The Tour 2023

Challenges and Achievements
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Thought I’d add my 2c worth, as one of those ‘new fans’.

I’ve been with SYSTM for 6 months now. I was hooked afted my first SUF video, didn’t even complete my free trial, just signed up straight away. Jumped in, did FF a week later and have been loving my training since.

The things that appealed to me included the structured training, the sports science, the community, and definitely the zany humour. I was so drawn in that I researched Sufferlandrian history and folk lore. I pretty much mentally committed to the TOS and doing my knighthood in 2023 in the first month.

So why didn’t I join Sufferlandria before, I hear you ask. Simply, because I didn’t know enough about it. I had heard of The Sufferfest, but I admit to being a bit scared of it. I guess that’s what Wahoo is trying to rectify. There is still a large untapped market out there (based on my smallish ride group in my smallish town in my small country). And many serious cyclists I know would love Sufferlandria.

However, as many folks have said, there surely has to be a place for the Sufferlandria of old and the newer (tamer???), Wahoo X? I’ve used all the big names for indoor training, and this is the best by far. I’m not going anywhere, but I would be devastated to see Sufferlandria annexed. I want to be able to convince my riding buddies to join SYSTM for all the marvellous reasons so many people have stuck around for a decade.

So, yes, lots of new fans out there. We too :heart: Sufferlandria. Long live The Tour of Sufferlandria! I hope it’s modelled on historical tours. If not, I’m sure it will still be challenging. And of course, it’s a great way to come together, all over the world, to ride our bikes to raise money for DPF and awareness of Parkinsons.

Here’s a great read: Meet Ethan: 8-Year-Old Wunderkind - Davis Phinney Foundation

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+1 from 2015

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Don’t care about the name, suffering is suffering and it is always what you make it.
Do care about the date, would prefer something more in ‘winter’ as March runs the risk of being nice weather for outdoor riding.

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In AZ…everything before May is nice riding :slight_smile: I have racing in Feb. My hope is to use the advantage of Systm and Roam to mix indoor/outdoor time – S. Hemisphere it is outdoor time too.

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It’s not really a new direction though… it’s been going on since the takeover.

The direction has been pretty obvious since they decided to change the flag and crest… they’ve just been smart enough to make it very gradual.

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image

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Let us know if you need any KoS tips - there’s a Facebook group for it as well “Sufferlandrian Knighthood Quest Planning Committee”.

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I’m not sure I agree with that. While I really miss the bleeding eyes, there were very valid reasons for changing the red/white/black insignia as it resembled a horrendous period of German/world history. I do miss the original decals mind you…

I still believe 100% in @David.McQuillen.KoS 's vision for this fair land, and as someone who has had to lead a company through 2020, and fire people, losing folks that we in the Sufferfest community consider family must be unbelievably hard for him and the rest of the team.

It is a really really bad time in the economy, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see folks return if they want to and the economic times change. All I want is a fun Sufferlandria themed tour, what I can hopefully participate in post-COVID recovery.

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Indeed.

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I wouldn’t count on it too much. I think Sufferlandria/Sufferfest will slowly be erased, as a legacy brand. Do I think it’s an error? Yes. But I’m not a manager at Wahoo, so what do I know. And I can only hope that killing that strong brand will be worth it for Wahoo/SYSTM in the long term, as the alternative would be really depressing.

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@moose Rue the Day was new, Revolver was remastered, a remastered Omnium is being worked on, a new video similar to Recharger is coming out, The Model is new. Why would they be doing all of this if they are just going to kill the channel?

Personally, for me riding the tour will always be about suffering as a community and raising funds for the Davis Phinney Foundation. So I will be there for the tour in 2023.

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Because there is still legacy staff committed to producing Sufferfest content? But after the recent layoffs, there’s not a lot of them anymore, which means they’ll have less weight in the decision making process? I don’t think firing original staff is only based on the fact they cost more, it’s also because they are the ones defending their original vision. Once the “ancients” are all gone, nobody will do Sufferfest content. And then nobody will ask for Sufferfest content, because it’s just a channel for legacy content in the app.
I don’t even argue with the strategy (except I think it’s wrong), Wahoo purchased Sufferfest, they can do whatever they think is best for Wahoo. I’m just sad to see something I loved being slowly transformed into legacy stuff.
And I do love some of the new content, like On Location or A Week With, but to me it has a major issue: repeatability. I can do an old Suf workout over an over again, but once I’ve done a “narration driven” workout such as OL or AWW, the next time it pops up in a training plan (if ever), I’ll do it with the sound off, listening to a podcast or what I get a video.
In Suf videos, the narration is meant to get you through the hard workout, it’s a vital part of it. Other videos like AWW, OL or Inspiration tell a story, like a documentary, and I don’t find them that interesting after the first time. But that’s just the way I see it, it probably doesn’t apply to everyone out there :sweat_smile:.

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Optimist? Pessimist? Does it matter?
They will do what they will do, and I will make my decision as I see what happens.

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It probably doesn’t, but then again, never getting any negative feedback for a company is not the best thing either.

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@moose Note that Sir David and Sir Francois are the content team for Sufferfest and they are both still with Wahoo. Sir Cody worked on Inspiration videos.

https://wahoox.forum.wahoofitness.com/t/nov-8-join-the-wahoo-systm-content-team-on-rgt/20062?u=jsampson

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Yes, they’re the last two holdouts from the original content team.

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@Heretic Agreed - the multichannel format works for me and the value at $15 per month price point is tough to beat - videos, yoga, strength, training plans, virtual riding and racing on RGT. But it is definitely a crowded space and as we have seen many times before, the best product doesn’t always win.

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Boom. Same here. I will redo the odd on location that I love the scenery on, but the rest is like a tv show for me. Not likely to revisit. Sufferfest videos work, repeatedly for me, and those plus 4dp is why I joined/am here at all.

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I have given plenty of negative feedback, but worrying about feedback I might have to give in the future, or worrying about what might happen, is counterproductive.

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Fair enough.