The Great Indoors
I have cancelled my Zwift indoor cycling subscription. Goodbye Zwift. After four and a half years and 6,000 indoor miles, no more. Over recent months I had become apathetic at best when it came to watching a digital me spinning digital wheels on a digital road. Every minute in the saddle felt like an hour. Every hour like a day. Gone the days when I would rattle off sixty sweat drenched miles.
My mileage had gradually tailed off over the months. All I knew was that the indoor Zwift bike was being used as a clothes hanger more. And that each month the money would leave my account. And I didn’t want to climb aboard the Boredom Express.
I think my attitude to exercise has changed in general. Only recently I was of the view that winter cycling, or cycling in the rain was for the deranged. Yet I have left the house in both torrential rain and at freezing point in the last weeks. I’m not training for some hundred mile event for the first time in years. I don’t need to get up in the dark and squeeze a Zwift hour in to feed the beast.
2021 saw me clock my lowest miles on a bike in fifteen years. It’s not as though I’m falling out of love with cycling; I very much enjoy my miles on the bike. But I’m no longer obsessed by clocking a set number of miles or hours per week in the saddle. The competitive edge is still there, I achieved a personal best on a short, sharp climb in recent weeks. A personal best at 64 and ¾ years old is not to be sniffed at.
Holistic Fitness
I would rather be outside in nature, or not bother at all. Cold I can deal with, in fact I enjoy it. I can deal with the rain. As the saying goes, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. My Assos cycling kit can deal with all weathers. I’m experienced enough to keep my head on a swivel for the worst efforts of car drivers. Just give me the road. Goodbye Zwift and goodbye Kickr indoor trainer.
It’s part of a more holistic approach to fitness in general. I know I need to do more in the gym to slow the disappearance of muscle. I have to recover more between sessions. My protein intake has gone up significantly. Those are the physiological realities. The mental aspects are different. Why should I spend even an hour doing something that’s not enjoyable for the soul? Exercise with no soul? – not for me. Goodbye Zwift.
Nice and honest post! As long as you feel safe do what gives you the most joy! I was never a fan of Zwift- but am an advocate of indoor training. Netflix and bike is the key for me .
I assume you have a “winter” bike?