{"id":245363,"date":"2025-10-28T02:25:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T02:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/245363\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T02:25:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T02:25:12","slug":"zwifts-new-york-city-expansion-now-available-first-ride-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/245363\/","title":{"rendered":"Zwift’s New York City Expansion Now Available: First Ride Details!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

Earlier this fall Zwift announced a bunch of new features that\u2019ll roll out over the course of the fall and winter (well, Northern Hemisphere winter). Since then we\u2019ve seen a number of small tweaks and new features, and that\u2019ll continue as well. However, the big ticket item for many is \u2018new pavement\u2019, and today that new pavement arrives in the form of some 31KM of new roads, which Zwift is saying is the largest new pavement day in 5 years.<\/p>\n

Notably, this new pavement includes both cycling and running routes, and all of which is set within the existing New York City map.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done a couple of rides now on it, and figured I\u2019d share a few thoughts\/screenshots.<\/p>\n

Power Segments:<\/p>\n

However, before we get to the thoughts and routes, a quick note that there is also a new segment type \u2013 which is \u2018Power Segments\u2019. Previously, we\u2019ve had sprint segments where you race for a given section\/distance, against both yourself and others. Now, there\u2019s Power Segments where you\u2019ll see a target duration (e.g. 5-sec, 10-sec, and 20-sec peak power), and then you just go bananas to hold the highest wattage possible during that timeframe. It\u2019s kinda as simple as that.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what it looks like when you approach one, showing that it\u2019s a 10-second attempt:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s what it looks like during one, showing my current average, as well as my current PR. Note that these are all combined together, so it doesn\u2019t matter where on the course you see a 5-second, 10-second, or 20-second one. You compete against all 5-second attempts, or all 10-second attempts, etc\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s what it looks like upon completing one, in this case, I\u2019d done too many of these sprints this go-around, and was settled into giving up.<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

You\u2019re racing against your 90-day and 365-day bests, as well as other people\u2019s bests. There is also a new jersey that you see there as well for top wattages. There are six of these segments spread around the New York map now.<\/p>\n

The New Routes & Pavement:<\/p>\n

Next up, here\u2019s the listing of all the new routes available. Here are the details on kilometers per route, plus the elevation gain. As always, keep in mind that many (most?) of these routes are basically just overlapping and reverse variants of each other, and\/or include other bits of existing pavement. In the case of the below, I\u2019ve linked it to ZwiftInsider, which has more details about each route.<\/p>\n

Cycling Routes:<\/p>\n

Avon Flyer<\/a> (5.1km, 30m)<\/p>\n

Double Parked<\/a> (42.2km, 330m)<\/p>\n

Double Span Spin<\/a> (12.6km, 120m)<\/p>\n

Fuhgeddaboudit<\/a> (79km, 838m)<\/p>\n

Green to Screen<\/a> (28.4km, 207m)<\/p>\n

Issendorf Express<\/a> (7.3km, 53m)<\/p>\n

Prospect Park Loop<\/a> (5.5km, 37m)<\/p>\n

Spinfinity<\/a> (19.3km, 155m)<\/p>\n

Spinfinity Ultra<\/a> (35km, 291m)<\/p>\n

Stay Puft Pursuit<\/a> (31.2km, 416m)<\/p>\n

The Double Borough<\/a> (17.9km, 147m)<\/p>\n

The Greenway<\/a> (36.8km, 292m)<\/p>\n

Toefield Tornado<\/a> (10.3km, 53m)<\/p>\n

Watts the Limit<\/a> (31km, 219m)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at all the routes, in terms of the map overview, and the details:<\/p>\n

And then, in a nod to treadmill runners, they\u2019ve added these three new running routes:<\/p>\n

Running Routes: <\/p>\n

Avon Flyer Run: 3.3km; 24m
Prospect Park Loop Run: 5.5km; 37m
Toefield Tornado Run: 10.3km; 53m<\/p>\n

Got all that? Good, let\u2019s go ride.<\/p>\n

First Ride Thoughts:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

In my case, the first route I did was the Watts the Limit route. This route essentially starts in Central Park, and then immediately leaves Central Park to go via Times Square towards Prospect Park. Albeit, it does this by traversing the majority of Manhattan, including the Manhattan Bridge (there\u2019s also a route that includes the Brooklyn Bridge, such the Double Borough).<\/p>\n

However, as you approach Times Square, you actually dip below it. I guess I kinda hoped you\u2019d ride through the middle of it at street level. But nope, below we go:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

In fact, the vast majority of the route across Manhattan is either below ground in F-Zero style subway tunnels, or above it on an elevated roadway. The subway stations are interesting, and remind me of aspects of the London map.<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve seen elevated roadways in New York previously of course. But I do feel like between these two aspects, we don\u2019t actually get as much super-unique terrain as you might think. Or at least, it feels pretty repetitive.<\/p>\n

In the case of the Watts the Limit route that I did initially, you\u2019re essentially traversing all of Manhattan to touch the gates of Prospect Park, only to go all the way back again (you don\u2019t enter the Prospect Park loop). Something like the \u2018Double Parked\u2019 loop would accomplish that, and also include full loop around Central Park too.<\/p>\n

So for my next route, I did \u2018Green to Screen\u2019, which is roughly the reverse of the previous route, except that you start in Prospect Park and do a loop of it, before doing an above-ground loop of Times Square. Also, this time you hit both the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan bridges.<\/p>\n

Starting off in Prospect Park, it pretty much feels like Central Park, but with a different name:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

From there it\u2019s across the Manhattan Bridge, before dropping back down to street level and below for the traverse across Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

This is a good time to point out the F-Zero style escalators. These zip you right up to the top of each climb, no matter how much (or little) you pedal. For fun, I did a few attempts where I slowed down to as slow as I could get it \u2013 about 3KPH, and then boom, as soon as my wheel hit, I was up at about 23-25KPH for the 20% climb, zero pedaling:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

After that, you\u2019re up above Times Square, doing a bunch of loops of sorts. I\u2019ll say this is the only kinda disappointing bit about this map addition. Despite going through Times Square twice (once below, and once above), you are never actually at street level. And more than that, it just doesn\u2019t seem all that exciting (especially compared to the real thing).<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

In any event, after that I did the Manhattan traverse before hitting the Brooklyn Bridge. I noted that just like New York City, Zwift too, gave up here, and simply let it be the ugly that it is in real life.<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

After that, you zip back down a few kilometers before dropping into Prospect park to repeat it all again.<\/p>\n

Wrap-Up:<\/p>\n

\"Vlcsnap<\/p>\n

The routes will be available later today for Stage 4 of Zwift Unlocked, and then also available once the New York City map is next available on the schedule.<\/p>\n

Overall, I like the new routes, and in general, and I think it makes the New York map feel quite a bit bigger than it really is \u2013 which is nice. I do really wish Times Square had more\u2026well\u2026something\u2026to it, as it\u2019s trademark thing is a massive overwhelming amount of energy, and this really lacked that.<\/p>\n

But the touches put into the underground stations (including differing styles), as well as the Manhattan bridge are well done as always. And I\u2019m keen to see how people leverage the F-Zero escalators in Zwift Racing.<\/p>\n

With that \u2013 thanks for reading!<\/p>\n

FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!<\/p>\n

Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a DC RAINMAKER Supporter<\/a>. This gets you an ad-free experience, and access to our (mostly) bi-monthly behind-the-scenes video series of \u201cShed Talkin\u2019<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Support DCRainMaker – Shop\u00a0on\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Otherwise, perhaps consider using the below link if shopping on Amazon<\/a>. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It doesn\u2019t cost you anything extra, but your purchases help support this website a lot. It could simply be buying toilet paper<\/a>, or this pizza oven<\/a> we use and love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this fall Zwift announced a bunch of new features that\u2019ll roll out over the course of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85,76418],"class_list":{"0":"post-245363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-zwift"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}