Outdoor cycling in Mooresville, North Carolina, ‘Merica is just not sustainable on a daily level.
Safer. Living in Race City USA is hella dangerous for a cyclist. I’ve stopped counting how many times I’ve almost been hit, and not in a little way. Even being in a car in this shitty hell hole is fucking dangerous. I don’t want to promote all this health only to die like the woman who was hit and killed just last month on her bike fully within her legal rights on a relatively safe road. Add the complication of live-streaming and you have a recipe for eventually tragedy.
Calmer. Because of everything in the last paragraph, cycling outdoors is far more stressful. I end up switching from an amazing mental state to wanting to kill someone. This happens less indoors where the only thing I want to kill is my computer that keeps messing up my screen or something.
Private. I do what I want, when I want. I don’t have to deal with people not wanting the camera in their neighborhood. I have been stopped more than once by people in a suburb wanting to know what I was doing.
Easier. It is just setup. I sit, pick a workout, and go.
Effective. Consistent workouts with accurate measurements of health. Outside measurements are just plain wrong (especially calories burned).
Cheaper. While not cheap, the overall maintainability costs much less.
Funner. Gamification is a thing.
Communal. Zwift allows getting into Discord and riding virtually with friends from all over the globe. I look forward to getting good enough to organize rides with friends from my Twitch community.
Leaves intentional cycling for outdoors (traveling to a location).