2025 Cycling Challenge

Whole lotta Zwifting with the weather being what it was. Not going to be venturing into the great outdoors for a goodly while!

Ride 1 - 12.00 miles <- 1/24
Ride 2 - 26.01 miles <- 1/25
Ride 3 - 32.02 miles <- 1/26
Ride 4 - 20.00 miles <- 1/27
Previous - 540.40 miles

Total - 630.43 miles / 2025 miles

Link - https://www.strava.com/activities/13442253153
https://www.strava.com/activities/13451225991
https://www.strava.com/activities/13461037971
https://www.strava.com/activities/13468121049

Catching up from February 1st. Yeesh.

Ride 1 - 5.00 miles <- 2/1 Zwift Hardknott Pass, 100% gradient
Ride 2 - 16.00 miles <- 2/2 Zwift Workout
Ride 3 - 22.00 miles <- 2/3 Tour de Zwift Stage 5 route C
Previous - 780.44 miles

Total - 823.44 miles / 2025 miles

Link - https://www.strava.com/activities/13512305792
https://www.strava.com/activities/13523559656
https://www.strava.com/activities/13530422445

@Jthanmyfitnesspal If your spin bike doesn't calculate a distance, a good rule of thumb would be to make a rough assumption based on time spent spinning and your average heart rate - if you were Z1 the whole time, assume 10 mph. I'd say Z2-3 would be ~15-18 mph based on personal experience, and Z4-5 would be around 20 mph. So if you averaged your age's Z2 heart rate for 30 minutes, you could assume between 7.5 and 9 mph. That could work!!

@Mari33a Professional Bull Riding is quite the spectacle! My daughter absolutely loves the atmosphere of the events and insists we go every time it's in the state. Some of the riders did end up injured with snapped ribs and legs from being trampled, but nobody was carried out on a stretcher and nobody died - a fantastic end to a brutal night of bull riding (those bulls are NO joke!! They make horses look like toys!)

@globalhiker If you have any trails nearby (specifically paved ones) maybe look into getting a recumbent trike? My parents got those because my father's ankle is demolished and my mother is fearful of falling, and they love their bikes! I also ride the local trails on a slew of different bikes, and do some off-roading on a gravel bike - no cars out in the forest, thankfully.

Today's rides - took the gravel bike instead of the car to the pool as the weather is awesome, and then had a Zwift meetup with a bunch of great folks from all over the world.

Ride 1 - 1.73 miles <- outdoors, to the pool
Ride 2 - 1.73 miles <- outdoors, return from swimming
Ride 3 - 10.02 miles <- Zwift meetup
Previous - 823.44 miles

Total - 836.92 miles / 2025 miles

Link - https://www.strava.com/activities/13537687269
https://www.strava.com/activities/13538557922
https://www.strava.com/activities/13539249170

@globalhiker That 38 mile ride took me just over 2 hours - it didn't have all that much climbing in it, but the group was 'banded' so it slowed down our average speed when people started losing steam (banded rides keep everyone together as long as they're pedaling, so slow people don't get dropped by speedsters - the group moves at an average speed based on everyone riding). My times vary wildly based on terrain as well, even in Zwift, thanks to riding a smart-trainer that alters its resistance to emulate gradient changes. So yeah, today's ride with an 8% gradient slope (that kicks up to 10% in areas) in dirt? Tons of resistance. You feel every percent. And move slower because the game gives you poorer rolling resistance for your bike thanks to the dirt. Still fun, though, would recommend. Hence why sometimes I can put in a solid 45 miles in 2 hours (flat desert route in Zwift), and other times 20 miles in 2 hours is an enormous accomplishment based on mountains being climbed (like up virtual Mt. Ventoux in Zwift)

Comparably, I can usually put in 35-40 miles in 2 hours in real life because while my bike is speedy and aero, stop lights exist.

Ride 1 - 21.01 miles <- Zwift meetup
Previous - 874.92 miles

Total - 895.93 miles / 2025 miles

Link - https://www.strava.com/activities/13558428141