Riders Review - So your friend bought a Wahoo

13th Aug 2019

So your friend bought a Wahoo. Now what?
So we’ve covered how to get started with your new Wahoo Kickr Core, but the fun really starts when your friend gets one too. The beauty of this technology is that it doesn’t matter where that friend is located – you can now train in real time no matter how far apart you live.
There are a couple of ways to do this using a variety of apps but my favourite one at the moment is Zwift. Most Wahoo purchases at Pushys currently come with a limited time subscription to Zwift so you can try it out yourself. Zwift is a virtual world where you are an avatar and it syncronises and controls your smart trainer.
So once you’ve hooked up and identified each of your own controllable devices aka your Wahoo, you need to download both the Zwift app and the Zwift companion app. It’s in the companion app that you and your friend will mainly set up your sessions together. Here’s some of the easiest ways to do so.

1. Jump on and ride, see the list of your friends riding and click on the “Ride with Michelle” (or your friends name) button. You’ll drop into whatever course they are riding and you can therefore compare notes, ride up to each other etc. You can click on their name on the list on the right of your screen at any time to view the course from their avatars perspective and then switch back to your own.

2. For something a little more structured you can arrange a Meet Up. This is where you and your friend agree to ride at a set time on a set course. In the Zwift companion app you select the course and time you want to meet, invite others to the ride and then get ready at the agreed time. Zwift will automatically put you into that course location when the timer counts down and your avatar will sit there waiting until your friends arrive or your ride starts (note to friends – don’t be late!). This is a great way to be able to see each others avatars on screen all the time, draft off each other (no help in virtual land really but you can simulate surging etc), but you might want to agree on the rules before you start such as will you ride together no mater what or will you start together and then go at your own pace.

3. You can enter an event together. Zwift has events running all the time. Simply look at the list and find an event around the time you want to ride on the day you want to ride and that has a course / duration / distance / elevation to suit your plan. You both register and when the event is due to start your avatar will be on the side of the road on a wind trainer warming up until your start time. Now the only difference here is that depending on each of your individual abilities, you may have different classifications (A, B, C grade etc) so you may roll out at slightly different times. Just use that as motivation to get better and faster so you can start together next time!

These are just some of the ways you can make virtual training fun using your new smart trainer. You might even meet some new people in Zwift from around the world who become your new workout buddies. Enjoy!
By Pushys sponsored athlete – Michelle Cooper.
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