You sound fun and kind.
Hating on Zwift is one of my pet peeves. I read all these comments like āZwift speed isnāt real,ā āZwift miles arenāt real,ā āriding Zwift isnāt real cycling.ā Man, get off your high horse and let people enjoy what they enjoy. Some of us arenāt blessed with nice weather all year and need Zwift to keep us occupied and fit over the winter. Riding Zwift over the winter has absolutely gotten me much stronger because I actually ride and train. Without Zwift iām losing all my fitness. Comments like this are why a lot of people say cyclists are snobs and elitists.
So because power ups and fake weight exist in zwift the training a rider does is magically nullified?
Ha! It describes most cyclists i guess, with full time jobs and families they want to spend time with.
The trainer allows me to cycle 6-8 hrs a week rather than 2-4
100% this, in our area we have kids zipping around on trails and multi-use paths as well as weaving in and out of traffic on gas powered mopeds and itās straight up dangerous for everyone!! One kid has already died that I know of, and you have to stop and wonder why the heck these parents thought it was a good idea to buy these things for their kids?!
Even beyond that, the fact that theyāre in that āgrey areaā so thereās no permit/licensure, speed limits or accountability they NEED to be regulated ASAP.
My pet peeve? Bikers and walkers who are either spread across a multi-use path ahead not paying attention or worse straight up REFUSE to single up when Iām oncoming and they can see thereās a walker in my lane I need to negotiate around, it feels like a weird power play for them while I feel like an ass trying to squeeze through in the middle
Iām with you on this one: Zwift is a game FFS. Who cares if someone might have questionable power metering on their cheap-ass trainer or has entered a dubious weight. Live and let live. Find a group ride or race that you enjoy and challenge yourself a bit and have fun.
I ride almost exclusively inside because itās more convenient and safer and more fun to ride up a big mountain chasing other riders than riding around my same local roads hoping that i donāt get killed by idiot drivers.
Exactly, RCC.
Iāve been crushed in Zwift races by riders with 50+ pages of Strava KOMs, and Iāve been crushed in Zwift races by someone whose only KOM is a downhill segment on a day where the wind speed was about the same as his average riding speed for the segment.
Either way, Iām at my limit trying to stay with them and get good training stimulus!
Using the bent up left arm to signal a right turn. I just donāt get it. You are not driving a 100 year old car. Use your right arm and point to the right.
Wow. People still do that? How many 100 year olds do you ride with ?
I havenāt seen people do that but Iāve definitely seen posts where people still mention using that signaling method.
Ha! I do not know any. But I live in Portland.
Couldnāt agree more. Iāve got a bunch of guys on my club team that poopoo on Zwift, but itās like I get so many more riding hours and it keeps me engaged.
Sure itās not āsufferfestā thatās supposedly better according to them.
But the motivation to hunt down each of those little avatars in game and pass them at the end of a long threshold/sweetspot/vo2 interval keeps me motivated and progressing for when I get to ride on the trails.
Anything that gets people moving, active, or training should be rewarded. Not ridiculed
not really a pet peeve, per se, but with this talk about Zwift being real riding or not, I do notice my Zwift rides get ~75% fewer ākudosā on Strava than my outdoor ones
What are kudos?
Just kidding, sort of. I donāt have any Strava friends so Iāve never really paid attention to kudos.
Iām wondering if triathletes look down at pool swimming (as opposed to open water) as much as cyclists do Zwift. Itās just a different way to train. Or the only way for a lot of people.
I would think most triathletes, by a large margin, do their swim training in a pool
Thatās my point. Itās a way to train. Is it race conditions? No. Anybody whoās done open water swimming will tell you itās a totally different beast. But not many people can go train in a river or open water.
Zwift just opens a fort to train for people. I lived in a place that could get 6 feet of snow. Riding outside was impossible. Zwift kept me going. So I just find it funny when some people look down on it. Itās a video game. Itās not real. Zwift miles donāt count. Who cares?
My club still use it, but itās not used to indicate turning right, itās used to indicate to the rest of the group to move out for a obstacle (walked, parked car) where you donāt want to stick your arm out, indicating that you are turning right, which would confuse both oncoming and following cars
You wouldnāt use it solo, or if you are the back of the group
I donāt think people necessarily look down on Zwift, it is just that a Zwift ride is inherently less interesting/engaging than seeing some interesting ride/route someone did outside. As a comparison, I would be much more interested in hearing or seeing someoneās cool trail run, than seeing their 40 minute treadmill session.
What I do look down on is Zwift racing if you try to tell me that it is a sport, or anything other than training. I will concede that it takes fitness and it takes skill, but it is not bike racing to me.
Ah. I see your point now. As an ex triathlete, I can pretty confidently say āno. They do not look down on pool swimmingā. Also there are not a small number of triathletes who reluctantly swim and avoid swim training at all.
At least with pool swimming, you are going somewhere even if it is a short distance.
I think people get too hung up on the whole zwift arent ārealā miles or accurate distances. Same as getting upset about Strava KOMs.
DEFINITELY a pet peeve but contrived asinine Strava segments always get my goat. Like breaking up a climb into a bunch of smaller segments?? Or some bizarre neighborhood segments? I fully believe some folks make these just to pad their internet trophies.