Zwift Rides

Zwift is a way to use your smart trainer to connect with other riders and enjoy a group ride while in your own environment. NBW has a club account which allows members to meet up and ride together.

 

How to participate in NBW rides on Zwift.

Getting started

Zwift is an on-line group cycling simulation game that uses rider power output and weight to determine in-game speed.  Drafting and hills are handled realistically.  Solo rides, group rides, races, and structured workouts are easy to join in more than 10 virtual worlds, with hundreds of miles of paved and unpaved roads over all sorts of terrain.
 
Riding in Zwift requires:

Tutorial videos:

Confirming your settings

For Zwift to correctly mimic real-life riding, you must provide accurate information about your height, weight, and power output.  To double-check, go for a ride on Watopia’s Tempus Fugit course to confirm that your speed is similar to a real-life flat road ride.  Zwift continuously displays power output relative to rider weight in Watts per kilogram [W/kg].  For an hour, a beginner might manage 1 W/kg; a strong club rider 2 - 3 W/kg; an amateur racer 4 W/kg; and a top level professional 5 W/kg or more.  Please make sure your numbers are plausible.

Riding with NBW

NBW’s invitation-only Zwift meet-up rides are held on Sunday mornings during the winter months and as-needed in case of severe weather at other times of year.  These are no-drop rides using Zwift’s rubber-band feature – each rider can pedal at their own preferred intensity and speeds will be automatically adjusted to keep the group’s avatar’s together on the virtual road.

To receive invitations in Zwift, follow these 2 simple steps:

  1. Edit your user name and append “(NBW)”.  The easiest way is to click ≡ (the 3 bars) on the top left corner of the Companion app, click your user name, and then click the pen and paper icon that appears in the top right corner.

  2. Follow the President NBW account.  From the Companion home screen, click ≡ (the 3 bars) on the top left, then choose Find Zwifters.  Enter “President NBW” and click the orange icon to follow.

To chat with fellow riders, use Zwift’s native text messaging or join NBW’s Discord channel for audio.

  1. Download the free Discord app to your phone.  Open Discord.

  2. Click + (on the left), choose "Join a server", paste [need NBW Server LINK], then click "Join Server".  

  3. Click the “N” icon on the left. Under "Voice Channels", click "NBW Zwifting", click "Join Voice".  

  4. Click the little gear (settings, in the upper right) and select Input Mode "Push to Talk", then back up one screen.  You should now be able to hear others.  

  5. Touch and hold the blue "push to talk" bar when you want to be heard by others.  

  6. You can mute speakers, microphone, and headset by touching the respective icons.  

  7. Hang up by pressing the red phone receiver x.