Gamifying fitness works on me but I think I'm done with long routes

Zwift gamification of fitness has definitely gotten me riding more but I think I’ve run out of routes that I want to do.

“Quatch Quest” was the last of what Zwift Insider labels a “4-bidon” route and I was stoked to see it part of ToW 2023 - I just finished it. (not a strong climber - not a climber at all - so this was a long, slow route for me)

I…I think I’m done with the epic routes.

I will not feel unfulfilled leaving the Watopia “Pretzel” routes and Four Horseman forever un-done. (PRL Full is a “maybe” as I didn’t mind the Half - short climb x11 and resting on the descent is less of a slog than AdZ)

Zero shade on AdZ itself - it’s a masterpiece of design and the custom “sector progress” on the left and expanded map to the right are just stellar - but I am fried right now.

So, anyone else have routes they are fine never touching?

I hear people asking for more long routes (and we have the new 140km Classic Fondo in France) but I’d be fine with more short and medium routes with badges, or any new Challenges.

EDIT - Prize spinner dropped “gloves” again. :gloves: :crazy_face: (+250XP though so I’ll take 'em) Oh! This is my 4th time up Alpe du Zwift so I guess I’ll need to do it at least once more - someday - for the “Avid Climber” achievement.

I’ve done all of the Zwift routes (including the New France Fondo). The only ones I truly try to avoid are any that involve the Radio Tower (I mean ‘Bonus Climb’). I hate that hill with a passion. It’s just a slog that, for me, serves no purpose. And I don’t mind the longer routes, but I’m generally watching a race on GCN+ while riding theses days. I did the French Fondo while watching MSR,and still had well over 2 hours of racing left to watch after I finished.

3 Likes

Ventop. Don’t care for it. I enjoy the Alpe, Ventop is dull and unmotivating to me.

5 Likes

I’m missing the Uber Pretzel. I’ve badge hunted in the past & that one i never got around to.
Given I’m currently a non cyclist i suspect that one will remain on the ‘to do’ list for some time.

Tom,

Ven-Top isn’t actually that bad.

You can set yourself markers to reach which takes away the boredom.

Reach the Chalet.
Reach the bit where it becomes non green.
First sight of the top.
Reach the monument.
Etc…

The countdown KM markers help too. Although like me you have to manually recalculate into miles.

1 Like

Yes. Plenty.

Despite being on Zwift since 2015, routes I haven’t done include Four Horsemen, Quatch Quest, Mega Pretzel, Uber Pretzel, PRL Half, PRL Full, Surrey Hills, London Pretzel, Achterbahn and more…

I have done Ven-Top a couple of times though.

Back in 2015 I did do two centuries on Zwift (112mi and 136mi), and I’ve done half a vEverest and 25 laps of the volcano, so maybe I’ll do these longer routes eventually.

1 Like

zero interest in the longer routes tbh i’ll do the quatch quest only because its part of the ToW and get double XP on it

1 Like

Adding a bit of a positive spin: some of the most difficult routes have great rewards. Obviously the prize spinner on AdZ, but the whole custom, zoomed in mini-map (which is interactive on many platforms - click and it zooms) and “sector stats” on the left are almost mini-games themselves. Of course there’s the Yeti if you’re lucky or patient enough (you get the very clever “false yeti” at the end of Sector 9, regardless) but rock hyrax near the base are cute, and all the eye candy all the way up.

Not as big a climb but Watopia Epic KOM has one of my favourite views: Col du Zwift. I just can’t say enough positive things about the the work that went into making Watopia beautiful. Even if I never pursue my last five missing badges, there’s lots to enjoy.

I recall enjoying Ven-Top more than Quatch! There’s all kinds of eye candy as you hit different sections. (though I do wish it had the AdZ-style mini-map)

4 Likes

I started in March 2022 to train for a long outdoor ride (Vermont Overland) and I found the route badges and XP bonuses very motivating so I did all the long routes except PRL Full in about 6 months, but only once each for most of the big ones. I’d like to reach completion on all the ride badges. It’s too bad that La Reine and Ven Top don’t have segment visuals in the game like AdZ. And more new roads would certainly help make more new routes appealing.

1 Like

Zwift is really skewed towards people wanting to do shorter route.

Makuri has 8 routes that are 5 miles or under, I’m never going to want to ride those, there are loads that would take up to 40 or 45 minutes but very few that take 1 to 2 hours.

I like to ride for about an hour and a half and i am pretty bored of the selection. Making it easy to go from one route to another in game without having to exit and reload a route would help. If I could line up 2 or 3 routes and when i finish one the other starts automatically that would be really good. Even if it saves and starts a new ride each time i don’t really care but i know that would annoy the people who like to have one massive ride on their strava or whatever.

6 Likes

PRL Full, Four Horseman, Mega/Uber Pretzels. Just no interest in sitting on a trainer that long. Plus having spent so much time riding Zwift they’re just repeating things I’ve done countless times.

The only route badges that have interested me at all lately were the Country to Coastal and Makuri 40. Both long enough and varied enough to keep me interested.

2 Likes

I use the arrow buttons at the turns and go just where I want to go.

Most roads have the same starting point so if you finish route 1 you will be at the start of route 2 and then zwift can navigate that one, if there was an option to line them up.

The manual turns made Zwift stand out over other platforms where you have no options to ride different routes.

Back to the topic, I have all the badges and some of the long ones I have done a few times.

Ven Top is certainly the worst one. :woozy_face: :face_vomiting:

2 Likes

that doesn’t work for the smaller worlds.

As it is i don’t see myself ever riding scotland, i rareyl ride Paris, innsbruck is okay but gets boring quick.

if i could do the uci course on innsbruck, followed by a lap or two of paris without having to exit and select the new route that’d be good

1 Like

O yes I agree. That is why I think we should rather have a UCI world where all the UCI routes are linked together.

For long workouts I tend to pick Watopia.

3 Likes

They all serve as carrots to keep you on your bike.
I went route badge hunting a few years ago after I had finished the 3 challenges.
I think that’s a normal progression.
I have yet to complete Full PRL and the Uber Pretzel.
My current carrots are workouts, racing and try to improve specific time/power intervals that I hope will help IRL.
IRL I seldom ride 2 hours so I tend towards shorter Zwift rides.
But, there’s still a few route carrots…

1 Like

It’s brilliant for racing. Also for doing HoloReplay hill repeats on City and The Sgurr.

Different strokes, innit?

3 Likes

maybe, but that could all still be done if it was added to an existing world, small worlds mean you can’t do long rides but big worlds don’t mean you can’t do short rides.

lots of small worlds have no upsides.

2 Likes

I decided to do all the routes in my first season with Zwift (including the pretzels, PRLs, 4-horsemen etc.). I chose to do the last few long ones once per week at the end of the season (shortest to longest) as my one long ride for the week in preparation for heading back outdoors once the weather turned nice.

Would I have done those routes if there were no badge? Probably not. Would I do them again? Maybe if there’s a specific event associated with them, but I don’t normally want to be 5+ hours on the trainer at once.

Personally when I’m asking for longer routes I’m asking for routes that are about 90mins-2hrs ish without repeated segments to keep things interesting. I am not asking for more 5-6hr rides.

The one badge remaining that I’ve currently drawn the line on is the vEveresting badge. I just don’t have the desire to do the training required to be able to sit on the trainer for as many hours as that would take me. I could probably do a half Everest without much of a problem (so if there was a badge for that I might try it for the heck of it), but full Everest would be a problem for me I imagine, so it’s the one badge I’m not specifically working on that I still do not have.

1 Like

Right now I’m in a place where I could spin through Makuri for hours, even doubling back over roads multiple times in the same workout. That world just vibes with me, it’s my first choice for riding right now. (I know, missing a big climb, but still.)

3 Likes

Makuri is not bad but I don’t like the multiple little turns and loops, it get confusing very quickly. I also avoid the Neon district :woozy_face:

But it is nice that there is different options for people liking different things.

1 Like

I wouldn’t have thought the downtown stuff would appeal to me, but it really does. Particularly as a contrast with the countryside and islands. And the twists are turns are part of what I like too. Here in Iowa we’re on a grid, so any time there’s a curve in the road I get giddy :smiley:

2 Likes