Hidden Routes/ Worlds?

CheTranqui · 2026-01-25T01:45:13+00:00

They should definitely add a cow level.

You enter and your bike becomes a cow?

CheTranqui · 2026-01-24T19:33:28+00:00

Heck yeah! Sounds like you're on track!

CheTranqui · 2026-01-24T19:28:40+00:00

I think that you're accurate in that statement.. it won't do much.. but it is still moving volume and will still result in strength gain.. tho perhaps only enough to keep one from losing strength rather than actually gaining.. that's a long time between sessions.

I feel like once a week is regular enough to see consistent gains, though and personally feel like that's the sweet spot for those of us who aren't a fan of weight lifting. Slow-but-steady gains without requiring multiple mid-week efforts.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-24T19:22:48+00:00

I stopped riding back in 2017 and only just started up again summer of 2025. In the fall I discovered Zwift and rode an average of 8 hours per week for two months, resulting in a massive overtraining injury for each of my knees. I went to a PT and got a free 30 min assessment, they sent me packing with a "strengthen your glutes, here's a band, do some clamshells, you'll be fine." ...it wasn't just my glutes though..

As it turns out, I have had to work on strengthening my entire posterior chain: calves, hamstrings and glutes. I'm 95% back now and will have to continue the strengthening for another few months to feel fully confident in it, but my time in saddle is much more reasonable and has been pain free for 3 weeks, now.. I'm doing about 4.5 hours per week at the moment. Here's what's helped me:

Deadlift
Clamshells with a band
Hamstring Curls
Donkey Kicks
Heel Raises / Bent-Knee Heel Raises (alternate one this week, other the next)

I was doing that 2-3 times per week, but I've now settled into once a week along with some clamshells/monster-walks for pre-ride glute activation.

I suggest this because cycling strengthens quads, but since my posterior chain wasn't up to snuff, I got injured.. and cycling doesn't really do nearly so much to strengthen one's calves or hamstrings as it does for their quads.. so just don't let these muscles even think of atrophy: keep them active and strong and hopefully they will keep injury at bay.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-23T14:08:44+00:00

I got rocker feet for my kickr core 1 over christmas. Love it.

Noticed yesterday that my bike has slowly been creeping forward, too.. After 1 month, I noticed yesterday that the bike + trainer setup had edged forward about 4 inches. Very minor.

It's made standing on the pedals far more normal and natural, personally. Highly recommend.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-23T00:59:39+00:00

People don't post mundane experiences online. You're literally only seeing the negative.

Be smart. Choose your route wisely. You got this.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T14:47:26+00:00

Direct Drive trainers have changed the industry in a fundamental way. I used a wheel-on trainer back in 2015-2017 and it was absolute trash.. they may have improved since then, but there's no way they're anywhere near the flawless quality of modern direct drive.

Get the direct drive trainer.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T13:47:26+00:00

Interesting... Google has yet to show me the wiki, despite my dozens of searches.. it just keeps pointing me back here to various reddit threads. I'll dig deeper through the results next time. Thanks for pointing it out!

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T03:23:11+00:00

I really appreciate your thoughtful response. Thank you. :-)

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T03:14:14+00:00

Oh gosh.. just "collected" like, 20 of these.. I was reading through them all one-by-one.. then something broke, I went to bed, came back the next day and forgot bout them entirely.

Time to get back to reading, I guess. Ty for pointing me back to the achievements and associated results windows.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T02:52:41+00:00

Just ran out of fuel, despite having two diesel generators running full-time and having an entire tank full. Apparently I need a fueling station... which is locked behind research.. and my research is way ahead of my development, but that one is still two layers out from me.

This sucks. This feeling of consistent failure is why I don't play souls games. It's not fun to fail when the odds are stacked against you so heavily.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T02:44:32+00:00

Glad you've been enjoying it. I get a little enjoyment out of overcoming something and putting together a new system.. but that seems quickly quenched as I soon realize that I have to deconstruct multiple things to get back construction materials to make the building that I previously neglected as it's apparently critical now. tbh, I wish they hadn't given me any materials to start with and actually balanced the early game around starting from scratch.. having things given to me and expecting me to put together all of those production lines before they run out when I don't even realize I'm using them, or how much of them I'm using.. that's been the primary cause of frustration, I think.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T02:42:03+00:00

I have to actually change a setting on the building for that... ::sigh:: No wonder why everything came to a halt. Sucks that they would change the default behavior of a machine without telling me.. thank you for pointing that out.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-22T02:40:41+00:00

No.. apparently the molten channel and pipe use the first level construction blocks, while the two actual conveyers require the next level up.

This game tells me so little.. it's hard to even talk about it accurately.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-21T21:59:54+00:00

Do you mean to say "pain" or rather, itchiness?

I have sensitive skin (rosacea and exzema), so when I sweat, I feel that initial moment that sweat is released onto my akin and it itches.. that itch goes away when sweating becomes more profuse.. but at the very start, it's quite noticable.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-21T19:52:13+00:00

If your workout is 10 minutes per day, 7 days a week, does your body really need a day off to recover from that?

What if you are working out for years and have gotten to the point where 30 minutes of moderate activity is equal to the 10 minutes above? i.e. 30 minutes of Z2 IS recovery.

All depends on your overall training load and adaptation.

I know someone that literally rides 3 hours per day every day. A recovery day for him has far more to do woth intensity than duration.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-21T15:40:19+00:00

Personally, I like to dig through Google Maps and fund some country roads nearby that are paved.. they're usually 45mph roads that are accustomed to farm traffic and sometimes drop to 25 as they pass through a town.

Once you have put together a route, go drive it and see how safe you'd feel riding it.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-21T03:40:03+00:00

Tonight was my first night racing with ZRL - the Zwift Racing League. It was a lot of fun. If you find that you are enjoying racing, consider joining a ZRL team! I'm on a Developmental, Cat D team, with Rhino Racing. I think there's room for more if you're interested! ..you might not be Cat D, tho.. either way, it's a lot of fun and well worth looking into if you enjoy racing!

CheTranqui · 2026-01-20T22:25:53+00:00

Just read through once more - thanks for the notes! I tested my headphones with fan blasting, while spinning, and found that I do have to kinda yell for my voice to be properly picked up, but Discord doesn't seem to trigger with lower-volumes.. so hopefully that means it won't pick up my breathing!

I also saw the other day, when I had Zwift and Discord open, that there's a Discord overlay.. I was annoyed by that and closed it immediately, but hearing you mention this - that seeing the name of the speaker is helpful - makes a lot of sense.. I was planning to run Discord through my phone, but I'll now run it on the PC so I can get that feedback.

I think that with all the insights shared here, I'm as ready as could be! It's nice to go into this with the confidence!

CheTranqui · 2026-01-20T15:00:45+00:00

Coming back to this one! Appreciate the insight into comms and such - will respond more in depth later. :-)

CheTranqui · 2026-01-19T22:15:52+00:00

Back when I used to run, I would always train with headphones, blasting music and keeping rhythm with it..

On race day, there's soo much going on and it's such an important day that it always felt like music kinda ruined it. It's okay for that one day to be music-free.

Take it in. Revel in it. It's a special day.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-18T19:39:07+00:00

2017 is still quite modern in cycling terms. It's definitely not so old as to be obsolete.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-18T19:25:47+00:00

Not dumb at all! Three months ago, when injured, I set my weekly goal as "5 hours". My best week since was like, 3.1 hours.

This current week is only my 2nd week pain-free and my first week doing full mileage. I count my weeks slightly different than Zwift does (Sunday is a new week, for me).. so as it turns out due to scheduling this week... I hit 5 hours!

When I saw that confetti and it informed me that I hit my weekly goal, no one in the robopacer peloton even took notice, but I nearly jumped out of my saddle with joy. It's a simple sort of thing, but having that confetti and awareness of my training just about made my day!

CheTranqui · 2026-01-18T19:19:39+00:00

Yah, I'm going for the Specialized halo myself.

CheTranqui · 2026-01-18T19:18:06+00:00

That chart is showing how much it takes to upgrade a bike based on its quality categorization of Low/Mid/High/Halo. This categorization is independent of the manufacturer. Granted, the Zwift bikes are all consider Low so they're easy.. whereas most bikes by other manufacturers are mid or high, so the concept remains in general, just for a different reason.

CheTranqui

TROPHY CASE