I’ve definitely transitioned significantly with my outdoor rides largely comprised of when I can ride with others and few outdoor solo rides. However, I still ride every day (I’m 71) for at least an hour and generally end up tallying 8-12 hours per week usually with the bulk of that being on the Kickr.
Bill Black
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I ride Zwift only to maintain or build fitness for outside riding.
During Monday to Friday outdoor riding is impossible because I’m too busy or it’s in winter too cold and dark to ride after work.
On weekends however unless it rains or too cold I have to ride outside, too much Zwift just drives me insane. I enjoy riding real bikes with friends.
Before my accident last year I used to commute by bicycle (Cervelo S5 or Canyon Ultimate CF Evo) to work every day. With that I didn’t need to ride on Zwift very much.
In Australia traffic is a risk so you choose your outdoor riding routes very carefully.
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Not given up but certainly reduced out door rider. save if for the nice days or events, club meetup etc.
Ideally nice routes out doors with less traffic or gravel/mtb even better.
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Very interesting topic.
Reading the posts i totally get every reason people would want to ride exclusively indoors, so many benefits and not many negatives but for me personally, i just have to get out.
Riding outdoors is still king and i take every opportunity to ride outside still…as much as i love Zwift
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I’ll not lie - when I see some of the posts and responses about bugs in Zwift I sometimes wonder just how much some folk are so completely hooked on it that even the slightest niggle forces an angry reaction. I guess that, for some folk, it really is a huge part of their life and that simply accepting a few glitches, or even skipping using it for a couple of days seems completely unacceptable. I’ve metaphorically bit my tongue a few times on this forum rather than respond the way I feel. I’ll try to bear this thread in mind going forward.
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Excellent post Colin.
I think the same as you.
Alas I’ve stopped biting my tongue as much.
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I’m in the development game myself (but not software for computers) so I look at the glitches from a development mindset. I give them a bit of slack.
Angry rants aren’t going to solve the problem faster and the developers just feel miserable.
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Maybe I need to do a ride along in your area!
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Tomorrow is probably the most poignant example of why riding outside is still important to me. Every year I do a local ride to visit a cemetery on Ft Benning (recently renamed Ft Moore). I invite other riders. We spend time remembering and saying the names of fallen freedom fighters. For me, this is a solemn occasion, and so long as I can push pedals I’ll make this trip.
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I use zwift when weather and certain road conditions are not that good, being 74 years old I dont take chances, but my worry is with so many riders now riding on zwift etc that it suits motorists as in less cyclists the better so instead of things improving they will get worse
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Zwift is a worse case scenario for me. If it’s too cold, rains or working I’ll jump on the Wahoo for Zwift. Unfortunately there are too many people with bullsh*t numbers online which ruins the experience for me personally. On Zwift I’m a D grader but in the real world I’m a solid B grader and this is Metro Sydney. Zwift just gives me the shits sometimes.
I’ve never really done road riding except after I started Zwift, other than commuting. Now I do the odd ride, and am commuting less… 
I’ve only done one road ride with more than one other person, and that was a meetup from my Zwift club…
I’ve now given up Zwift in the winter in favour of fatbiking (and going back to studded-tire commuting, though less often than I used to) and given up Zwift in the summer in favour of BMX racing. I’ve got a Zwift window in between the snow melt and the BMX track opening in the spring, and likewise in the fall…
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I’m hoping something is a bit lost in translation between Australia and the UK there!
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Avoid racing in Zwift and ride the hilliest routes - you still get the 39kg riders zooming along at 5.0w/kg but you can flag them.
Occasionally they get removed - I always give info on why I’m flagging them.
I’d like to see a crackdown on usernames used for advertising as well. I flag a few of those that are blatant. Sometimes you see the names and think, I’ve seen enough of that nonsense in real life, don’t need that in Zwift.
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I went out and did a 63 mile ride today, couldn’t have done it if not for the zwift riding I did over the winter, was great to get out in the sunshine and fresh air
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Yeah I’ve more or less quit riding outdoors. The outdoor bike mostly only comes out for races or rides with full road closures. A little while ago I was telling someone I do 9 out of 10 of my rides on Zwift, but it’s actually much more than that. I live in a relatively bike-friendly area with great roads and climbs and I’m still on Zwift far more often than not. An epic Zwift ride will never be as epic as an epic outdoor ride, but a bad Zwift ride can never be that bad. You get most of the good and none of the bad.
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I think road riding is a very positive experience but requires thought. My advice is very simple, drive your bike to a road route that is extremely safe with hardly any cars between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., or a route after hours, after 6:30 p.m., that is known during the week to have almost zero road traffic. At 66 years old, I would advise purchasing a used bike that is high end, carbon, likely the best, Santa Cruz Stigmata, primarily because you can bike with 32 or 35 mm tires with no difficulty, and this makes a tremendous difference in stability on downhill or cross country, or challenging roads. And finally, I would set my handle bars upwards, narrow my body position to sit upright, and the reason, less stress on the cervical spine.
Replying to myself, I was reminded of a close pass incident six years ago today. This is a still from my video footage…
The road was a rural lane with two way traffic and a 40 MPH limit. i was riding smoothly at about 18 MPH and holding my line. This driver chose to overtake me at a narrow part of the road, timed precisely when there was another vehicle coming towards us and creating a pinch point. If I’d swerved for a stick or pothole… Game over for me.
The police would have gone to court with my video evidence, but they made errors in paperwork regarding the time of the incident and it did not proceed to court.
A day later and I’ve had another reminder pop up…
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That was super close!
I haven’t taken my road bike out of the garage for a year, but I’m always on Zwift in the garage. I didn’t mean to give up road riding. Full-time working life plus a small child and frail elderly parents mean my riding time is usually in the dark (early morning or late evening). It’s simpler to rely on Zwift.
First I rode my old racing bike into the ground on a trainer with Zwift (I need to find time to get it serviced!) then I bought a Kickr Bike in last year’s sales. Have gone from Cat D to Cat B racing. What would get me back out on the road is a “new bike day” but the Kickr Bike seems to be that for the moment.
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