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CHICAGO VIRTUAL CYCLISTS (CVC)

Posted byChris NavinPosted inCycling, RGT Cycling, Rouvy, VidFitness, Virtual Cycling, Zwift

Chicago Virtual Cyclists (CVC) Unite is a completely 100% free and open community for any and all Chicago area cyclists to unite and ride together online on various online virtual cycling platforms – founded in 2020 specifically to help us all survive the #SocialDistancing isolation order in Chicago with more #SocialConnecting fun online!

Do you ride a bike? Do you train indoors on any online apps & platforms such as Zwift, Rouvy, RGT Cycling, etc? Then we consider you to be part of our Chicago Virtual Cyclist (CVC) community!

Share smart trainer and home “pain cave” setup tips, organize virtual ride meetups, and unite to motivate & mentor other cyclists to have fun as one united Chicago-based community!

SATURDAY CHICAGO “TEAM RIDE” – hosted by CVC & xXx Racing-Athletico!
If you’re on Zwift and like to ride on Saturday mornings during the winter months, join our weekly CHICAGO TEAM RIDE that is open to anyone and everyone. This ride represents a virtual version of the weekly in-person ride hosted year-round by xXx Racing-Athletico, multiple time USA CYCLING “Club of the Year” and one of Chicago’s largest bike racing communities!

HOW TO JOIN THE SAUTRDAY TEAM RIDE ON ZWIFT!
Simply add any Chicago-themed team name tag (like [xXx] or [Chi]) to your last name and search for and follow “COACH CHRIS NAVIN” via the ZWIFT COMPANION app to get weekly invites to our “rubberbanded” group rides. We post other events and ride via the Zwift “CLUBS” feature, but since that doesn’t allow for “rubberbanding” (yet?), we still host these Saturday rides via PRIVATE invites!

NOTE: Zwift can be finicky, so if you don’t get an invite, please post in our Zwift CLUB (via Zwift Companion App) or DISCORD groups (see below for links and more info on getting started)!

NEW BONUS: NOW SUPPORTING CHICAGO BIKE SHOPS!
As an added incentive to ride & race together, we now support local bike shops by purchasing gift cards as awards for virtual riders who earn the most total points (in any division!) at the end of each season of the Zwift Racing League (ZRL) while racing on any of our Chicago team rosters – or through many of our one-off events like our Tuesday Time Trial workout & “fitness check” series! Many shops have been hit hard by burglaries this winter, so we want to support them as best we can!!! Learn more about how to get involved with us in the ZRL at the bottom of this page!

“CVC” is rapidly growing, free, and volunteer-based… so join the group to get motivated to GET ACTIVE and share ideas to make the most of training and racing indoors together with fellow windy city riders! This community becomes stronger the more you ride, race, participate and contribute to this growing little community!

Want to learn more about virtual cycling? Check out these blog posts:
Chicago’s Top eSports Racing Team on Echelon and RGT!
UCI eSports Worlds – Zwift Race Recap w/ Jacquie Godbe

See below for how to connect with us and get started!

CONNECT WITH US:

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GET STARTED WITH CVC!

1. FACEBOOK GROUP – Find and share any news, tips, or info about virtual cycling with fellow Chicago cyclists on FACEBOOK at fb.com/groups/chicagocyclists – engage, interact, ask questions, and organize meetups here!

2. DISCORD – You can also learn, ask questions, and chat with us on DISCORD as our “chat board” and team “race radio” for live chatting while riding @ tinyurl.com/ChicagoVC-discord (see below to see who’s online right now!). For other rides and events, be sure to check for additional Discord group channels, such as for our 8am Saturdays Team Ride with xXx Racing-Athletico (they also have a discord channel at tinyurl.com/xxxdiscord)

3. Do you Zwift? Download the ZWIFT COMPANION phone and join us by searching under the CLUBS menu option in the ZWIFT COMPANION phone app! If you’re into racing, be sure to join our team roster on ZWIFT POWER @ zwiftpower.com/team.php?id=7095 as well! If you’re affiliated with another Chicago-based team on Zwift, you can join multiple team rosters such as these below

4. WORKOUTS – Get a free weekly workout via a free “CVC” TrainingPeaks training plan by following our quick start guide @ tinyurl.com/cvc-peaks and if you want TrainingPeaks PREMIUM, consider joining our 4 STAR CLUB for additional perks, discounts, and coaching support!

5. RACES – Ride and race with us on ROUVY, ZWIFT, and RGT CYCLING! Do you want to organize regular weekly rides or events? You can promote your own meetups on our FACEBOOK group, DISCORD, or ZWIFT CLUB pages or in a calendar of rides and recommended races via the TEAMUP calendar @ tinyurl.com/cvc-teamup (TEAMUP is no longer being updated much since we now have ZWIFT CLUBS, sorry)!

6. GET FASTER – Want to get faster on the bike? Join our “Project ScaryFast” email list at tinyurl.com/scaryfast2021 (new 2023 season info coming soon!)

7. GEAR UP – Looking for home “PainCave” setup & gear recommendations? Check out Coach Chris’ Gear & Tech recommendations at kit.co/ironmonster and subscribe to the 4 Star Endurance YouTube channel for video tips! You can also visit our GEAR page for discount links and join our 4 STAR CLUB for additional VIP perks and deeper discounts on gear!

8. STRAVA – Join our Chicago Virtual Cyclists (CVC) STRAVA group to see where our fellow cyclists are riding virtually indoors, as well as outdoors at www.strava.com/clubs/chicagovirtualcyclists

9. DISCORD SUPPORT – Want to show support for Chicago Virtual Cyclists (CVC)? Consider purchasing a “Server Boost” for our CVC DISCORD server! Discord is free for us to use for video & voice chatting, but a “GIFT” purchase of Discord NITRO will help us upgrade our server and boost the audio and video quality of our “race radio” – a one time donation of $99 improves the riding experience for everyone in our group for a full calendar year!!! https://discord.com/nitro

10. MORE STUFF – Read up on some of our additional tips, resources, and “How to” articles:
How to get into racing on RGT and the Echelon Racing League
How to create routes on RGT
How to do structured workouts on ROUVY

QUESTIONS or SUGGESTIONS? Contact us at coach@4starendurance.com

ZWIFT RACING LEAGUE (ZRL)

To race with fellow Chicago cyclists in the new ZWIFT RACING LEAGUE (ZRL) – organized by the World Tactical Racing League (WTRL) to promote team time trials and tactical “points” based racing – please complete the following steps:

  1. ZWIFTPOWER.COM – Create a profile on ZwiftPower.com and race at least three “race” events in Zwift over 20km to get an A/B/C/D “race ranking” in Zwift to determine what category of competition you should be racing with. You can find your ZwiftID by watching this video: https://youtu.be/zeQ4gNlqFPY
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  2. WTRL.RACING – Create a profile on WTRL.racing to link your Zwift profile with the WTRL racing league.
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  3. TEAM ROSTER – Consider joining our “Chicago” team roster on ZwiftPower to share your results and familiarize yourself with other Chicago area cyclists/teammates at: zwiftpower.com/team.php?id=7095
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  4. SPREADSHEET – Feel free to add your name and update your info in this spreadsheet (under the appropriate tab for the current ZRL racing season) to help track who is available to race each week: tinyurl.com/cvc-zwift
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  5. WARMUPS – Use the Zwift Companion App to “Find Zwifters” and request to follow COACH CHRIS NAVIN to get invited to weekly team warmups on Zwift before every Tuesday night ZRL race – don’t forget to add a [CVC], [Chi], or [Chicago] tag to your last name so we remember to invite you (or a similar Chicago based team tag like [xXx] )!
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  6. RSVP & DISCORD – Every week, look for an email from “WTRL RACE CONTROL” and RSVP via the “RacePass” link to join the correct start pen for your team (not necessarily your category ranking, but the ranking of your team which might be higher!). Post in our “CVC” Facebook group or any of the “CVC” Discord App channels if you have questions, need technical help, don’t see an invite, or simply to socialize while we train and race together! We’ll typically post the RACEPASS links in both the Facebook and Discord groups each week, then chat team racing strategies while we warmup and race!

CVC DISCORD APP

See who’s online right now:
tinyurl.com/ChicagoVC-discord

CVC EVENT CALENDAR

Or filter by virtual cycling platform at https://teamup.com/kspp95cr7d6on6c32y

STRAVA LEADERBOARD & ACTIVITY

www.strava.com/clubs/chicagovirtualcyclists

VIRTUAL CYCLING & eSPORTS APPS

BKOOL – try the Spain-based virtual cyclist app that features VIDEO and “AR” style rides (similar to Rouvy), 3D cycling (like Zwift), and Peloton-style spin-based fitness classes (like Peloton), all under one system for a lower cost than most other virtual cycling platforms! Enjoy a free 30 day trial and 20% off using this link: refer.bkool.com/co2ReXx

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RIDE WITH CVC!

Chicago Virtual Cyclists (CVC) was founded as a fun community outreach project through the volunteering efforts of coach CHRIS NAVIN who is a 3x TEAM USA qualifier, USA Triathlon (USAT) Level 2 Certified Coach, and Metabolic Efficiency Training Specialist (METS I-FCP). Coach Chris carried his endurance sports coaching expertise into eSports Cycling to become ranked as high as one of the top 500 cyclists in the ZwiftPower global rankings and has helped coach TEAM USA’s Jacquie Godbe – who finished top 5 in the world at the inaugural UCI eSports World Championships!

Coach Chris organizes several of the CVC “Chicago” teams and roster in the Zwift Racing League (ZRL) and also helps coach the xXx Racing-Athletico team’s weekly virtual “Chicago Team Ride” every Saturday morning and their professional eSports team in the Echelon Racing League (ERL).

If you’d like to join in this growing virtual cycling community for training or racing, simply follow “TriMonster” in Rouvy or “COACH CHRIS NAVIN” via the Zwift Companion app and add a [Chicago] tag to your name to join us for rides, workouts, and meetups to get started following the steps above.

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