It was cold this morning. As we started our indoor ride, the outdoor temperature was 4 degrees, but with the wind it was -12 degrees. Therefore, it was not a surprise that we had eight people on the ride today (Dick, Dusty, Keith, Melissa, Tiffany, Tim, Zinj, and me).
Earlier this week, Zwift released two new routes in Makuri Islands. We tackled two laps of the longer route, Castle to Castle, today.
Almost everyone was on Discord for the conversation. Thursday’s race was a big topic of discussion. Not surprisingly, Tim’s great results moved him officially from the Zwift Power C division to the B division. Dusty, who traditionally drops off the Discord conversation during races, asked us what we chat about. During races, the Discord conversation is mostly race tactics, mileage marks, etc. After being named by Jonathan as the “Rider We Most Want to See on Discord to Prove He Actually Exists,” Dusty did grace us with two rare video appearances. I believe this was simply to make Jonathan jealous.
Many of us were still tired from the race, so the slower pace on the relative flat route today was welcome. However, several riders did sprint at a few of the banners towards the end of the ride. Melissa hit 12 w/kg, while Dusty and Tim were also in double digits.
We chatted about Phil Gaimon’s new team, JukeBox Cycling. The main sponsor is a sticker company. I thought it was odd that the sticker company doesn’t appear to do bike specific name stickers. Zinj informed me that decals, and not stickers, is the proper term used in cycling.
There was a lot of discussion about solar panels and electronic vehicles. Zinj is interested in an EV, but perhaps not a car. He brought up an electric three wheel enclosed reverse tricycle (called a tadpole). Don’t be surprised to see him cruising down Route 5 in that thing.
After talking about customized vehicles, I told how my mother in-law special ordered a car with crank windows in the late 1990s. Apparently, many people under the age of 25 have no idea about the hand gesture for rolling down a window. Tiffany shared her amusement trying to explain that to her daughter.
Towards the end of the ride, Tim and Zinj had a detailed discussion of an electrical project. The rest of us barely understood anything they were saying.
If anyone is looking for Melissa for the next three days, she will be watching NFL Wildcard Weekend. All riders for next week, please look at the game scores so we can have some idea what Melissa is talking about.
Dick, Dusty, Keith, Melissa, Tim, Zinj, and I earned the Castle to Castle route achievement, which doubled our XP points for the first lap.
In total, we rode approximately 29 miles with 933 feet of climbing. We finished our ride in just under 90 minutes.
Here is the NCC Zwift schedule:
- Tuesday 6:00 PM – Time Trial / Hill Climb (invite required)
- Wednesday 8:00 PM – Social Ride (invite required)
- Thursday Evenings – Road Race (times will vary between 5 PM and 7 PM EST)
- Sat 9:00 AM – Social Ride (invite required)
Join the NCC Club on Zwift or select the link in the discussion board/calendar for invite-only rides.
Check the NCC calendar for full details on all events. To learn more about the NCC and Zwift rides, please visit our Zwift page.
