Author Archive: setuid

I am a technically-sophisticated, business-savvy management-level professional, software architect, developer and engineer with strong leadership qualities and over two decades of solid experience in the industry. I am currently a VP in Data Management Engineering at an international bank and financial services firm in downtown Manhattan, NY. Recently, I've been spending much of my time focusing on delivering high-performance, scalable architectural solutions to broad, complex infrastructure and data management problems and ensuring there exists a very tight coupling and integration with the various Design, Platform and Engineering teams.

Be Cool Cycling Indoors: Why fans are so important!

January 15, 2017 0 Comments


Each winter season across the hemispheres, we see this topic come up again and again, in various online cycling forums and the Zwift Riders Facebook group.

“Do I need a fan while cycling indoors, even when it’s cold inside my workout space?”

We often see people showcasing their “Pain Caves” with beautiful photos, but one thing that is missing from time to time, is the fan, or some other active active cooling system. Do they really need a cooling fan?

The answer is, unequivocally, YES!

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Health

Thursday Gervais Dubina’s story and her quest to smash the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme event!

January 12, 2017 0 Comments


Sometimes life gives us challenges and sometimes we seek them out. It’s my turn to choose!

My name is Thursday Gervais, I am a cancer survivor, I am an ultra-distance cyclist, and I will be the first female to race my bicycle 9,224 km across Russia in 25 days, 14 stages, setting a new world record!

I am competing in the RedBull Trans-Siberian Extreme. It’s the world’s longest and toughest bicycle race. Twice the distance of the Race Across America, and I’m doing it solo!

But here is the important part…

I want to show other women and girls that there are no limits to what they can do, including ultra-distance cycling and, in the process; I will be raising money for the National Kidney Foundation and Organ Donor Awareness.

Why the National Kidney Foundation? I’m taking Denile Hill, fellow cyclist, with me on this adventure as my support person. She has had a kidney transplant and spent 12 years on dialysis awaiting the second transplant. Without the NKF Denile would not be here to support me.

I need your support to cross that finish line in Vladivostok.

Donations will be used in part, to get us to Russia and back, purchase items we are unable to acquire through sponsors and incidentals that may occur while we are in Russia. The majority of the money raised will go to the NKF. Please consider donating and please share our story with others, whether they be survivors, family, friends or just people who care.

Who Inspires You?

I am dedicating every stage of my race to an inspirational person. There are 14 total stages and I want to know who you’d like to dedicate a stage to. Who has inspired you? Please share your story with me on my website and tell me how this person has inspired you and maybe even countless others and why you’d like a stage dedicated to them.

How This Works

Between now and Jan.8, 2017 and leave me a name and the reason you’d like to dedicate a stage in the RBTSE to that person. It can be anyone, living or lovingly remembered. On Monday January 9, 2017, I will announce stage dedications on www.thursdaygervais.com and social media. I will be asking you to then share this announcement and my gofundme page with everyone you know, after all, I am raising $100k for the National Kidney Foundation. We you donate to the gofundme page, in the comments, leave the name of the person you are dedicating your donation to.

Why Dedicating a Stage is Important

For my race, the RedBull Trans-Siberian Extreme, the shortest stage is 198 miles and my longest is 849 miles. When you’re cycling for someone else, it’s easier to keep going.

Charity cyclists know that when they get to the toughest parts in the race, thinking of the people/causes they’re supporting can help them to keep going. Each day before the start I will read the story of the person who the stage has been dedicated to and when the going gets tough I’ll have them, and you, to pull me along.

Thanks to all for your support and enthusiasm.

Here is the fun part: the person who has the most funds donated in their name on my gofundme page (Cycling for the National Kidney Foundation) will have a special donation made to the National Kidney Foundation in their name and the person who nominated them will receive a signed print of my painting “Road To Russia”.

Please support me on my journey. There are many ways you can help..

Helpful Links to learn more!

In the News:

Bloomington ultra-cyclist headed to Russian extreme race

Community, Zwiftographies

Zwift: It’s not just for Parents anymore!

January 24, 2016 0 Comments

New to ZwiftZwift, 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.
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Community

Share your inspirational Zwift story with others!

January 9, 2016 0 Comments

Do you have an inspirational story to share? Personal struggles you’ve had to overcome to get where you are, and get on the bike? Tough medical history, accident, trauma or unexpected health condition that you pushed past to keep riding?

We want to hear about it, and so does Zwift!

This site is the meeting place for stories, anecdotes, HOWTOs and other great stories from fellow Zwifters and community ombudspersons. Feel free to log in and create your own story, content or material to share with others.

Most-recently, Derek has written a very detailed and touching story about his triumph over cancer and personal struggle. I’ve also written my own short biography and I would love to encourage others to do the same!

Zwift is now accepting the stories you write and submit and compiling them into a monthly series they’re calling “The #ZwiftEffect”. Each month, a new inspirational story will be shared and published in their series.

Scotty Typing
Zwift is all about our amazing community. Without you, we’d be riding alone in our pain caves with no one to share our workouts with. Since launch, we’ve been blown away by all of the inspirational stories that have come from people like you who are using Zwift. We’d love to share these stories with the rest of the community in a new blog/film series we’re calling “The #ZwiftEffect”

The #ZwiftEffect will feature stories about riders like you from all over the globe where Zwift has made an impact on their lives. Whether you’ve become faster in your local ride, used Zwift during an injury/illness, seen a significant weight loss or just got back on the bike after a long break, we want to hear about it!

If you’d like your story to be considered, please take a moment to:

  1. Contact us at mystory@zwift.com, with the subject line “My Story”
  2. Describe your story in a few paragraphs. Tell us who you are, where you live, how long you’ve been cycling and how Zwift has affected your life.
  3. Include some hi-res photos (at least 935 pixels x 550 pixels) of yourself, your Zwift station, and anything else that helps color your story.

We’re excited to bring you this monthly series that spotlights your inspirational stories from around the world. Every Zwifter has a story. We can’t wait to hear yours.

Ride On!

So get on it, write your story today and be a part of the growing community that helps to encourage, inspire and motivate others to keep pedaling on! #RideOn!

Uncategorized, Zwiftographies

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

Welcome to the friendly and growing Zwift community!

January 12, 2012

Zwift is an online platform where we, the Zwift community, have turned cycling into a social experience! We all believe that the best parts about cycling are the places you go and the people you go there with.

Outdoor cycling is great. But weather, traffic, time constraints and distance from other cyclists can take the fun out of it. That’s why Zwift has created a new destination that places you and your bike into immersive, detailed, 3D landscapes with other cyclists from around the world.

Now you can ride with anyone at anytime from anywhere.

This site was put togther in the hopes that it would help pull the community together with racer and rider biographies, stories, anecdotes, event information and anything else the community wants to share with others.

Jump in and #RideOn!

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