Another cold day out. Perfect excuse to ride the trainer. I had to decide where to ride. Zwift had the France / Paris maps going today. I didn't feel like riding either of them. I rode Watopia the other day. So, I checked out Rouvy and RGT. I decided to ride on Rouvy as the Saris H3 Smart Trainer included a 31 day membership voucher. I found a map that fit my appetite. It was the Grand Canyon route. About 20 miles with over 1100 feet of elevation gain. I added about 30 bots to make things interesting. You can add them according to their average wattages. I think they are based on previous riders on this course. I forgot to bring my Garmin GPS to compare wattages. It felt almost identical to Zwift in effort and the reading it was obtaining. It's supposed to rain in two days, so I'll be sure to bring my GPS on that ride. Rouvy is a photo-realistic "game". Someone drove their car on the route and recorded it with a video camera. Then, they did a bit of programming magic to project your avatar onto the road. The scenery was in HD, but I can tell that it had quite a bit of compression and wasn't 100% crisp. But it was plenty to captivate the attention. It felt realistic in terms of what it felt on the climbs and the corresponding speed. In terms of wattage readings, it felt very similar to Zwift. The body felt good today. Didn't take much to get fully warmed up. In the meantime, I was studying the metrics displayed on the screen. I made it to the front of the pack within the first 10 minutes. From there, it was a solo ride off the front. Compared to Zwift, the scenery is more captivating because it just feels so familiar. I was putting out 3 W/kg + on the climbs and around 2 to 2.5 W/kg on the false flats. I got out what I wanted. It was a solid 1 hour workout. Concentration was good. I was in the zone. Being the first time in a while since I've ridden on Rouvy. Balance and form felt good. The front end feels more stable than the home-made block that I normally use on the trainer. Gear worked perfect. No issues with the trainer or bike. The trainer is VERY stable and provides just a hint of give while putting the power down. Ailments were minimal. The left knee has a hint of soreness while rotating, but it never escalated or detracted from the ride. Nutrition was good. I had to feed half an apple and a portion of banana. It definitely held me over. Other notes, I plan on riding on Rouvy on Wed and will bring my GPS for comparison. Slight chance I'll join a virtual group ride.