Route Workouts

Ride Cave now lets you attach a structured interval workout to any route. Instead of choosing between a route or a workout, you can do both at the same time. Your trainer holds the power target from the workout while you ride through the route's terrain, and your virtual speed still reflects the road beneath you.

How It Works

Open any route and tap Attach Workout to link an interval workout to it. You can attach any workout from your library or your custom workouts. When you start the route, the workout's intervals run alongside the ride. A linked workout badge appears on the start button so you always know what you're getting into.

During the ride, the workout controls your trainer's resistance through ERG mode while the route controls your virtual position on the map. Your live chart tracks power over distance along the route, and a separate overview chart shows your interval targets on a time axis so you can see both perspectives at once.

ERG Mode on a Route

Normally, routes use simulation mode exclusively. The trainer follows the grade of the road and you control your power output through effort and virtual shifting. There is no way to set a power target because the terrain dictates resistance. Route workouts change this. When intervals are active, the trainer switches to ERG mode and holds the target wattage from your workout, just like a regular indoor workout.

The key difference is that your virtual speed is still tied to the terrain. The physics engine solves for the speed you would sustain at your current power on the route's actual grade. Holding 250 watts on a flat section might put you at 38 km/h, but holding the same 250 watts on an 8% climb slows you to around 12 km/h. You feel a constant resistance from ERG, but your avatar moves through the route at a realistic pace.

What Happens When Intervals End

When you finish the last interval, a completion sound plays and the workout overlay freezes, but the ride keeps going. The trainer automatically switches back to simulation mode and the route's grade takes over resistance. You feel the terrain again. If you have virtual shifting enabled, your gears become active at this point and you can shift up and down to adjust the resistance to your liking.

This means you can pair a 30-minute interval session with a 50 km route and spend the rest of the ride exploring the terrain in full simulation mode. The ride auto-completes when you reach the end of the route, or you can stop manually at any time.

Virtual Shifting and ERG

Virtual shifting and ERG mode are mutually exclusive by design. Virtual shifting works by adding a grade offset to the trainer's simulation parameters. Shifting to a harder gear increases the virtual grade, making the trainer resist more. Shifting easier decreases it. This only makes sense when the trainer is in simulation mode and following grade, not when ERG is locking resistance to a power target.

During a route workout, this plays out naturally. While intervals are active in ERG, shifting is disabled because the workout controls the load. Once the intervals end and the trainer switches to simulation mode, virtual shifting comes back online. You can also manually toggle from ERG to simulation mode during an interval if you want to feel the terrain and shift through it instead of holding a fixed target. Freeride intervals also use simulation mode, so shifting works during those as well.

The Toggle

The ERG/simulation toggle in the player is enabled during active intervals so you have full control. Want to feel the climb instead of holding a flat power target? Switch to simulation mode and the route's grade takes over. Want structured power? Switch back to ERG. After the workout's intervals are done, the toggle disables and the trainer stays in simulation mode for the rest of the route. Pure routes without a linked workout never show the toggle at all.

Plan It on the Calendar

Routes with linked workouts fit into your training schedule just like any other session. You can add routes directly to your calendar so they appear on the day you plan to ride. You can also attach routes to events and flyers when creating group rides or races, so everyone in the group knows the course ahead of time.

Getting Started

Open any route in the Routes tab, tap Attach Workout, and pick an interval session. The linked workout appears on the route card with a green indicator. Hit start and your trainer handles the rest. After the intervals, keep riding and enjoy the road.