Ride a custom route on Zwift?
 

I've only been riding Zwift for a month. It's OK. What I think would make it great is to ride routes local to me. The probability that I will actually ride any routes from Zwift in real life (forget about Watopia) is next to nil so I feel no "connection" to them.

I have been in country for 4 months but with COVID and the crazy early biking schedule of the local riding group, I haven't joined them on any rides. I want to try/train on the same routes we'd ride by creating a route in Komoot, import the GPX to Zwift, and just ride it.

I learned this is possible using a conversion tool on What's On Zwift. However, they talk about it in terms of a "workout" which I have never done. All I want to do is import this route and more importantly have the elevation data in there and ride it. I know Zwift isn't going to be displaying my local scenery in the app, but that doesn't bother me.

https://whatsonzwift.com/gpx-to-zwift-workout

Have you done this? Does it work?

Thanks,
Paul

You have to stay on zwift's map, so elevation can't be transferred. What that tool is doing is estimating your power and translating it to an erg workout that makes you do the same work as you did as reflected in your gpx file.

Lots of things would really make Zwift great. Good luck getting the developers to comply. People all over this planet have been asking for a route “mileage remaining” countdown and Zwift still doesn’t have one.

I started keeping a list of routes next to the bike so I can see how much is left. For some reason, the thing I remember is how much climbing is left, although the zwifthub list I'm using isn't that accurate for some reason. I suspect they don't really know how much distance is left. I say this because if you are on a route that includes portions of other routes, they will show you the leader board for that other route during the shared portion. That happens a couplie of times on the London Pretzel, for example.

I don't think what the OP is asking for is something they will implement, that's just not what zwift is all about.

Zwift is good for many things, but not riding a route that is not in Zwift.

Look at RGT's magic roads. That will do exactly what you are looking for if you make sure you upload good, smooth gpx files. The generated scenery for steep climbs is pretty neat though it does get a little boring for flat routes.

Zwift is really now about real world gps.
Rouvy has routes from all over the world that people have unloaded. Just search your country to see what routes are available

https://my.rouvy.com/virtual-routes

Thanks for the reminder. I remember this company but hadn't done a deep dive. I'm going to check it out.

Edit: Just checked it out and it won't work for me and my dumb trainer with only speed and cadence sensors. Bummer for now.

I usually do group rides or tours in Zwift and it does tell me how much distance is remaining. Try one of those.

I tend to be rather misanthropic, anti-social and I avoid crowds. “I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand.” :)

Great, then we can ride together!

I joined the Tour de Zwift stage 1 and finished a solid 131st out of 150. The middle third I did ride with 2 other riders, but eventually got dropped. Stop pedalling for 5 seconds to stand up and stretch, and it's all over.

Apparently most people warm up for zwift group rides so they can take off from the start. Not sure I get doing that for a group ride that's not a race.

You can add custom routes to Rouvy and ride them with a dumb trainer, although like Zwift the realism depends completely on how close your trainer's actual power curve is to their estimates.

Cool. I was browsing the recorded routes and found a video taped one of a route I used to ride (and loved). Psyched to give this a try.

I tried a time trial on Rouvy for the first time tonight. The interface isn't that intuitive but I also watched no How-tos. The route, though, was interesting and it felt more "real" than Zwift. I also liked how few riders there were on this route. That made it feel even more real because that's how my rides usually are. The w/kg were lower than what is reported on Zwift, but unlike Zwift, most people on this route were also around the same level as me and not 2x or 3x higher than me.

I've got a 14 day trial so I think I will stick with this and pause my Zwift subscription.

I have so much to say about Rouvy, Zwift, etc., but will try to be brief.

1. Rouvy absolutely feels more real than Zwift. It's just a far more realistic 'ride experience.'

2. Today I had the very, very, very unsettling experience of seeing a Rouvy route I didn't know existed that went past my house (I live on a dirt road in NM). It was just super-strange to see my house from the Rouvy saddle.

3. It's fairly clear to me that if the current COVID bike-craze doesn't have super-contraction, a new virtual platform for indoor riders will emerge in coming years, and incorporate so much more of these features (being able to upload a GPX file and ride it in a way that's entertaining, for example).