So, I just had the crazy idea to ride up the Alpe Du Zwift during one of the Le Col Zwift group rides. It hurt, but it was fun! When the pandemic struc and everyone stopped exercising, there was one bloke who picked up the bike and started cycling. This guy! And when winter came I moved to an indoor trainer and soon discovered the Le Col social rides on Monday evening. These rides made me feel very welcome within the cycling community in general, and the Le Col community in particular. There is a lively chat with good fun. But also with room to ask all cycling related questions. I soon became a regular on the Monday rides. On Wednesday evening (for me evening; 7:10PM CET) there is a work out session, which I soon joined as well. These sessions are hurtful fitness builders. But great fun with the community. But, during the summer these sessions come to a halt. So to end on a high (virtual literally) I came up with the idea to ride up the Alpe as a group. We can encourage each other to make this epic climb, and so we did. The Alpe Du Zwift is a virtual replica with all the 21 epic hairpin bends along the way. We took the route “Road To Sky”, which is the shortest Zwift route including the Alpe. It’s about 17 kilometers long, with the Alpe being around 12 you’ll have a nice 5k warm up. And so the bunch set off to this epice Tour de France climb. The first bit is downhill, straight into the jungle area with some gravel. Which is not nice on the legs, I can tell you. After a while you’’ make a right turn onto the tarmac and from there on the only way is up. The first few slopes are the hardest, for me. I always start way too fast and burn all my matches. This time I tried to find a nice rhythm for the first half of the climb. Encoring the ones around me to enjoy this stupid idea of me. Next to the start I find the two longer stretches between corners the hardest. Once they are over it’s just some quicks and turns, one little surge to the top and you made it! I know this sounds hard, but let me tell you that it was my nicest effort yet on the Alpe. The Le Col group with all the chatting (and even chatting about how you could type on such a climb) made this ride fly by. Come join us someday on Zwift, we will be a welcoming gang of cyclists waiting!
