So I decided to try one of those Rebel Routes I keep seeing on Zwift Insider. The Three Little Sisters looked like it was one I’d enjoy.
I started by selecting the Hilly Route and got ready to follow the instructions. I suspect my habit of starting out fast, just call me Thumper, wasn’t the best move.
Made the turn for the KOM and attacked the climb. It hurt and I set a PR, great 1 climb down, relax, get the heart rate back down. Oh wait, the challenge is to break an hour, can’t relax too much, keep pushing.
Okay, I’m doing good, what’s that next turn, oh oh where’d my cue sheet go, oh there it is. I’m good now, whew! Wait a minute, that’s printed on an ink jet, and my sweat droplets 
just blurred some of the turn info. Relax, it says left, so select the next left and hope.
Ok, still on course, I see dinosaurs and there is the next little sister to climb. Push it, get up out of the saddle, whew, I did it, another PR. Heart rate is pushing my “limit”, and I don’t have sweat droplets now, the sweat is pouring off me in a solid stream. Better move the cue sheet and change my sweat towel.
Still a little climbing left before the volcano, legs are starting to feel heavy. Keep pushing, power is dropping, relax, goal now is to get to the top of the volcano in under and hour. Starting the climb, good thing I don’t use a fan, a head wind right now would kill me. Pushing but don’t have the power I had up the first two sisters, not going to break 10 minutes, no PR on the volcano today. That’s ok, I’m at the top in under an hour. Relax and get back to the start.
Whew, only one turn left and I’m done. Whoa! Drifted off there, stay focused, almost missed that last turn. That would have invalidated the ride, and all the effort would have resulted in a failed attempt. Ok, made the turn, next stop down town and the banner!
There’s the banner, do I sprint or just cruise in? Cruise, definitely cruise, don’t want to make the next attempt harder then it already is going to be.
All, done, no bells or whistles, no badges or even route completion acknowledgement, just an internal satisfaction. Jumped over to Strava, wait, the ride doesn’t show I completed the segment. Did I stop to early, miss a turn?!? Wait, I recall something in the description about the segment and a link, let’s check that out. Whew, there it is, 12th overall, 11th today. Wow! I’m impressed, oh wait, only 16 people have attempted the route. Well, 12th isn’t last, and I’m not the only one to miss the hour mark.
So, my first time riding a Rebel Route. It’s a different experience because of the manual turn selections, but it did give me more of a real life experience with the use of a cue sheet. You also have to stay focused, look for the turns. I drifted off at the end, tired and some what convinced that the last turn would be the default direction anyway. It wasn’t.
If you want a different experience go over to Zwift Insider and see what Rebel Routes are out there.