Into the Zwiftsphere...

After a couple years of scoffing at those who would elect to stay indoors and spin in-place while they stare at a virtual road, I have joined their ranks. Why?

1) Everyone I know who rides an indoor trainer kicks my butt
2) I am tired of having folks have to hold up for my slow butt at the top of hills
3) A riding buddy who previously shared my opinion took the leap and changed his tune big time
4) It's cheaper than a new bike and more effective at helping me achieve my goals

Setting aside the complex socio/economic/psychological factors of getting a sexy Niner RLT RDO (drool, drool), I figured the cheapest, most time-efficient path to being a stronger rider was an indoor trainer. New bikes are great but the gains in time are scant at best.

The prices on good trainers had been $650-$1200 (that's a good portion of the Niner!), but as indoor training has exploded in popularity, prices have been coming down fast. After a bunch of research, I had settled on the Elite Suito for about $675 with cyber week savings, and placed my order. Sadly, it was on backorder. The next day, I found a used, Cycleops H2 direct-drive trainer for $525 on Facebook marketplace and pounced on it.

So onto Zwift I went. It's a Bluetooth contraption and I assumed that you'd pair in the phone settings and then go to the Zwift app. WRONG! You just open the app and it finds your trainer directly. So, yes, super easy, but the directions don't tell you this (my manual directed me to a link that did not work), so much cursing ensued. I won't bore you with the other tech issues I had (there were several). Suffice to say, I was super grumpy and exasperated.

Now that all is working, I can hop on whenever it suits me (rainy days, cold days, super hot days, night time, etc.), crank up some tunes and get in a workout. It also allows me to go for a ride without leaving everyone at home, which does have its rewards

Smart trainers change the resistance you feel to match programmed workouts and to replicate hill climbs/descents and other phenomena (like drafting off other riders). This is a bigger deal than it may sound like. When you're looking at a screen and riding up a virtual incline, it's surprising how much the increased resistance challenges you. Add to that the many other riders around you that inspire you to push a little harder and, I will say, Zwift is much more engaging than I expected.

The other big benefit is the ability to crank some tunes. I'm pretty adamant about not using headphones while riding on actual roads for safety reasons. I've done spin classes and have kind of liked those, but the music is usually stuff I'd never play of my own volition. Zwift changes all that and I have a whole new reason to listen to the loud, upbeat stuff I favored years ago and to seek out new music.

Planet Zwift is huge with training plans, one-off workout rides, group rides, races and much more that I've barely begun to explore. By all signs, however, I'll be using this tool quite a bit in 2020 and expect to have more things to say about it here.

And I'll probably end up with that Niner RLT in my stable as well ;-)