Watts Up in Watopia: Neokyo Is Coming
If you looked at the Zwift world calendar, you may be wondering why so many days of Makuri Islands? Zwift has been teasing the new expansion Neokyo, and barring any technical delays the calendar indicates that we will be pedaling the neon lit streets this week.
What can we expect with Neokyo? From Zwift’s FAQ, we know there is 13 miles / 21 km of new roads, on which eight new routes will be available. Those routes include four sprint segments and one KOM. Initially, only free riding will be available, but Meetups will soon follow.
What can we hope for with Neokyo? Well, the map indicates that there are some twists and turns in the neon cityscape, which could make for some exciting downtown crit racing similar to Crit City. As more steering options become available (beyond the Wahoo Kickr Bike and the Elite Sterzo Smart Steering Plate), this could make for some exciting bike gaming fun with ZHQ FutureWorks steering races. We can also hope for some exciting race events that have the look and feel of a twilight criterium. Eventually, Makuri Islands may become the second hub world in Zwift.
How is Zwift Academy Tri going?
With baseline rides still available and finish line events now available, now is the time to jump on this program and focus on those Academy workouts to demonstrate your improvement between now and December 13th on your 20 km ride and 5 km run.
Check out what we at Slowtwitch have planned this week on Zwift.
Guest World Schedule
Here’s this week’s guest worlds, so you can plan to earn some of the route badges you are missing:
Monday: Makuri Islands & New York
Tuesday: Innsbruck & Richmond
Wednesday: Makuri Islands & New York
Thursday: Makuri Islands & New York
Friday: Makuri Islands & New York
Slowtwich Indoors Event Preview (All Times Eastern)
Go to Zwift Events to sign up for these rides and runs.
Monday 100/100 Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
Join us for a group run on the virtual track of May Field that will kick start your week. Join others who are working on the Slowtwitch challenge of 100 runs of 3 miles or 30 minutes in 100 days. Don’t forget that each of the five ride workouts and five run workouts have a short and long option. Rather than canceling a workout when you are crunched for time, you can complete the short version and still reap the benefits of the program.
Tuesday Ride of the Valkryies Workout (Women Only), 6:00 AM
This event is by and for women. It’s an almost no-drop, rubber-banded Structured Training workout, featuring a warm-up, set of intervals, and a cool-down. This week’s workout is Race Practice – 60 minutes.
Tuesday Structured Training, 7:00 PM
Our Tuesday ride features triathlon-focused cycling workouts written by coaches and pro athletes affiliated with Slowtwitch. The workouts last 60 minutes and will help add variety and interest to your weekly training schedule. This week’s workout is High Noon.
Wednesday Group Run, 7:00 AM & 7:00 PM
A more scenic group run on the Quatch Quest course. This is another opportunity to join others who are working on the Slowtwitch challenge of 100 runs of 3 miles or 30 minutes in 100 days.
Thursday Rise & Grind, 5:35 AM
This workout is an early morning bracer for the East Coast crowd. This week’s workout is True Grit, which features a lot of time at and around threshold.
Thursday SWIFT Ride, 6:55 PM
The newest ride to the Slowtwitch Indoors family, Slowtwitch SWIFT (Strong Women, It's Fun Together!) is here to bring another women's only ride to a slightly friendlier time slot. This ride will focus slightly more on strength-based work so bring those climbing legs. But even if you're feeling more like Mark Cavendish in the mountains of the Tour de France, so long as you keep the pedals moving, you'll stay with our group. This week’s workout is Keep It Simple.
Friday Festina Lente, 9:00 AM
This structured training workout is designed to get you geared up for the weekend. Roughly translated as “make haste, slowly,” Festina Lente features a workout that will get your engine running but still leave some in the tank for the big rides and races you have planned for the weekend. This ride is led by members of the Kanberra Cycling Team as lead beacon. Workouts are designed by Craig Polston of EVOQ.BIKE. This week’s workout is Tempo + Bursts.
Other Events to Watch For
Liv Party Podcast Rides
These rides feature a podcast dedicated to getting more women on bikes. The ride series started on November 1st and runs for three weeks. The podcast focuses on Zwift 101 tips, perfect for women (or anyone) just getting started on Zwift. The series culminates with a community event on December 4th, Liv Langma Sportive.
El Giro de Rigo
Have you been doing Rigoberto Urán’s workouts leading up to his 2021 Virtual El Giro de Rigo on November 21st? If not, that’s ok. You can still join in the fun with the workouts this week and the final event on Sunday. With rides going off every hour, you have no excuse to meet this one. If you want to ride with the man himself, aim for the 9:00am Ride with Rigo.
