I did not check Zwift upcoming events for today’s ride. I looked at Zwiftinsider.com for a route with less than 1000 feet of climbing. I chose the Watopia Figure 8 route with 18.7 miles and 768 feet of climbing. The last time I rode this route was March 11th, 2022 as part of the Tour of Watopia Stage 1. Today was a free ride, just passing Zwifters. There were over 13,000 people online when I opened the companion app to get ready to ride. According to ZwiftInisder.com this route is “Watopia’s “Figure 8” route covers the entire hilly and flat routes in both directions. If you’re looking for a ride around an hour long that includes some short climbs and a nice mix of flats and rollers, this is a solid choice.” I’m beginning to add some extra climbing feet to routes because I ride more.

Today I rode 18.82 miles and climbed 833 feet. Not a big difference in the climbing but when I am watching the feet add up it gives a measure of how much climbing is left. I sped up for 1 sprint and tried to on a KOM but it didn’t make much difference on the KOM. No falling bears along the road but Christmas tree lights and a flying sled were spotted. Music for the ride: SiriusXM Seventies on 7. Out side the weather was fair with 6 mph wind from the west and 55 degrees. Tomorrow it may be in the 70’s and I will be on the road. Looking at the map I’m not sure where the Figure 8 is. Two big climbs and a bunch of smaller ones made my legs work.

The spin downs from yesterday changed the Wahoo Kickr Core to mimic the climbs and descents more realistically. I wasn’t pedaling as hard on the flats but the uphills were harder. Downhills I pedaled lightly and maintained the speed.

It wasn’t all about Zwift today. This morning I took the Lynskey Helix bike to Trek Bike Kingwood. They replaced the SRAM Rival crankset with a new SRAM Rival Quarq power meter crankset. I found them on sale and couldn’t resist. I will change from the Favero Assiomo Uno power meter pedals to Shimano Ultegra pedals. I prefer the clips on the Ultegra pedals. Next up the Cervelo Caledonia gets the same change.