I didn’t ride in Ireland on Saint Patrick’s Day but I was close, at least in a virtual sense. I rode the Scotland The Muckle Yin route in Zwift. I don’t know if there is a translation for the “Muckle Yin”. Outside it was raining, windy and 45 degrees. No reason to be out there. Inside it was much warmer as I rode up and down the Scottish hills around the Zwift version of Glasgow. The route covered 14.6 miles and I rode a little farther at 14.73 miles coasting past the finish line a little. I hoped the 925 feet of climbing was divided evenly over those miles but it wasn’t. There were some small hills but I rode over the large hill in both directions. The first peak was at 6.1 miles and the next one came at 11.7 miles. There were several nice downhills where I hit my max speed of 35. Zwift opened Scotland this week to free rides and around 2100 other Zwifters were riding there. On one of the climbs it hit 13% for a short time.

According to ZwiftInsider.com Muckle Yin translates to the Big One in Scottish. This pitchy route begins and ends in Glasgow, but you quickly leave the city and head to the countryside to ride the scenic Highlands roads and ascend to the Sgurr Summit in both directions. After your second descent of the Sgurr you’ll make your way back to Glasgow to complete the city circuit, finishing with the Champion’s Sprint.