The Best Place To Ride In Winter
Bicycling South Africa|May/June 2020
Make sure you get to one of the hottest riding destinations this winter – a place where you never have to gear up for bad weather, the scenery is beautiful, the group rides are friendly, the racing is crash-free; and maybe best of all, there’s no traffic. Or stoplights.
Eric Schlange
The Best Place To Ride In Winter

If it all sounds too good to be real, that’s because it is. Sort of. Watopia, of course, is the centrepiece of Zwift’s virtual world, an indoor cycling paradise that offers something for everyone. In just five years, it has arguably become the number one winter destination for cyclists, hosting hundreds of thousands of riders.

I’ve spent countless hours riding and researching the roads, scenery, and customs of Watopia. It may sound strange to the uninitiated, but for me and many others, Watopia has grown into a real place with its own history, inside jokes, and social norms.

Here are my tips for making the most of your winter in Watopia.

RIDE HERE // While you can choose your own turns in Watopia, its 30+ predefined routes remove the need to navigate. Very few Zwifters have completed every course. I’ve put in over 27 000km on my smart trainer, and I still have a few to cross off my list! Routes range from just a few kilometres to the Über Pretzel’s 128.3km, so there’s a course for every ride plan.

This story is from the May/June 2020 edition of Bicycling South Africa.

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This story is from the May/June 2020 edition of Bicycling South Africa.

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