At the very end of summer, we visited the Braslav region once again, this time with a different crew. Saw a huge 🍫 "Spartak", in half-kilo and kilo options. They even have it at the ⛽️ on the way in. Then we popped into that very same safari park, spaced out staring at the 🐻🐰🐱🐑🐗🐎. Chatted with some locals on the beach near the town. At first it seemed fine, but then they suddenly jumped to the insidious NATO that won't let them live in peace. That gave me the push to take my leave, seeing as it was already getting late anyway. Oh, and unexpectedly at the end, we rode to Dpils from the border under our own power, and ended up banging out a whopping 100km. I think there's a chance to repeat it this year. Not only is there company and a car, but I also caved to peer pressure and ordered myself a direct drive bike trainer.
It's this thing where you slot in your bike without the rear wheel (the trainer has its own "pseudo-wheel"). Then you turn on a special program (game?) on the TV, where you ride your bike over drawn hills and dales. Other cyclists ride in this virtual world too, including your friends, and you can hammer it together, just like in real life. True, no matter how much I've asked, no one wants to so far, so for me that's a questionable ➕.
Also, when you're pedaling up a virtual ⛰, the trainer resists to make it harder for you, and when going downhill, it helps. Obviously, there are competitions in there too, and all sorts of prodding to force you to ride more and get healthier. These kinds of things are widely known nowadays in the form of TikTok, Insta, and Facebook as the attention economy. Fortunately, in training apps you pay with real 💰💰💰, not by watching ads. Ultimately, I don't see any harm from the creators of this software pressing your dopamine buttons, it's nothing but pure benefit.
Training platforms vary, and trainers connect to them in a universal way, so I bought the less expensive Zwift Hub. It costs less than its alternatives, with the expectation that you'll buy a subscription and shell out cash to the creators every month, thereby making up for the almost-subsidized product. This concept is known as the "Gillette principle". I guess for the new generation the parallel with gaming consoles is clearly more relatable, where you buy the console below cost to then hand over a fortune for licensed games.