics. They got the crafts in the asphalt perfect. There's even weeds growing through it. 
• If they can put weeds in the roads, why can't they add roadkill? I haven't seen a single roadkill!
• My helmet doesn't match my jersey! Ug. 
• Well, I can't stop now. I have to finish this stage.
• Why am I even wearing a helmet? I can't get injured in a virtual world.
• I wonder if more routes will unlock for me as I do more. The graphic effect is pretty good, but inconsistent. The roads and mountains are amazing, but that field over there...bleah.
• I wish my avatar could have massive dreadlocks down to it's knees. Why not? They could blow all over in the wind.
• Almost done, stopping as soon as I hit 20 minutes. 
• I let the program pick a course at random for me. And here I am on the same course I was on yesterday! I've only done one ride so far!
• What a wonderful trainer this is. I can't hear a thing.
• I am looking at a window, and it's not miserable outside. I should be outside.
• Where did all these of Zwift users come from? Why aren't they riding outside? Do they ever ride outside? I wonder what the app was like when it was new? Did they have to release it at a big expo so they could at least have 10 users on at once?
• Well, I only have 10 minutes to go, I'll just finish the whole thing.
• Does anybody actually drink as much water as thier avatar? She cannot stop reaching for that bottle!
• Since it's a virtual world, why don't they embellish it a little? Do more things you can't do in real life? I want to bike through the snow! How about biking through a sandy african safari, complete with wild animals lapping at your pedals? I want to bike through water, not just a tunnel, but in it with fish swimming by. I'd like to bike up a single-track rail that takes me all the way to the moon!

Trying Zwift for the first time

I set the bike up on the new trainer this morning. I hadn't had the bike on the trainer since last spring. I tried TrainerRoad out before and found it OK, but the interface appeared outdated and uninspired for something with a monthly fee. So, today I tried Zwift. Such a different experience! Zwift gamified indoor training. I am not much of a gamer, but I must admit that "unlocking achievements" and choosing my own virtual kit entertained the crap out of me!

The screenshot above shows my avatar taking a break on the side of the road in an underwater tunnel.  In a virtual world, I get to ride in places I never would in real life. This program also includes other people like me, all over the world, who are doing the same route as me at the same time. Avatars can interact by giving thumbs up or even text-based messages. The expansive community appeared warming, pleasant, and positive. A group riding at my pace were concerned about their buddy, Andy, who wasn't keeping up the pace today. They cheered him on, and extended best wishes when he dropped out. I have no idea who Andy is, or if these other people even knew, but I felt encouraged by all their support. 

After I finished the ride, I figured out how to add modifications, like how to add a helmet and change my hair. The more you do, the more options you get. There are fun medals you can earn, like the "stalker"- an award for following another rider's progress for at least 15 minutes.

I started out with the FTP test, to get an idea of my starting place. Sadly, my FTP score flashed across the screen at the end of the ride and I have no idea how to see it again. I remember it being lower than I thought it would be. I averaged 190 watts during the test, but the watt level it gave me was much lower. I thinks that's disappointingly unmeasurably low beginner level. However, the recommended watts that the test told me to ride at seemed incredibly low. I felt like I was barely pedaling for the first 30 minutes. For the test, I had to ride at a pace I felt like I could maintain for 20 minutes steady. I think I did a good job riding at the same pace throughout, and think I matched the recommended watts pretty well for each segment. Since I am not used to indoor training, I have no idea how my performance matched what I can do outside, or how how well I can do period. 

The bike felt like it leaned to the right, which distracted me. I worried that the rear triangle would snap off the trainer and I'd crash to the ground with a broken bike. I tried to offset the lean by leaning to the left, but I felt uneven throughout. I called my live-at-home-barista (aka bf) over to look at the bike. He could see how much I leaned to the left, but didn't think the bike leaning to the right was much of a concern. We both contemplated it's placement. Since the drive train of the trainer is off-center compared to the placement of a wheel, it was hard to tell if it was aligned correctly. 

Ride details are below. Apparently I rode on an island near Papua New Guinea today. I wish I could see the results of the fit test. If I continue using this app, I'll have to do the test again after I get my bearings a bit. 

After riding, I took my sweat-soaked (you really sweat riding indoors!) self to the other room. The afore-mentioned home barista made banana pancakes for breakfast while playing Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes on the radio. Because it was raining outside. Even though it was raining, I got to get in my ride and some pancakes, too!