Virtual Active: Tierra Del Fuego

    Today I tried the Tierra Del Fuego ride from Virtual Active’s Bike Series 2. It’s led by Katie Jaime, who’s a new Virtual Active trainer. I thought she was just OK leading this one—she wasn’t bad but something about her seemed a bit robotic at times. Tierro del Fuego is at the southernmost tip of Argentina and Katie describes it as “The End of the Earth” several times.

Length: 55 minutes

Format: Katie calls the Tierra del Fuego ride a “strength ride” that will “build your mental and physical muscles.” I agree that the focus is on strength as there’s a good deal of seated climbs in this one. There’s also some one-pedal drills and a few (short) sprints. But the emphasis is on strength as you’re often in a moderate to heavy gear. It’s pretty much all uphill. Here’s the profile:

           

Music: with the exception of the Panama ride I‘ve thought that most of the music in Bike Series 2 is kind of “meh” and Tierra del Fuego did nothing to change my mind. The music is all instrumental with a rather bland and generic dancey beat.

Footage: Tierra del Fuego has a desolate but stunning beauty. But, as with the Chilean Patagonia ride, the footage seems repetitive at times. Be prepared for lots of riding towards distant mountains with a lake or river off to one side. A lot of the ride centers around the Beagle Channel and the town of Ushuaia. I loved the scenery but feel like seeing the same type of terrain throughout the entire ride made it drag slightly. But it is absolutely breathtaking:

Difficulty: most of the Tierra del Fuego ride was moderately challenging, with most of the challenge coming from the seated climbs. The most difficult stages were the final three (not including the cooldown). Katie describes these stages as a 15-minute climb, but that’s a bit misleading. I’d say it’s more like 15 minutes of climbing intervals, since you’re not continuously climbing for those 15 minutes. You get a few easier intervals and a few rests in there. 8/10 for difficulty.

Other Random Thoughts: my own personal preferences probably mean I won’t be reaching for the Tierra del Fuego ride too often. Seated climbs aren’t a favourite of mine (which probably means I should do them more often, not less), It isn’t a bad workout by any stretch but I have so many other VA workouts that I enjoy so much more. 7/10.

     I leave you with one of my favourite views from the ride. You can see the town of Ushuaia in the foreground, with the Beagle Channel behind it and Chile far in the distance: