The Joy of Riding Z1: Going Slow, Thinking Happy

You probably know that feeling, a rider passes you on a climb. I am doing a Zone 1 training, a very slow pace. To stay in this interval, I need to deliberately hold myself back, watch my numbers, keep the pedals and breathing light. The rider surged past, out of the saddle, all proud, and could not help himself and threw me a “supportive cheer”: come on, you can do it. A couple of months back, I would probably have said something back or accelerated to pass him. Two weeks ago, I just smiled and kept my thoughts to myself.

Zone 1 is not Zone 2

Zone 1 is the easiest pace of cycling training, also called recovery. The magic pace where our body can actually repair itself while we’re still moving. The effort is so light that it doesn’t add new stress, but it keeps blood flowing, clears out leftover lactate, and helps the muscles and joints reset.

Also interesting, and a misconception I hear quite often when someone says “I am riding an easy recovery ride, Z2” is not quite correct. Zone 2 is still relatively easy, but it prioritises building endurance rather than recovery. That means you don’t heal as well in Z2 as you do in Z1.

The Awkward Truth

The truth is, until I started structuring my three month blocks of training to boost FTP, I had never ridden a proper Z1. It first got introduced into my schedule after hard interval sessions. Before this, I thought I was taking it easy sometimes, but in reality I was always drifting higher. Riding really easy felt alien, and probably my ego was the biggest enemy.

What It Does for the Body

The body responds to Z1 in quiet, background ways. You don’t get the muscle burn of intervals or the satisfaction of hitting a new personal best. But research shows it matters.

Spending big chunks of training time at low intensity builds endurance that lasts. It helps your body rely more on fat as fuel, develops mitochondria, and increases capillary density so your muscles get blood and oxygen more efficiently. It even helps clear waste products and speeds up recovery more effectively than doing nothing. None of it feels dramatic in the moment. But add it up, and you notice: more durability, better recovery, smoother legs the next day.

The Mind Game

Z1 isn’t tough on the legs, but it’s tough on the mind.

Going deliberately slow when everyone else is flying past you is the real challenge of this training. My first Z1 rides were full of speed envy. But after a while, something changed. Instead of getting annoyed at being slow, somehow, I started to enjoy it. It started with the deliberate understanding of the irreplaceable benefits in my training. Now I notice I am very chill, I smile more, I notice the landscape, the sounds, even my own breathing. I stop chasing. I just ride. And that does something deeper than any interval session ever did.

This is probably very logical knowing the effect these rides have on our nervous system. Hard efforts tax it, Z1 doesn’t. Instead, it promotes relaxation, lowers stress hormones like cortisol, and can improve heart rate variability — a marker of recovery.

What I’ve Noticed

1. After a hard interval session, a Z1 day followed by a full rest day feels deeply restorative.
2. Stress levels go down. It feels like therapy on the bike.
3. It forces patience, which is harder than watts.
4. It builds durability. The base for the harder stuff.
5. It brings joy. Joy in just being on the bike, not proving anything.

Things to Keep in Mind

• It’s very easy to drift out of Z1 without noticing. A little gradient, a bit of pressure, and you’re already too high.
• It doesn’t have to be long epic rides. A few shorter Z1 sessions done right are more valuable than one endless “easy” day where you push too hard.
• Z1 doesn’t replace intensity. It balances it. Without it, the hard sessions don’t land as well.

Riding slow is harder than it looks. But it’s also more enriching than I expected. It resets my body and clears my mind. For years I thought training meant pushing. Now I know some of the most important rides are the slowest ones. Zone 1 taught me that not every ride has to be about speed, watts, or numbers. Sometimes the best training is letting go.

Have you ever tried a real Z1 ride? What did your mind do when your legs weren’t asked much?