I wimped out on biking outside today. After church the temperature hovered around 60 degrees so I decided to ride Stage 2 of the Tour of Watopia after watching the finish of Paris – Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Profronde Van Drenthe. Zwift named stage 2 “Stacked Flats” but there was some climbing on the just released Triple Flat Loops route, 535 feet of climbing. The distance totaled 22.67 miles which I rode in 1:10:46. This was faster than yesterday’s longer time over a shorter distance. For now this route is only for events. The route map and profile is below. ZwiftInsider.com described the route as “Originally published as Zwift Insider’s first Rebel Route in April 2019, “Triple Flat Loops” covers all three of Watopia’s “flat” routes, including Fuego Flats’ Tick Tock, Volcano Flat, and of course the classic Flat route. Zwift’s February 2022 update included this route as an event-only route that awards an achievement badge.” The route basics from ZwiftInsider.com: Length: 33.9 km (21.1 miles), Elevation: 134 m (440‘), Lead-In: 2.4 km (1.5 miles).

This was the first day for stage 2 and the 3:02 PM group B included 848 listed. It didn’t take long for the flyers to get away. I stayed with a large group for a while but then it thinned out leaving me in the 720 to 740 positions. My legs felt good and I held what I considered a strong pace. Overall I averaged 19.2 mph. On some of the downhills I hit a 33 mph max speed. I concentrated on pedaling but I did look at some of the scenery on the route. Lots of sand along the road, portions went under the water, and some wooden bridges.

I went to Zwiftpower.com to see results from stage 2. I came in at 441 out of 460 in group B. I did not set the fastest pace. Group A shows 302 (lower than I expected), Group C 205, and Group D 19 (women only). The fastest rider in Group B finished in 46:50. Each group rode a different route.

Stage 2 runs through March 16th. Another reason I rode the stage today; the weather forecast points to 70 degree days next week and not much rain. I want to ride outside which meant possibly missing stage 2. Not sure when I will ride stage 3. I don’t want to miss any of the 5 stages but I need to reach my 650 mile road mile goal for March and I’m at 225 miles now leaving 425 miles.

This week i rode each day, 6 on Zwift and 1 outside. The week summary:

Two top results in Strava: 2nd fastest time on The Esses Reverse (Zwift Insider verified) (3:01) and 3rd fastest time on The Esses Reverse (Zwift Insider verified) (3:04).