Zwift: It’s not just for Parents anymore!
Zwift, the 3D cycling world represented by your computer paired with your bicycle’s sensors and a small USB radio adapter, has become so popular and so entrenched in the colder season’s months when we typically spend more time inside than out, that even our younglings have begun to notice!
They don’t just notice us riding or our gear set up in our “pain caves”, but they want to try, they want to participate and they want their own character on the screen with the “cool shirts and bikes” too.
But getting someone much younger than us into the game isn’t as straightforward as it was for us. They are motivated by very different goals and desires than we are.
While we might ride on Zwift to increase our FTP, upgrade our fitness level, lose some of that extra Thanksgiving and Christmas roast from our backside, or recover slowly from an illness or medical procedure, our children want to jump in for the pure, unscripted joy of riding, competing and winning those “neat blue thumbs” (RideOns) or making it to new levels to earn new gear. Let’s face it though, we’re excited to reach that new level and unlock gear too!
So let’s talk about how we get our junior riders up and running on Zwift, and how we can support and encourage them to continue enjoying the sport, not just indoors during the winter season, but also outdoors when the weather warms up and the roads are clear of the white snow.
(more…)