If you’ve built up your fitness during the summer of riding and are wondering how to maintain it once the weather changes, the ROUVY is a great indoor training option that will add more realism to your turbo sessions.
Instead of a simulated environment or, even worse, a series of ramps on a screen, ROUVY uses scenes from real-world locations and superimposes your avatar on top of these.
You’ll get a feel for what it’s like to ride in places around the world, experiencing the gradient of the climb and what you see when you get there. ROUVY also offers team rides and races and structured training plans in its real-world environment.
The Lidl-Trek pro team uses the ROUVY for its indoor training and to pre-run race routes as a reconnaissance before an event. Here are five ways you too can use ROUVY’s toolkit to keep fit and stay motivated this winter.
Explore a new place
ROUVY uses high-quality, real-world footage of riding locations in its app and superimposes its avatars on top of this, creating an authentic, immersive cycling experience. It provides more than 1,500 routes covering more than 25,000 kilometers of routes worldwide.
So, unlike some competing apps, you’re not limited to a small selection of virtual worlds, but can get the feeling of climbing Alpe d’Huez or walking along the stunning coastline of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.
“To help riders explore different countries around the world, we release new spotlights every two weeks or so,” says Antonín Parma, Director of Product Experience at ROUVY.
“Each issue highlights new and existing routes, a challenge, events and related blogs. Each is designed as an accessible hub where riders can find some of ROUVY’s best new content to help them stay active and motivated all year round.
Sometimes you’ll choose to ride somewhere you’d never have the chance to take your bike, but it’s also an opportunity to prepare for a trip that’s on your to-do list for next summer. Like the Lidl-Trek Pros, you’ll be better able to judge where you need to manage your effort and where you can leave it all on the road when you’re riding the real thing.
ROUVY’s simulation incorporates real racing physics, including drafting, adding to the realism. You can also go against ROUVY’s ghost racers.
“You can choose one or more ghost runners to accompany you the entire time. Or you can ride without them. Ghost riders can also be used for ROUVY’s genuine draft feature,” says Parma.
Follow a training plan
Staying in shape and maintaining your fitness during winter can be tricky. If you’re riding outdoors, chances are less likely due to darkness and weather, and it’s easier to put dirt miles on a trainer.
Follow one of ROUVY’s extensive library of training plans with a series of structured workouts designed by professionals, including Lidl-Trek’s six-week plan. It enables you to work on specific aspects of your fitness such as your anaerobic capacity, VO2 Max and sprinting.
“If your goal is to improve your FTP, you can find a structured plan for four weeks with specific workouts consisting of a mix of tempo, criss-cross, endurance intervals, short sprints and pyramids to help increase your FTP.” Parma says.
ROUVY’s real-world simulations mean that following a structured program will never be boring. While most training apps only provide a countdown to the next hard effort, ROUVY will recommend a real-world route to walk as you train.
Get started with virtual racing
Another way to keep fit while keeping your sessions from being mundane is to enter a race – or join a group ride if you don’t have the competitive itch.
ROUVY enables you to compete against other users around the world, again reducing the likelihood of putting in rubbish miles as you aim to outdistance your competitors or keep pace with other riders.
“The platform syncs with the Smart Trainer to adjust resistance based on the road profile, accurately simulating the physical demands of the upper and lower sections. Riders can join races and group rides or train individually, and compete against others in a dynamic, interactive environment while tracking their performance,” explains Parma.
You can create your own events in the app and invite other riders to join you, join events you find online, and the events offer leaderboard competition. ROUVY enables you to interact with other users on the go by offering comments and reactions. Complete a ride and you’ll earn coins that you can use to customize your ROUVY avatar.
Take an FTP test
If you want to track your form and how you measure up to other riders, you’ll need to know where you’re starting and retest yourself periodically.
ROUVY has a range of tests you can use to measure your fitness level, including its FTP Ramp Test and Ramp Test Lite, and a classic 20-minute full-throttle FTP test. Follow one of ROUVY’s workouts designed to test your FTP, and the app will perform all the calculations needed to determine your FTP.
This will then automatically be used to set your power zones in other exercises you choose in ROUVY, enabling you to ensure you are moving in the right zones to achieve your fitness goals. Knowing your FTP will also help you in future races, so you don’t burn out before the finish.
ROUVY will suggest a recommended real-world route to follow for your workout, making the experience more enjoyable.
Don’t join Turbo
While turbo is a great way to adjust your workout schedule and maintain your fitness, no matter how much you love your trainer, most runners will appreciate a break now and then. Maybe it’s because you’ve booked a winter training camp somewhere warm, or because you want to change up your routine.
“Everyone can pause their ROUVY subscription for up to 180 days, with the ability to pause at any time,” says Parma.
“In addition, if bad weather or other conditions prevent you from riding outdoors, you can still ride 20 kilometers for free every month. Or buy a daily pass for up to 72 hours and ride ROUVY without any restrictions.”
A day pass costs just $2.99 for 24 hours, $3.99 for 48 hours, or $4.99 for 72 hours, giving you flexibility in how and when you use the app.
You can pause your subscription and start riding again whenever you want, but you can’t pause it again in the same calendar year.
ROUVY will not bill you for your time off, and if you have purchased an annual subscription, additional days for your time off will be added to your renewal date.
Join ROUVY now
A ROUVY subscription costs $14.99 (around £10.75) a month, or $149 (around £129) a year for individual UK riders, less than other leading cycling training apps. If you want to share, you can purchase a two-user or group subscription for up to five riders, reducing the cost per user.
You can use ROUVY on a wide range of platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Apple TV. It will join smart trainers and smart bikes from Wahoo, Elite, Tacx Saris and more, as well as Kickr Climb and Elite Rizer sequence simulators.
There is a seven-day free trial period for new subscribers, so now is a good time to sign up and download the ROUVY app. By using promo code BIKERADAR1M, readers can get their first month free. This applies to new subscribers only, for one monthly subscription. Click here for more information.
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