Journey to Watopia — Zwift
[edit #1: Note: since I wrote the article below I have since bought a Cycleops Hammer smart-trainer two weeks ago and today a Wahoo Tickr bluetooth heart rate monitor. The smart-trainer actually received signal and makes it harder to pedal on uphill. A couple weeks ago I swapped my gravel bike onto the trainer so the road bike can be used more this summer
edit #2: I was able to acquire a treadmill and then got the necessary Zwift Footpod to use the running programs on Zwift. Link below [1]
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Winter begins to make riding outside less viable for me. I really don’t like riding in the very cold weather. If it is below 30-degrees I am already uncomfortable. I just don’t enjoy the cold enough to spend boatloads of money on gear which might make cold weather riding bearable. I’d rather go hiking or cross country skiing.
So it is worth discussing the winter trainer riding these past few months. I took a training seminar some years ago with Terry Ritter, a cyclist and coach on the east side of the state. One of the bits of advice which stuck with me was his comment “embrace your trainer.”
So I did. I would spin on the trainer to music or a movie. Later I bought a series of Spinerval DVDs from my friend Jim who was no longer using them. It is rather like being in a gym spin class as the coach talks you through gears and riding harder or faster RPMs. Not bad.
All in all it was difficult to determine how many miles I actually rode. I’d usually estimate at 15mph average to get a mileage tally.
I first heard of Zwift a year or two ago from Ralf who was at one point actually organizing a ride on zwift for participants in the MSU Gran Fondo, one of whom would be the guest pro rider that year.
Read on…
CONNECTING:
In a nutshell, Zwift combines the old Computrainer system with social media!
In December I decided to take the leap. First I attempted to download Zwift ride app (there’s also a companion mobile app but more on that later). In conjunction with a couple of sensors purchased from a fellow cyclist, this should get me started. However, the bluetooth dongle would not pull signal from the two sensors. Also, the Zwift app download kept stalling with a message to check graphics drivers. Now, my laptop is pretty powerful. I bought one with large memory and features as well as a 17" screen reasoning I would not have to get a new laptop for a long long time. And indeed it still works fantastically …. except in this instance, my 8-year old laptop’s drivers, though up to date, were no match for what I would find are the very rich and graphics laden Zwift program! My wife mentioned getting a new laptop but I didn’t want to spend that kind of money when my laptop was otherwise completely fine.
Ralf to the rescue: He suggested getting an Apple TV box. So I went to Best Buy and bought the Apple TV box and an inexpensive flat screen TV and another HDMI cable (I could not remember if I had another at home). I got into the Zwift program the least expensive way. More on that in a bit.
Interactive training has been around for years. Remember Compu-trainer? Download an actual ride from bike computer to the program on a computer- connect the Compu-trainer special trainer to which you’ve mounted your bike, then run a downloaded route. As the course from the loaded GPS goes uphill, the program sends a signal to the Compu-trainer to increase resistance making it harder to pedal just like climbing an actual hill on a bike. Downhill and the program gets super easy to spin the pedals.
First a word about Peloton, the heavily advertised bike trainer. Peloton is NOT like Zwift. Peloton is a gym style spin bike and the “interactive” aspect of Peloton is the screen in front of the spin bike which you pay to join online spin classes- literally a remote version of going to the Y. In the Zwift program, you actually use a real bicycle and the screen you see isn’t an instructor shouting at you like a gym class.
So back to set-up. I plugged the Apple TV box in and connected to the flat screen TV the connected it to my home WiFi. I did not need to get an Apple TV subscription. I am literally using the Apple box as a non-keyboard computer with the flat screen as a monitor. I then went through the steps to find the Zwift “ride” app and downloaded it to my Apple TV box “computer.” I used my actual laptop to create a Zwift account- accessing it to ride is $14.99/month. I then downloaded the “companion” app to my cell phone.
In short, regardless of equipment three steps are needed:
1. Ride app loaded to laptop or other display means for when riding the trainer
2. Zwift account set up via internet
3. Companion app set up on mobile phone
Back to the “compu-trainer” concept. The best means to get the MOST out of Zwift is to have an actual smart trainer. The courses on the Zwift ride app have up and down elevation gains. The app reads power output from the trainer as well and will also read heart rate from a bluetooth enabled sensor if you have one. When you begin riding you, your “avatar”- you on-screen version of yourself, appears. When you pedal, he pedals. The faster you go the faster he goes. If you stop pedalling your character will stop and unclip.
As said, the best means to use the Zwift program is with a smart trainer. There are numerous smart trainer options from which to choose. On the high end ones, you set a cassette on it and remove the rear wheel and then attach the bike as if it were the other ‘rear tire.’ Some of the trainers, when Zwift courses on your display screen ride on cobbles or dirt, even vibrate or jiggle give the effect of the non-smooth surface! The lower end ones at about $400 still require you to clamp your own back wheel into the trainer and push up a resistance roller
I don’t have a smart trainer at this time but DEFINITELY plan to get one next year. I might even get a cheap road bike to keep it on the trainer permanently or maybe purchase a rear wheel on which to keep a trainer tire and swap it on and off my Cannondale Caad-10 when not riding that bike on the actual road.
[edit May 27, 2020:
Note: since I wrote the article below I have since bought a Cycleops Hammer smart-trainer two weeks ago and today a Wahoo Tickr bluetooth heart rate monitor. The smart-trainer actually received signal and makes it harder to pedal on uphill. A couple weeks ago I swapped my gravel bike onto the trainer so the road bike can be used more this summer].
Anyway, if you use a conventional resistance trainer you just need the Zwift cadence and speed sensors.
WATOPIA:
The Zwift routes one would ride are from two different options when you first start. As you get ready to ride a box a the top center of the screen has “Watopia” on the left. On the right are actually real world routes in places like Richmond, Yorkshire, London, NY City, etc. (I requested a Dublin Ireland loop on their Zwift Communities page). Watopia is the virtual world created with various loops and visuals of terrain from deserts to volcanos to rain forests and jungles. Dinosaurs, birds, bears, etc may move on your screen. Whether you choose the Watopia option of the ‘real world’ option, a list of routes appears on the screen through which you scroll to choose the one you want to do. Each choice has mileage and elevation. On killer route is the Alp du Watopia- a simulated nod to Alp’ du Huez in the Tour de France. Alp du Watopia has over 20 switchbacks in 7.75 mile climbing of 3500 feet with grades usually in the 7–9% range but hitting 12–13% several times.
When you ride, the riders nearby show up on a display on the right side of the screen on either side of your name. You can see their wattage but also the seconds or minutes they are in front or back of you. If you are trying to catch riders ahead you push and watch the gap come down on this panel. Ditto for staying in front of riders who are coming up from behind.
SOCIAL MEDIA ASPECT (Note that riders can keep their profiles private!):
Here is where the Companion App on your mobile comes in handy. When you ride, the companion app has a “game” feature which does not show up on the menu on your mobile when not riding. When riding, the game app has a MAP which shows the route you are riding with a small arrow indicating your location. You can zoom in also like Google Maps. In tandem with the ride dislay screen on your computer or flat screen, the Game tab has a Zwifters tab which if you click on it shows all the riders nearby to you. You can click on a rider and see their general location (i.e. what country- that is a narrow as it gets). Age, gender, equipment used also are displayed. At the top right of their profile is a big PLUS sign which if you tap it allows you to follow that rider much like following someone on Facebook or Strava. Whenever that person is on Zwift riding, you can see it. The ride program even enables you to join them on a ride! There are opportunities to give kudo and thumbs up to other riders just like Strava.
Speaking of Strava and other activity trackers- you can set it up so your rides on Zwift get uploaded to Strava. They show up as “virtual ride” but in my view more accurate to climbing and mileage than my old estimates.
Zwift also enables ride meet-ups. You can create a group ride and invite specific riders (who all have to follow the ride organizer on the app). In December, Ralf organized a ride and four of us all “rode together” on a route he had designated. Though we were all at our own homes, our four avatars were on the screen riding together, taking turns at the front or back of the group.
Zwift also has online races which you can join. I am currently doing the five stage “Tour of Watopia” and will be completing it tomorrow with a make-up of Stage One, which I had not yet completed.
When online, you can see there are literally thousands upon thousands of other riders on the program from all over the world!
In any event, I have had more fun on the trainer using the program than in the past season. It has felt more like actual riding. It is worth noting that you can suspend your account during spring. If you do, it merely means the payment ceases and your access to the ride app ceases, but Zwift keeps your profile and once you re-enable the payment and activity you pick up where you left off.
But as I said, I don’t have a smart trainer at this time but DEFINITELY plan to get one next year. (see above edit- I did get a smart trainer). I might even get a cheap road bike to keep it on the trainer permanently or maybe even just purchase a rear wheel on which to keep a trainer tire and swap it on and off my Cannondale Caad-10 when not riding that bike on the actual road. That way I can keep the program subscription year-round and use it on days when I want to ride but weather is inclement.
#Zwift
[1] Running on Zwift https://dennisbmurphy.medium.com/zwift-program-biking-and-running-updates-and-thoughts-in-general-f3f6536bae33
