after a few months of riding during lockdown and building up some fitness got fed up of the rain and bought a turbo trainer to keep active during the wet days
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Come from a cyclist tradition family. A second hand “smart” trainer and a vintage bike in 2011-2012. Joined Zwift in December 2015 after some play with GoldenCheetah.
I needed to get some fitness and i did! First time i hop on the bike i was only able to hold for 15 minutes. In 2018, if i recall correctly, i rode 5 hours 30 minutes for the 180km Zwift Challenge with the full PRL.
From 74 bmp at rest to 56 now and 52 in my peak of form (50.000km rode only indoor). Indoor training is hard but worthy. Never ever go outside! There are CARS!!! 
You need to get adherence and creat habit. Firstly i recomend you music or video, i use to play epic videos or motivational videos on youtube, then i was selecting the music i love in playlist.
But what really got me hooked like a junkie on Zwift was the racing experience. It brings out 110% of me.
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Hi Cece,
It’s nice to meet you and it’s great to hear your’re starting to ride more! I hope your health improves and you overcome the setbacks you’ve faced. It’s an addicting sport once you get started, although the initial stages of struggling to pedal can be aggravating at times. I hope you share your progress here in the coming months!
Started road cycling in the late 1980s. I never raced but the group I rode with had a nice social/performance balance. I really enjoyed the physical and team (camaraderie) aspect of group riding. But what really hooked me was being outdoors and experiencing the countryside; sometimes the city as we all “raced” through. I got into basketball coaching which cut into my cycling and I steadily lost cycling fitness. I tried to keep up by running on a treadmill but that paid few dividends- I was getting dropped on group rides and I really didn’t enjoy the social/performance balance of slower groups.
When it hit the market, I bought a Lemond spin bike to bring my cycling indoors with the goal to ride with my faster friends again. But that machine required a level of commitment I wasn’t able to match- it was freaking boring riding that thing.
Fast forward to the pandemic. A friend had been riding indoors on Zwift for a few months and he showed me how it worked. He also did all the research for me on what to buy to get what I thought I might want out of a setup; one that would keep me motivated. So in November of 2020 I bought a Wahoo Kickr, Apple TV box and a subscription to Zwift. I was immediately hooked. I got into the metrics as they provided a way to measure my improvements in fitness. I rode about 5000 miles in my first year- the most I had ever ridden was about 3000 outdoors in any one year. I discovered the workouts early to boost my fitness- they worked for me very quickly. Now I like riding pace partner rides and mix in some training to keep things fresh and work on specific goals.
I can ride with my faster friends again. I’m a bit on the larger size; I know what I have to do to win a few mini KOM during our rides- lose weight. But I’m enjoying cycling outdoors again!
A cyclist was killed and another critically injured this weekend in my city by a young man driving under the influence before 8 am. This tragedy brought to mind the safety benefits of doing most of my riding indoors. As much as I enjoy riding outdoors, there are risks that simply can’t be denied. I’m very thankful for Zwift and all those people who work to make it a great experience for us cyclists who use it.
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