chaadster

I’ve been on Zwift since the beta (testing) days, so about 10 years, but I’ve never gotten deeply engaged with it. I guess because I’d been doing coached, power-based stationary bike workouts for some years before Zwift and was quite comfy passing the time watching the numbers on the head unit and focusing on the workout segments, I was more interested in the Zwift tech than I was in need of something to make stationary work tolerable.

Zwift, then, was an adjunct to the coached, studio rides which I do 3x per week year-round, and so I never hand the need, interest, or bandwidth to get into the game part of Zwift. That is to say, I ride in Zwift with my own, external goals and don’t chase any of the in-game elements like goals, drops, PowerUps, RideOns, or that kind of stuff.

I certainly like Zwift better than watching rando vids while sweating away in the basement, and I like the terrain-variable resistance, preset ERG workouts, and ability to customize interval workouts. The social aspect is great, too; group rides, the keep-together utility…that kind of thing is great.

Ultimately, even though I really only use Zwift during the winter for a couple of rides a week and scarcely do anything more with it, it has become a critical piece of my cycling life, as a way to keep up socially with ridemates to maintain motivation and fitness.