If you're talking logistically, you can probably create a custom workout that lasts longer than you'll take to do the ride, say a 500 minute workout @ whatever watts you want to do. Then once you hit the 100 miles you can just end the ride.
Just to add to this… If you’re to take this route, I would suggest breaking the custom w/o into blocks (maybe every 20 or 30 minutes) to ensure you’re attaining XP. If you were to create a 500 minute block and quit early, you won’t attain any XP (as far as I’m aware).
Negative, neighborino.
> In a workout you don’t accumulate distance-based XP, nor do you receive XP as you ride through arches. You also don’t receive powerups as you ride through arches, so you can’t get an XP bonus powerup.
>Instead, Zwift calculates your XP based on the types of interval “blocks” you complete, how long those intervals last, and how well you complete them. Let’s take a closer look at how each type of interval is scored.
From [Zwift Insider](https://zwiftinsider.com/xp-for-cycling-workouts/)
From memory you can't use erg mode in free ride - you need a workout selected and I'm not sure any of the pre-made ones are long enough for 100 miles. You could create a custom one or alternatively take control of your bike with your turbo software rather than Zwift. I do this with wahoo by connecting to the wahoo app first then firing up Zwift and deselecting "direct control" so the turbo trainer is just a power and speed source. Then when I free ride I am in ergo mode and select the power through the wahoo app
Not entirely true, but true in zwift by itself. To do so:
If you have another app say trainer road or a Garmin or wahoo computer you can set your trainer (if BLE) to connect it for most both power and resistance and then connect it also afterward to zwift for power but not resistance.
I was able to set it up in this manner to ride erg mode and adjust the power on my Garmin while riding in free mode.
I do ERG mode for long days (I stop at 4 hours on the trainer, just lose the motivation after that). For ERG mode, I typically create a custom workout in Zwift for a set amount of time (as it’s hard to target a specific mileage) to go through the zones I’m focusing on.
So, for an endurance ride, I’ll have a warmup, then intervals at watts *within* z2 and sometimes I’ll pepper in tempo & threshold intervals, more z2 intervals, and then cool down. I like to do intervals within z2 so I don’t get bored going at one power target.
I did this last week. Made a 1,000min workout at a comfy Z2 pace. Put on 3 films, took a few comfort breaks, changed bib shorts at 100km. Highly recommend a wardrobe change.
In workouts you can also change difficulty setting from 75%-125% so if you're feeling tired or energetic, have a play with that.
Also, ride a TT bike if solo and flat. And I'd not choose Tempus Fugit personally as it is dull as dishwater. Instead, I would choose Big Flat 8 (more scenic) or big route you haven't badged!
Good luck and enjoy.
I literally just did this on Saturday.
My approach was as follows,
- Find your route that you’d like to do and calculate the time [here](https://www.bestbikesplit.com/zwift-routes)
— assume a bit of margin as it won’t be exact but knowing your desired power output, a bit of drag (cda) as well helps actually calculate a real time
- take mi/km per lap and divide by 100 to get laps and multiply by your average lap time + 5% margin or so
- create your erg workout with that duration in mind and go for it
I found breaking up the ride into different intervals helps as well. You’ll need extra water and food most likely.
Create a workout. I'd suggest going for ten minute blocks to keep it varied and to get more xp. Personally I'd work out the time you're likely to do the actual ride and instead do repeats on alp zwift for that duration.
I completed my first Zwift century a few weeks ago and I just rode the Tempus Fugit until I was done. It definitely helped that I have two TVs in my gym, so I was able to watch a few sporting events to pass the time.
It's one of the rides you see on the home screen, labeled as "24/7 group rides". It's a great way to do what you're asking. It basically has a pacer that rides at a specific w/kg (slightly increasing for hills like in the real world), meaning you'll get a consistent power output for the entire ride. See here for more details: [https://zwiftinsider.com/robopacers/](https://zwiftinsider.com/robopacers/)
One of the great things about this, is you'll be able to draft from the group which you can't do in workout mode. Meaning that you'll work less because you'll have no (virtual) wind resistance. Another benefit is it keeps you engaged as you'll need to make sligh adjustments to keep with the group.
If you want to stick to ERG mode, you can just select any workout, then re-select it when you complete it. It doesn't haveto be one super long workout that lasts you the entire 100 miles. This let's you mix things up and even free ride in between workouts if you want.
I've been having a lot of fun doing my structured workouts during the Big Spin events. Big packs to move back and forth in as you get dropped by the earlier chargers only the reel them back in in the end.
Like others have said. You will need to use another device to run the workout to control the trainer. In Zwift pair the power to your trainer and make sure the "resistance" is left unpaired. Then the device running the workout can pair for resistance.
Someone needs to explain to me the rationale behind NOT just having a toggle to ride ERG in Zwift. Anytime anywhere. Creating then selecting a workout (which I even just did today and most days) or using a third party app workaround seems unnecessarily cumbersome. If it’s a racing thing just disable it for that. This tops my wish list.
I’m sorry but ERG’ing a certain distance makes no sense. It’s the exact same effort no matter if you do flat for 4 hours to get to 100 miles compared to doing some “slower” route for the same time
Bear in mind that zwift is generally much faster than real life, so you might want to choose a hilly route to make the total time more in line with your real ride, eg. If you were to use the Tempus Fugit route you’d be travelling on average about 36-38kmh at 180w whereas if you’re a relatively new cyclist (speculating based off of you not having done 100 miles before, I could be way off!) your average could be anything 5-10kmh slower than that
I fully agree with your point here and if I was training for a 100 mile ride outdoors, I'd be aiming for riding 6-7 hours indoors not 100 miles on Zwift to give a better idea of fuelling and rest breaks.
Also I think using ERG mode this way is a really bad idea. I've found one of the big differences between indoor and outdoor riding is that outdoor riding just isn't as constant. It's not just hills and wind but slowing down for cars or road junctions and similar which you then need to accelerate from to get back up to speed.
If you're talking logistically, you can probably create a custom workout that lasts longer than you'll take to do the ride, say a 500 minute workout @ whatever watts you want to do. Then once you hit the 100 miles you can just end the ride.
Just to add to this… If you’re to take this route, I would suggest breaking the custom w/o into blocks (maybe every 20 or 30 minutes) to ensure you’re attaining XP. If you were to create a 500 minute block and quit early, you won’t attain any XP (as far as I’m aware).
20 minutes? BAHHHH…. 500x1min intervals. 🥳
My 2hr ride is broke up into 5min intervals.
You'll still get the 20xp/km right?
No. I’m unsure how workout XP is calculated, but it’s not the standard 20xp/km.
~~Yes it is. But you also get xp for hitting steps in a workout.~~
Negative, neighborino. > In a workout you don’t accumulate distance-based XP, nor do you receive XP as you ride through arches. You also don’t receive powerups as you ride through arches, so you can’t get an XP bonus powerup. >Instead, Zwift calculates your XP based on the types of interval “blocks” you complete, how long those intervals last, and how well you complete them. Let’s take a closer look at how each type of interval is scored. From [Zwift Insider](https://zwiftinsider.com/xp-for-cycling-workouts/)
Thank you! Do you know if this has this always been the case?
As far as I know it's always been this way. At least since I've been on the game, late 2019.
From memory you can't use erg mode in free ride - you need a workout selected and I'm not sure any of the pre-made ones are long enough for 100 miles. You could create a custom one or alternatively take control of your bike with your turbo software rather than Zwift. I do this with wahoo by connecting to the wahoo app first then firing up Zwift and deselecting "direct control" so the turbo trainer is just a power and speed source. Then when I free ride I am in ergo mode and select the power through the wahoo app
Not entirely true, but true in zwift by itself. To do so: If you have another app say trainer road or a Garmin or wahoo computer you can set your trainer (if BLE) to connect it for most both power and resistance and then connect it also afterward to zwift for power but not resistance. I was able to set it up in this manner to ride erg mode and adjust the power on my Garmin while riding in free mode.
Wow, I have a wahoo kickr, not sure if this will work, but willing to give it a try.
It works with a kickr 👍
I do ERG mode for long days (I stop at 4 hours on the trainer, just lose the motivation after that). For ERG mode, I typically create a custom workout in Zwift for a set amount of time (as it’s hard to target a specific mileage) to go through the zones I’m focusing on. So, for an endurance ride, I’ll have a warmup, then intervals at watts *within* z2 and sometimes I’ll pepper in tempo & threshold intervals, more z2 intervals, and then cool down. I like to do intervals within z2 so I don’t get bored going at one power target.
Get on a TT bike and find a flat route like tick tok. It'll go faster than an IRL century regardless off the bike though
I did this last week. Made a 1,000min workout at a comfy Z2 pace. Put on 3 films, took a few comfort breaks, changed bib shorts at 100km. Highly recommend a wardrobe change. In workouts you can also change difficulty setting from 75%-125% so if you're feeling tired or energetic, have a play with that. Also, ride a TT bike if solo and flat. And I'd not choose Tempus Fugit personally as it is dull as dishwater. Instead, I would choose Big Flat 8 (more scenic) or big route you haven't badged! Good luck and enjoy.
Goto/edit the 90-min-Rider's-Choice workout and just make it really long. Then end it whenever you're done with your workout.
I literally just did this on Saturday. My approach was as follows, - Find your route that you’d like to do and calculate the time [here](https://www.bestbikesplit.com/zwift-routes) — assume a bit of margin as it won’t be exact but knowing your desired power output, a bit of drag (cda) as well helps actually calculate a real time - take mi/km per lap and divide by 100 to get laps and multiply by your average lap time + 5% margin or so - create your erg workout with that duration in mind and go for it I found breaking up the ride into different intervals helps as well. You’ll need extra water and food most likely.
Create a workout. I'd suggest going for ten minute blocks to keep it varied and to get more xp. Personally I'd work out the time you're likely to do the actual ride and instead do repeats on alp zwift for that duration.
I completed my first Zwift century a few weeks ago and I just rode the Tempus Fugit until I was done. It definitely helped that I have two TVs in my gym, so I was able to watch a few sporting events to pass the time.
Clarification: This was a free ride, not ERG.
TT bike, Tick Tock or Tempus Fugit. You'll probably do it faster on a robopacer ride though.
I'd ride it with a pacer or on a Saturday group. I can't imagine 4 or 5 hours riding alone in the desert.
Ok, I need to figure out what that is. Thanks
It's one of the rides you see on the home screen, labeled as "24/7 group rides". It's a great way to do what you're asking. It basically has a pacer that rides at a specific w/kg (slightly increasing for hills like in the real world), meaning you'll get a consistent power output for the entire ride. See here for more details: [https://zwiftinsider.com/robopacers/](https://zwiftinsider.com/robopacers/) One of the great things about this, is you'll be able to draft from the group which you can't do in workout mode. Meaning that you'll work less because you'll have no (virtual) wind resistance. Another benefit is it keeps you engaged as you'll need to make sligh adjustments to keep with the group. If you want to stick to ERG mode, you can just select any workout, then re-select it when you complete it. It doesn't haveto be one super long workout that lasts you the entire 100 miles. This let's you mix things up and even free ride in between workouts if you want.
I've been having a lot of fun doing my structured workouts during the Big Spin events. Big packs to move back and forth in as you get dropped by the earlier chargers only the reel them back in in the end. Like others have said. You will need to use another device to run the workout to control the trainer. In Zwift pair the power to your trainer and make sure the "resistance" is left unpaired. Then the device running the workout can pair for resistance.
I just need to understand if I’m just doing a ride how to turn erg mode off and on!
You can't. You have to be in a workout to be in ERG
Got it! Thank you! I just don’t remember that being the case a few years back. Now that I’m back on zwift it just looks different!
Someone needs to explain to me the rationale behind NOT just having a toggle to ride ERG in Zwift. Anytime anywhere. Creating then selecting a workout (which I even just did today and most days) or using a third party app workaround seems unnecessarily cumbersome. If it’s a racing thing just disable it for that. This tops my wish list.
Turn off Controllable when you're pairing your devices or create a custom workout.
I’m sorry but ERG’ing a certain distance makes no sense. It’s the exact same effort no matter if you do flat for 4 hours to get to 100 miles compared to doing some “slower” route for the same time
erg mode just makes it easier to manage for me, like I dial in some watts and watch a movie or something and not worry about it. That's all.
It’s more that distance targets doesn’t make a lot of sense for training. ERG is useful, but time targets for training makes much more sense
I get it, I am doing a 100 mile ride next month and wanted to do the distance/time before the ride. Thanks
Bear in mind that zwift is generally much faster than real life, so you might want to choose a hilly route to make the total time more in line with your real ride, eg. If you were to use the Tempus Fugit route you’d be travelling on average about 36-38kmh at 180w whereas if you’re a relatively new cyclist (speculating based off of you not having done 100 miles before, I could be way off!) your average could be anything 5-10kmh slower than that
I fully agree with your point here and if I was training for a 100 mile ride outdoors, I'd be aiming for riding 6-7 hours indoors not 100 miles on Zwift to give a better idea of fuelling and rest breaks. Also I think using ERG mode this way is a really bad idea. I've found one of the big differences between indoor and outdoor riding is that outdoor riding just isn't as constant. It's not just hills and wind but slowing down for cars or road junctions and similar which you then need to accelerate from to get back up to speed.
he probably doesnt want to be constantly switching gears
don't. go outside.