Daily Archive: November 5, 2015

The Soul of Zwift – by Frank Garcia

November 5, 2015 0 Comments

As the Zwift community explodes I thought I would offer an observation on the soul of Zwift. Zwift.com sums it up and gets the priority right:

  1. Zwift is social
  2. Zwift is competitive
  3. Zwift is your training partner

Now the Zwift team has come up with a great workout mode and by all accounts it is going to be a winner. Awesome stuff, great job! That being said, however, the Zwift team might want to look at those website priorities. It is the social nature of Zwift, and for some its competitive nature, that makes Zwift unique. Can you say “events”? Can you say “clubs”? Can you say “teams”?

Judging by the community response to providing solutions to this missing element in the Zwift website/application these are the compelling propositions in Zwift’s future. Sure people will use workout mode, they will pay for it, but in a way it runs contrary to Zwift’s soul. It is anti-social.

Zwift, and its members, want events. That is Zwift’s soul. That Eric Min is what is going to keep people using Zwift, month after month, year after year. Tam Burns has outdone himself with the World’s Event. Jonathan Pait has constructed a team’s site that is getting lots of use. The community is crying out for this functionality.

This is not a knock on the Zwift team. What you have done is amazing. This is just a bit of nudge to the Zwift team to prioritize these items. Charlie Issendorf help us champion these efforts and make them a proper part of Zwift. The sooner the better.
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#‎RideOn‬ in all those great events this weekend. I am jealous I didn’t have enough rest to do them (been doing to many Zwift events it seems). I will, however, be a spectator as Nathan Guerra and GCN have shown just how interesting Zwift events are to watch.

Community

A Seuss’ian Zoem – by Jonathan Lemon

November 5, 2015 0 Comments

Zwift

People who cycle
have various goals:
from racing to fitness
or avoiding car tolls.

Spinning those pedals
and turning that chain
should be merry and fun
but is sometimes a pain.

To ride in the rain
in a soaking downpour
that chills to the bone
and makes riding a chore.

Avoiding the dangers
of multi ton cars
whose drivers are texting
while homeward from bars.

Or hazardous thorns
with perilous spikes
which puncture and rend
the tubes on your bike.

The summer’s sun scorching
which blisters unseen
because you were careless
applying sunscreen.

Outside is not pleasant
as riding inside
in comfort and warmth
with coffee besides.

By training indoors
these things are laid low
but boredom approaches
along with the snow.

Zwift has created
a way to make tame
converting this training
into a fun game.

For workouts that strain
for a personal best
presuming you did
your FTP test.

As breathing gets ragged
and heartbeats do pound
throughout on the course
going round and around.

Sweat will pool and puddle
underneath your bike
while on screen you’re riding
your virtual trike.

From Richmond to Jarvis
are courses to ride
with terrain that varies
and squirrels that hide.

The kit is varied, so
jerseys collect
from Strava and Kona
to Jaguar and Trek.

We set Everest records
for riding uphill
While races are speedy
and spin out downhill.

The races are present
and Cats get to play
to challenge each other
in a virtual way.

We climb and we sprint
there are jeresys replete
for orange, green or dots
the riders compete.

Endurance rides increase
as riders get fit
or centuries repeated
for black and grey kit.

The weekends are social
with friendly group rides
which people can join
and RideOn with pride.

Convenient training
means fitness is greater.
As all good Zwifters know:
Zwift now, win later!

Community