Taking care of her/him indoors

The nights are drawing in. Last week it felt like summer. This week it feels anything but. Winter is coming. Across the country, cyclists are busy fitting mudguards, retrieving long-sleeved jerseys and gloves from the back of the drawer, and dusting off the turbo trainers they hastily bought at the start of lockdown. Or is that just me?

I suspect not. Did you know sales of turbo trainers have shot up by 500% year-on-year? That downloads of fitness and health apps increased by 47% in Q2? That Peloton — a business I (naively) considered risible — now boasts over 700,000 subscribers? Seven. Hundred. Thousand. That Rapha has launched an indoor cycling range? And perhaps most significantly, that Zwift now has 300,000 cyclists forking out $15 a month.

This is one wave (or static bike) that’s got to be worth riding.

Think about it — simultaneously imagining you’re one of the founding team of Race.Radio. All the joy is being sucked from outdoor riding. The rule of six. The angry villagers heckling in country villages. The bitter easterlies. The blue toes. Why not ride indoors, in a virtual, pandemic-free world, warmed by the comforting glow of a none-too-dormant volcano?

Besides coffee and cake stops, one thing Zwift is missing is the ability to chat as you ride or race. How neat neat neat would it be if there was a way to casually converse with your club mates or talk tactics with your team? From what I can gather on Zwift Insider, some clubs and groups are already setting up Discord servers, but that’s a faff. Besides, voice-activated push-to-talk is going to mean your fellow riders hear every curse, grunt and groan.

I think I’ve made/laboured my point. In case it went over your head: there is a large and growing opportunity to pitch Race.Radio directly at the indoor cycling market. Users would benefit from a stable wifi network, there’s no ambient noise besides the fan, and Zwift is so addictive, usage of Race.Radio could easily become habitual. Then in six months’ time when the spring is sprung…

Over and out.