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You might have seen the videos of us riding on Zwift
You might have seen the videos of us training on Zwift
And you will definitely, I'm pretty sure, have seen a video of us
racing Jens Voigt on Zwift.
but if you're actually not familiar with
how you use it, then let's talk you through it. Here are the answers to
some common Zwift questions and some of the key features.
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- To ride on Zwift, you need an account
so head over to zwift.com to get it set up.
Now you can start with a free trial,
and then after that, you will pay a monthly subscription,
and then in order to be able to actually ride,
all we need is an indoor trainer,
and then some way of telling Zwift how hard you're pedalling.
Now at its most basic,
that could just be a speed sensor like this Wahoo one
that will tell Zwift how fast your back wheel is spinning,
that will be either via your computer or your iPad
or even your iPhone, whatever the device
you're choosing to use it on.
Then a power meter will more accurately communicate
your power to Zwift but if you want to take it
to another level, then a so-called smart trainer
will actually interact with Zwift
so not only will it tell Zwift how hard you're pedalling
but it will also change the resistance that you feel
at the pedals depending on what's actually going on on Zwift
so if you ride up a hill or downhill,
you will know about it
as you will in fact if you are slipstreaming
behind another rider.
Now don't forget a towel
and also plenty of liquid,
you want to stay hydrated,
and also actually try and set your bike up
in a well-ventilated room or with a fan
in order to help keep you cool.
And finally before we get started,
if you're connecting to Zwift via laptop or your computer,
then downloading the Zwift mobile link
from the app store to your phone will be great idea
'cause it means you can actually use this.
It's like a remote control.
You control a whole host of little features and functions,
which we will get on to later.
The only thing you need to bear in mind
is that your phone is connected to the same WiFi network
as your computer or laptop.
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Now there are three different worlds
that you can ride in on Zwift,
all containing a variation of different routes.
I'm in first time.
(laughing)
There is Watopia, the South Pacific paradise
containing eight different routes
with over 42 kilometres of road.
And then there's two real-world virtual worlds,
the first of which
is the Richmond 2015 UCI World Road Race course
with four routes and just under 19 kilometres of road
including some cobbled climbs.
The other you can opt for is London
and the 2016 Prudential RideLondon courses.
Choose between flying past iconic London landmarks,
or head into the countryside
of 27 1/2 kilometres of road.
The calendar showing when each course
is available to ride on can be found just here.
- [Simon] Now all we need to do
is choose our route and hit ride.
(bicycle whirring)
- Now even if you're riding on a set route,
you can at any time of the given junction
change your direction using your mobile phone
so I've changed and go left,
and now go straight on.
And also at any point you want,
you can see a mate coming on the way for example,
you can do a U-turn.
There we go.
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This is the main screen that you will see
when riding on Zwift
so let's take a look at what you'll see.
Top left, they're your metrics
so power, beats per minute, and revolutions per minute.
In the centre at the top,
that's the current speed,
that's the distance elapsed,
that's your current elevation,
and that is the time since you started.
And over on the top right, we have two profiles,
the first of which is a zoom in
on where you are on the course
including the gradient of the climb
that Simon is currently riding on,
and these little floating arrows
are the riders that are new to you,
and just below here is a larger profile
of the whole of the circuit.
You can just see you.
You're just the arrow there,
and there is the finish line.
And then this list here, that is a list of riders
that are near to you,
and totally we have another 526 riders on the course.
The information here shows how far in front
the rider is from you,
then how far behind the other riders are.
Also, there is a country flag,
there is the current watts per kilogramme,
and also how far they have travelled.
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- Can you just pedal?
Well, you can do but there is also a whole load
of other cool stuff that you can do as well.
In fact, before you even start riding,
you can choose how you want to look on Zwift.
You just got to hit that customise icon there,
and then you can choose what you want.
In fact, there is even the unlockable GCN kit
as an option as well.
Back to the riding then,
you can of course just ride by yourself,
absolutely nothing wrong with that at all
but how about jumping in with a group ride or even a race?
Loads of events is going on at different times
all around the world, and for all ability levels as well
so from steady group rides
through to all-out races and everything in-between.
To join an event, all you got to do
is go on to main menu.
You can see the list of upcoming events on the right there.
Simply click and you will join,
and if you want to see what's coming up
further into the future,
then the Zwift has a whole list.
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Whatever you're riding on Zwift,
you can send a realtime message to a group
or to an individual rider from your Zwift mobile app,
or if you want to, directly on the keyboard.
I'm just gonna type in, "Hello!"
There you go.
There's also a whole host of greetings and signals
just like the ones you'd use in the real world like a wave,
even an elbow flick,
and of course the famous Zwift Ride On thumbs up.
And you can also, from here, switch your view.
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- As well as freestyling solo
or indeed joining group rides or races,
there is also a way of doing structured training sessions
using workout mode over there.
Now each one is designed to improve a different aspect
of your riding, perhaps endurance or climbing
as well as individual workouts.
There are also complete training plans on there as well,
and when you start looking,
you will find 32 GCN workouts.
That's right.
Either improving your speed on flat roads,
your climbing, your sprinting,
or indeed getting you ready to race.
And if, for some reason, they don't float your boat,
you can actually create your own using the customizer
or indeed import workouts from elsewhere.
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- Once you finish your ride on Zwift,
you can take a look at a whole host of information
and data including your distance travel,
your heart rate, your power curves, elevation,
and even calories burned, and a whole lot more too.
- Yep, each activity is saved to your profile,
and also onto any other account
that you want to connect with it
like TrainingPeaks or Strava or Today's Plan.
- Yeah, hopefully this will enhance your experience on Zwift
and help you unlock a few cool features as well.
- Yeah, absolutely.
Now do make sure you subscribe to GCN following this video.
Now if you want some more content right now,
firstly, we've got a little bit
more information about workouts,
simply click down there for that one
or to a see of Zwift racing, click just down there.
- That's so good.
Don't forget to like and share too.