Well. What a summer. It’s not often we get to say that at road.cc HQ, in the rather damp and tepid South West of the UK. But now the nights are longer than the days again and there’s many a feather duster being applied to indoor training setups in sheds, garages and spare rooms across the northern hemisphere. October is the time when riding indoors begins again in earnest, and for many it marks a shift into a different mentality: less social, more solo.
But everything’s linked: the outdoor riding you do inspires your indoor riding. And as the days lengthen again, that indoor riding will prepare you for your 2027 outdoor goals. Have you got big plans? With friends? What if you could all ride and chat together, like you do outdoors, from the (relative) comfort of your indoor setup? And what if you could ditch the local lanes and instead opt for an iconic ride from anywhere in the world? And – even better still – what if no-one got dropped? A ride on ROUVY offers you all this and more, and it’s a great way to keep your happy band together over the winter months. And with ROUVY FEST you can even ride in some exalted company over the next few weeks!
What’s ROUVY?
New to all of this? ROUVY is the real-world cycling app that connects indoor and outdoor riding through real routes, places and goals, helping cyclists stay connected to the sport they love all year round. It uses a clever system that can place you, your friends and other riders into real footage of real roads. We made a video showing how it all works last year when we made our own route on our home turf of the Mendips:
Combining filmed routes with precise gradient simulation means ROUVY brings the experience of outdoor cycling indoors. Riders can train for their next goal, explore destinations around the world, prepare for real-life events or simply enjoy the ride. With thousands of routes, plus challenges, group rides, races, workouts and training plans, ROUVY gives cyclists of all levels more ways to ride, connect and make progress. From everyday cyclists to professional athletes, riders around the world use ROUVY to make indoor riding part of their cycling life.
> Try ROUVY free for 7 days
Now there are many reasons to train indoors: it’s really time-efficient, it’s easy to follow a structured program, you don’t get your expensive bikes eaten away by road grime and salt, and you can wear threadbare shorts without worrying about the low winter sun giving everyone an eyeful of your builder’s cleavage. Is that last one just me?
There are many reasons to pick ROUVY too: it has the great real roads experience we’ve already talked about, it’s less gamified and more about the riding experience, and it has some great value plans, especially if there’s more than one rider in your household. And this year’s indoor season is going to kick off in style.
ROUVY FEST: Two weeks of great rides, special guests and good times
This year the indoor season on ROUVY starts with a bang. ROUVY FEST runs from 12–25 October and promises a mix of group rides, races and challenges with some of cycling’s biggest names. The festival kicks on on 12 October with a ride with Amy and Kyle Hudson, fresh from setting the record for the fastest mixed pair to ride around the world. You’ll be able to race against British hillclimb supremo Andrew Feather on the 19km route to Mallorca’s Cap Formentor on 16 October: all the best beating him. There are also group rides with Watts Occurring podcast hosts Luke Rowe and Manon Lloyd (14 October), Lidl-Trek duo Mattias Skjelmose & Derek Gee West (19 October) and triathletes Kat Matthews (21 October) and Julia Schuler (22 October). And the big one for road cyclists: Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts will be leading a live-streamed group ride on 20 October. Expect some big numbers for that one!
“But I can’t keep up with Wout!”
You know what it’s like outdoors: sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail. Even with groups that are well-matched it’s often hard to keep everyone together, and a group with pros and normal choppers like you and me: well, it’s not well-matched. ROUVY has a trick up its sleeve for this: each group ride has a designated leader, and then the ride progresses at the pace that they ride. If you ride alongside the leader, that’s how hard you’ll be working too. But there’s a clever rubber band system working behind the scenes, so if you fall off the back then it’ll get progressively easier, to help you stay with the ride. As long as you’re pedalling, you’ll stay in the ride, so it makes it super-easy to keep even a really varied bunch together. The opposite also happens if you try and dart off the front, so attacking during a social group ride is an efficient way for you to work harder. Rather than making everyone else work harder!
How to find group rides on ROUVY
Group rides are a key part of the ROUVY ecosystem. The Events section is the place to go to look for organised rides. It’s a live calendar of upcoming sessions and the easiest way to find a ride that fits your schedule. There are loads of events you could join, and for a group ride with friends you can also create your own: you can set the time yourself, choose the route, and keep it invite-only so it’s just like a group ride outdoors. Just you and your mates! Your calendar isn’t going to line up with your ride buddies every week, so it’s great news that there’s a big calendar of events on ROUVY: stuff is happening all the time, so if you’re planning a session when none of your mates are around it’s easy to hop onto another organised ride. Alternatively, if any of your friends are riding when you log on then you can opt to teleport to them and ride together: wherever they are on whatever route they’re doing, you’ll head straight there. Use this to try and hop on halfway up a climb, then half-wheel them to the top and outsprint them to the finish line. A win’s a win.
Chat with the group in real time
Want to ask Wout about his training schedule? Or get some top tips from the other ROUVY FEST ride leaders? ROUVY’s in-built messaging system allows you to chat with the other members of a group ride, and you can see all the chat on the right-hand side of the screen. It’s simple to join in, too, especially if you download the ROUVY Companion app which gives you access to in-app-chat from your phone. You can even use voice dictation if your fingers are a bit sweaty!
Riding solo? You’re still not alone
If you’re just picking a route and riding it, then even then you don’t need to be alone: you can add virtual riders called Pace Partners to ride with you. You can have a maximum of 10, and there are three types. Drafting pace partners will sit in front of you to shelter you from the wind, and Pacing pace partners will duke it out with you along the way: their riding adapts to what you’re doing. You can also include User pace partners, which is real data from people who have ridden the course before. That could be your own personal best, your friends’ rides, or other users who might be a good match.
Try ROUVY free for 7 days
Why not give it a go? You can try ROUVY free for 7 days. Head over to the ROUVY website to sign up. We’ll see you at some of the ROUVY FEST rides!