This Week on Slowtwitch Indoors: Exploring Watopia
We like to explore a fair bit around when we're on Zwift; after all, when you have regulars you like to give them a fair bit of variety when it comes to courses. That being said, we do also identify courses that are great for specific ride experiences; as much fun as our Rise and Grind is, for instance, it becomes less fun on Road to Sky. Alternatively, because of the banded nature of our structured training events, we can do some courses that are otherwise difficult to manage in a group; for instance, the Jungle Circuit.
That all being said, we thought this would be a good week to come back to where it all began: Watopia. Zwift's original world has a circuit for everyone; from the flats of Tempus Fugit to the largest of climbs, you can get a bit of everything when you head to Watopia. It's also home to May Field, Zwift's running track, and all of our group runs (Monday and Wednesday, 7 AM and 7 PM Eastern respectively).
There is, of course, an exception to this rule. But that's my own fault. (More on that in a minute).
Ride of the Valkyries
Our women's only training group gets the fast and flat course of Watopia Flat. At 6.4 miles, we should get at least 3 laps in on this trip around Ocean Boulevard and the back half of the original Hilly Route. This week's workout is Over Ones; as you can probably guess, that means that there will be some seriously tough 60 second segments for you to power through on the route.
Tuesday Structured Training
The ride that started Slowtwitch Indoors, the Tuesday Structured Training ride heads to Watopia's Big Loop. If you're looking to earn your route merit badge, be prepared to put in some additional riding after the workout is over; at 26.6 miles, including the trip over the Epic KOM, it's going to take a little bonus time to finish it off. This week's workout is "The Bends," which is approximately how you should feel by the end of it.
Rise and Grind
Alright, so here's the exception to the Watopia rule this week. I blame myself. I'd originally planned on every ride being in Watopia, and I simply put London into the Rise & Grind slot. So if you don't like it, blame me. We're going flat and fast in London this week, as we go to the Greatest London Flat circuit. We will regroup after each sprint. Be forewarned; losing the draft on these flat courses is perilous. Your leaders this week are Alex (B), myself (C), and Shaun (D).
Hilly Vanilli
Our Thursday night barn-burner, this chase format ride will head for Watopia's Figure 8 course. Enjoy two trips over the original KOM, one in each direction. Teamwork is the name of the game! Whether you're a part of B, C, or D groups, you need to all pull together in order to either chase down the team in front or keep away.
Casual Fridays
Our first Casual Friday was a smashing success, with over 250 of you joining for this mash-up between Slowtwitch and Every Man Jack. This week, we'll take on Road to Ruins for our trip, once again with the leader beacon given to EMJ's Sean Hale. This week's workout is the aptly named Weekend Warm-up, which features just a couple of efforts to get you prepared for a weekend of either training or virtual racing.
Have fun out there, and we'll see you next week.
