I've been doing a lot of cycling
on a trainer over the last year or so - partly because there have been a few
times where I've been injured and running wasn't an option, and partly because
it's very convenient to be able to change, get on the bike and start pedalling
whatever the weather or time of day. The main reason, though, is that
I've been using Zwift...
Zwift is a bike training program
that's also a massive multi-player online game. Data from sensors on your
bike is transferred to your computer (or phone, if you have one that meets the
hardware requirements), and is used to drive your in-game avatar - the harder
you're pushing the pedals, the faster you go in the game. What makes it
really good, though, is the gradient simulation - if you're using a smart
trainer (I have a Tacx Flux), Zwift sends information about the virtual
gradient to the trainer, which changes the level of resistance to simulate
going up and down hills, which adds an element of immersion that I find makes
trainer rides more interesting than using my old fluid trainer with constant
resistance (where you change the difficulty/power required by changing
gear). It's also a serious training tool, with almost too many guided
training sessions to choose from, and the option to use erg mode (where the
resistance of your trainer is controlled based on the power level that the
program requires at that point in time - a really good way of making sure that you
hit the required numbers during the session!)
The multiplayer aspect also helps
- there are races and group rides to join at any time of day, and you end up
riding beside people from all over the world. I've become a regular on
the WBR Volt rides at 6:15am UK time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - these
are around 45-50 minute sessions, and usually contain some form of interval
training (usually timed efforts at a set power level, but sometimes less formal
sessions based on landmarks around the course, and often finishing with an
optional mini-race) - where it's fairly common to see at least 15 or 20
nationalities represented. There are quite a few regulars who are there
for pretty much every session, and the atmosphere around the ride is very friendly
and supportive (with plenty of chat and banter!) These sessions have been
a really good way to start my day - gives me a reason to get up early, and
means that I've had a decent workout before I head to work.
While most of the courses in
Zwift are fictional, the most recent course that's been made available is a
very good simulation of the main loop of the course for the UCI World
Championships currently being held in Innsbruck. My reaction on riding
the course when it was released a couple of months ago was 'that's nice, but
nothing special' (well, after the initial 'great - new roads to ride and hills
to climb!'), but the quality of the reproduction really hit home to me earlier
today when I was watching coverage of the women's road race - I could tell
almost immediately where the riders were on the course because I've ridden it
(well, a virtual version...) The feeling was very similar to playing
Muirfield two days after the 2002 Open Championship, with the stands still up
and the same hole positions as were used on the last day of the championship -
probably the only time that I've read a putt based on how I saw it break on the
TV coverage of the final round!
As with any other form of
training, though, it needs to fit in with everything else that you do
(particularly when you use it as a form of cross-training, which is what I
usually do when I'm able to run). It's very tempting to jump in to
whatever event is on at the time and end up working a lot harder than you
intended to - not ideal for a recovery day - but that aspect of Zwift has also
pushed me to do things that I didn't think I could do, like stay with a group
in a race when all I wanted to do was ease off and drop back, or ride on the
trainer for more than four hours in one session because one of the big events
had the option to do two laps of the Pretzel course (a hilly/mountainous loop
of around 45km that covered all of the roads available on the Watopia course at
the time in both directions).
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