Multiplayer online cycling platform Zwift adds “Neokyo”, virtualised rides through Tokyo
Virtual platform Zwift is adding a gamified Tokyo to its list of cities you cycle without leaving your living room.
Virtual platform Zwift is adding a gamified Tokyo to its list of cities you cycle without leaving your living room.
If you haven’t heard of Zwift, it’s a massive multiplayer online cycling platform that takes the tedium out of exercising.
Instead of riding up and down hills on a gym exercise bike, you plonk your trainer bike in front of a TV and ride along the roads and tracks to get to virtual destinations.
Zwift has been around since 2014 but came into its own during the pandemic as the perfect foil for the claustrophobia of lockdown.
Roads on the TV or display in front of you meander through cities and forests, across rivers of lava on volcanic islands, through glass tube underwater tunnels that wouldn’t be possible in the real world, through a nature reserve with dinosaurs grazing nearby, and to distant mountain ranges.
You can ride along roads in southern France in a gamified version of the Tour de France.
To set-up a Zwift system, you download the app to a set-top-box system such as Apple TV or Chromecast, and you place a regular pushbike in front of your TV. You swap the back wheel for a Bluetooth enabled virtual trainer that links to the Apple TV, desktop PC, Mac or tablet device that hosts the Zwift app.
Your iPhone or Android device can display a map of where you are going and an Apple Watch and some Android watches will kick in to measure your heart rate.
The system is smart enough to support bicycle gears. It can make cycling harder when going up virtual hills, and easier when hurtling downhill.
The cyclists and runners you see on the streets are other Zwift users in different parts of the world. You can organise to cycle together with friends who live thousands of kilometres away.
Zwift offers virtual cycling worlds in gamified depictions of London, Yorkshire, New York, Richmond Virginia, Innsbruck Austria, Paris, southern France, and in Zwift’s make believe world of Watopia.
Last year Zwift added the Makuri Islands, a mythical set of islands with a gamified Japanese country setting called Yumezi.
This week it is adding “Neokyo” (read Neo-Tokyo), with eight cycling routes ranging from 6.1km to 32.5km.
“Neokyo follows the original May 2021 Yumezi map release and doubles the size of Makuri Islands,” says Zwift in a statement.
“Taking inspiration from Japan’s major cities, Neokyo has electrified the night. Vibrant colours, popping neon lights and glistening fast roads ensure this night-time city is anything but dark.”
Zwift says the city rides are a perfect contrast to the tranquillity of the Yumezi Japanese country rides.
“Neokyo introduces the fast-paced nature of city living to Makuri Islands,” says Zwift.
“Fast flat roads, towering buildings, eye-popping neon billboards, night-time revellers and arcade halls make Neokyo a perfect place to test your legs and ride fast. A new adventure awaits.”
Australian cyclist Freddy Ovett says he is on board with Neokyo. “I first jumped on Zwift back in February 2020, when Spain went into heavy lockdown for three months, because it was the only thing available for pro athletes to train on while indoors,” he said.
“Not only did it help me stay physically and mentally fit, it provided my team L391ON and I a way to stay socially connected with each other, as well as the wider community. We used Zwift on a weekly basis to ride with thousands of people across the globe.
“I’m looking forward to having a new map to explore, ride and race together when meetups and events are available on Neokyo.”
Neokyo is due to go online between 4am and 6am on Friday, November 19, 2021.
Zwifters will be able to reach Neokyo from Yumezi using a road through rice fields that connects the two experiences. Just follow the directions.
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