Virtual Active: Panama Ride

     Panama Bike is one of the new releases in Virtual Active’s Bike Series 2 and it may easily become one of my favourite VA rides :) It’s led by Elliott Bringman, who’s new to VA.  I really enjoyed him as a trainer and this ride seemed to fly by.

Length: 55 minutes

Format:  Elliott calls this a “foundation ride that’s great for beginners and experienced cyclists alike”.  He never really explains exactly why it’s a foundation ride but I think it’s because it covers all the “basics” (cadence changes, seated climbs,  standing climbs, pedal drills, etc) while not being super challenging. Like all VA workouts, it’s divided into 5-minute stages. I like that there’s a bit of everything in this workout, including a good deal of standing work, which is my favourite. Even though there are some cadence changes, I would have liked some real sprints. Here’s the profile:

Music: I liked the music in the Panama ride much more than in Chilean Patagonia and Costa Rica. It’s a good mix of instrumental and vocals—some pop, some hip hop, some rap. It’s very fun and upbeat.

Footage: the footage is varied and stunning.  Each stage features different terrain, which is something I love about VA workouts. Some of the locales visited are Panama City, the famous Canal and locks, a rainforest and an island beach. I really liked that this ride had two urban stages, which is something that’s been lacking in Bike Series 2 so far. 

Difficulty: as Elliott points out, the Panama ride is great for beginners since it isn’t too difficult but it’s also great for more experienced riders who don’t want to go all-out. The most challenging parts for me were the seated climbs. 7/10 for difficulty.

Other Random Thoughts:  there really isn’t anything about the Panama ride that I didn’t like. Elliott is great, the scenery is gorgeous and varied, the music is fun and the ride itself has a lot of variety. The only little things that I would change would be to add in some sprints and maybe up the challenge a bit. But overall, I loved this ride. 9/10.