What's it all about?

Several online apps are now available for use in virtual cycling. Typically these make use of a smart trainer to better replicate the feel of an outside ride indoors, offering variable resistance reflecting virtual gradient. 

What's needed?

While you can use a 'dumb' trainer with appropriate speed sensors, the experience is definitely better with a trainer that can set variable resistance. There is a wide variety of suitable turbo trainers - DCRainmaker and GPLama offer overviews of what's available. You'll also need to select which app you'll use -  most of these come with a subscription cost.

What are the options?

Quite a number of training apps are available (see for example DCRainmaker's review). Perhaps the most popularis Zwift which provides several worlds in which to ride, both solo and in company with others and in virtual competitions. Several NBRC members currently use Zwift, and we have been discussing getting together for group rides, treating these almost as club runs, with ad hoc arrangements made via WhatsApp. The Zwift Insider website has loads of useful information, including a guide to getting started with Zwift . Zwift can be run on a PC, Mac, iPad, smartphones (both Android and iPhone), and Apple TV devices.

Zwifting

Of course there's an ever increasing number of cycling apps out there. For serious training, TrainerRoad is  hard to beat, with AI driven training programmes. In my experience, TrainerRoad is somewhat dull to use, so I've been using it in parallel with other apps, notably FulGaz and Zwift.

Fulgaz is available for PC, Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. I have also run it on an Android phone. FulGaz uses a huge library of immaculately curated 'real-world' videos, so if you want to charge up Mont Ventoux before breakfast, this is the system of choice. It's probably fair to say that in my experience while it's hugely immersive, it's not quite so good as Zwift and other apps for the group ride experience.

Free apps include MyWhoosh!

This is really the tip of the iceberg, but for real mass market appeal and as a social experience, we at NBRC feel that Zwift is probably the best platform to support for club rides.

Here is a guide to Setting up to join Virtual Club Runs on Zwift