Originally Posted by
spelger
i like the idea of being able to ride in various places around the world
Have you tried one of the video based apps like Rouvy? I find those best for simulating real world rides and scenery. Rouvy in particular with its AR feature (super-imposing rider avatars in the video) on selected routes. I still mainly use Zwift for group rides and racing, but I use Rouvy to reccy real world rides. You can even get a feeling of deja vous when you eventually come to ride the same route IRL! But I haven't entered any races in Rouvy, so don't know how well attended they are. They won't have Zwift numbers for sure, but then I often find Zwift over-crowded in big events.
I keep meaning to try RGT too. I have the apps loaded up, but never got round to trying it. It looks like a decent alternative to Zwift and more focused on real life routes. I wish Zwift would create more real life routes and iconic mountain climbs like they did with Ventoux last year. In many ways I prefer a well modelled 3D world to HD video as it feels a bit more interactive and 3-dimensional than a video. But I'm not a huge fan of Zwift's "fantasy" worlds. So I usually ride in their realistic worlds and just wish there were more of them.