Rouvy, the why, the routes and go....

When you're going to start with a smart-trainer, the training program you're going to use is essential. And that choice is quite difficult because there are many players on the market and which one suits you best?

To make a good choice for yourself, I would say just try them out. Almost every program has a free-trial period, make use of that. Also, on the internet there are reviews of the various programs. Still.. you have to make your own choice, what do you like. So don't get too carried away by a review.

I haven't used all the programs in my search, I have to admit that. Started with Zwift, the most widely used one. After the trial period I switched to Rouvy and that was exactly what I was looking for:

- I wanted to ride real-video routes. So videos that were shot with a camera and then you cycle after that

- Choosing a route is already the start of the fun for me...so a large database of routes is essential

- I don't need to get badges while cycling for all kinds of achievements

- Driving solo is fine for me

- Would like to be able to view my route afterwards on every detail of the ride

- Strava integration

- It has to be a platform that's still innovating

- and ..... also not too expensive 😉

Rouvy is ticking these boxes(and they offer more), but for me it was obvious I started using Rouvy. So, how does Rouvy work?

Rouvy gives you the possibility to ride real routes on your indoor trainer. Basically that's it, but around this they have other functionality like races, workouts, career mode etc. But for this blog I focus on the routes, for me the essential item choosing for Rouvy.

For the routes we can make a distinction in a number of types :

- AR Routes, these are routes that have been created by Rouvy and with which you can see your fellow riders in the video. These can be other 'live' users, but it's more fun to choose some virtual opponents who are equal or slightly better than yourself to cycle against. These AR routes are varied, good quality, the gradient percentages are extremely accurate.

- Premium routes, you can only ride these routes if you have a premium license (slightly more expensive). You can not download these routes in advance, so only live streaming, so make sure your internet connection is in order. High quality routes, also some longer routes to choose from

- Routes with video; Routes uploaded by users themselves. These can vary in quality, some are recorded with a car, some with a road bike or motorbike. Some are high quality, some are a bit less and sometimes the gradient is not quite right and it runs a bit out of sync. But... on average nice routes from all over the world, really every type of route there is plenty of choice, so certainly not only the famous mountain rides.

At the moment (April 2020) Rouvy has 2 programs from which you can select the route and start riding, the Rouvy App and the Rouvy AR app. For now we focus on their new program, the Rouvy AR app:

The AR app is the new interface and their new development. Here you can not only ride the AR routes, as the name suggests, but all routes. You can also select more than 3 virtual opponents for your ride (this was always limited to 3). This interface is also designed according to the mobile-first principle which has advantages and disadvantages. However, what is very useful, is that you can start your ride with 1-click if you want to ride fast and easy. Some search elements are still missing in the AR app, but in the basics you can quickly, easily select your route and start.

Rouvy also has a web-page (via your internet browser), an internet page, where you can see all kinds of information about your rides, but for now we will focus at the route selection via the browser:

Through the browser app you can search in even more detail for the route you want to ride, the same categories are there again, but more search criteria and important you can also search through a map, so the routes you find are projected on the world map. Once you have found a route, you can also view detailed information about it and even start playing the video. Also, all times ridden by other riders and of course your own times that you have realized are projected.

Selecting the route can be a fun start to prepare your ride, but a quick start of a route without too much thinking is also possible.

What I actually always do for a ride:
- download the route before I start, this gives fewer hiccups of the video.
- I connect my trainer and heart rate monitor via ANT protocol and not Bluetooth.
Furthermore, I do every ride in RACE mode and not in training mode, what does this mean:
- You can't pause during the ride (you can, but time runs through)
- You can't set the resistance
- Your time will only be recorded in Rouvy if you do the whole ride (if you stop in between, your ride will be saved and equally exported to Strava, but your end time in Rouvy will not be recorded).
- You can't start your ride halfway or any other point you want. You always have to ride from start to finish

And then during the ride I often put up a podcast to listen to via Spotify 😉

In short...Rouvy is a big challenge if you like routes you can take from all over the world.

By the Way : selecting a route and driving on your own (or with virtual opponents) is only one part of Rouvy. In a next blog I will also explain the online races, the career mode and other parts of Rouvy.