Bluebell’s maiden voyage

Maybe Bluebell is a silly name for a bike, but it is the first thing that came to me when Garmin gear asked me to create a nickname for my new Giant Revolt. I guess we will have to see if it sticks.  I name my cars, but I have never named a bike.  

I graduated to the smart trainer (with some minor equipment upgrades). Because the back hub of our gravel bikes is a through axle (not quick release), they cannot be used on the fluid trainer.  There was also an issue with the gear cassette that was mounted to the Kickr Core that I don’t quite understand—it might have been specific to JB’s road bike (Canyon).  The solution that would allow multiple bikes to use the Kickr was the Zwift Cog and the Zwift Click. 

The system is pretty cool.  The Zwift Cog mounts to the Kickr Core.  It is a single gear ring for the bike chain.  The communication from the workout program being used (I used Biketerra and JB used Zwift) changes the resistance based on terrain.  Zwift Click is a pair of Bluetooth paired pods mounted to the handlebar.  There are several control buttons that are useful within Zwift.  The only buttons I use shift up and down (harder and easier).

There are several platforms that work with smart trainers.  I have mentioned Zwift in the past.  It has nice graphics and you see other riders and runners along the way.  You can hear appropriate background noises and cheers from fans along the road.  There are rides in “real” places and a whole pretend world of Watopia to explore. Just from watching JB on Zwift and pretend riding along, the other riders zooming into your path is a little unnerving.  Not gonna lie—I have flinched and may have yelped when being run over by another pretend rider.  I have used the Virtual Running YouTube rides and runs.  It is a real person with a GoPro in a real place (New Zealand) with real noises.  It is nice except that it doesn’t communicate with the smart trainer.  JB was recently introduced to biketerra (https://biketerra.com) through a friend at the local bike shop. 

I am a little cheap, so I have only had the free version.  I think it is fairly new and the graphics are definitely lacking.  The route correlates to the real map (see bottom right of the computer screen). But the rider is alone on a generic road with blocks for building and grass/trees/water.  There are no sounds or even music to keep you company during the ride.  

The lower left of the screen (the program runs on the computer and we cast it to the TV) shows stats like mph, power output, heart rate, distance.  Along the bottom of the screen, the elevation along the ride.  It worked well with the smart trainer and Zwift Cog and Click.  JB rode with a group of friends from the bike shop and they set up a chat in Discord. 

I (meaning JB helped me) was able to figure out how to save a FIT file of the ride and input it to my Garmin Connect in order to track miles.   I did 15.22 miles in Harrisburg today…set a power record and felt great about the new bike. Looking forward to many more miles, both indoors and (especially) out.