Zwift Tour: Fire and Ice

My coach called for an hour of hills on Zwift today. She didn’t specify what she wanted me to do, so I chose the Zwift Tour: Fire and Ice. It had 3,398 feet of climbing and I thought, “perfect.”

I went on my CompuTrainer, put on my Pearl Izumi cycling shoes, clipped into my speedplay pedals and pulled up Fire and Ice to get started. I had just eaten breakfast consisting of hard boiled eggs and oatmeal. (Great combination huh?) My nutrition coach from MetPro suggested I go on a strict three day diet. I poured myself some PhytoLyte (electrolytes) and a little HydraMag (magnesium) from MoxiLife and I was off!

The first two miles were relatively easy. I was going fast, cruising along, thinking, “hmmm, when will this get harder.”

What Did I Get Myself Into?

I knew it would. And before long I thought, “what did I get myself into here!”

According to Zwift, Fire and Ice is the “most challenging stage of the Tour of Watopia.” It takes most people two hours to complete this. I didn’t finish. I stopped at an hour and only went nearly 1,000 feet.

The route is gorgeous. You cycle passed Aztec looking structures and then, you are teased with the beauty by seeing gorgeous sunflowers. That’s where the fun begins.

Oh No, My New Tires Were Squeaking!

My tires were squeaking. I was pushing and couldn’t get my cadence passed 50, which is really bad. Most people stay in the 80’s and 90’s. I couldn’t get myself there.

The grade is modeled after Alpe d’Huez, the famous climb in the Tour de France and according to the press material, that includes “21 hairpin turns and an 8.5% average grade – translation: steep!”

Zwift employees are clever. They send you messages as you climb, like “you can do this.”

Although I enjoyed the beauty of this ride, I couldn’t help but think, “I need to turn around. I need to get off!” Then, reality set in and I thought, if I can do this, I can conquer Maine in August. I need to do this and not “fall off my bike.”