If you’re stuck inside and getting bored of the same ol’ same ol’, Rouvy and RGT Cycling are both offering free accounts to keep your indoor cycle training fresh and interesting. And Rouvy will donate €1 for every classic Italian ride you try, helping Italy deal with its outbreak.
Ride in Italy (virtually), Rouvy donates money
Rouvy is offering full access to it’s platform for free for 30 days, and will make a donation when you ride one of several Italian routes.
From Rouvy: “In the response to canceled cycling and triathlon events across the globe, ROUVY teams up with ŠKODA We Love Cycling to support Northern Italy and local riders. ROUVY will send 1 Euro to the Veneto region administration for every rider who will ride on pre-selected Italian virtual routes on ROUVY. Everyone is welcome to join the charitable marathon, ride virtually across iconic Italian locations and donate to the local administration or hospitals.”
“…we want to give an opportunity to both professional and recreational cyclists to keep up their winter fitness, at least in this Challenge. Most sports events have been canceled, and the world of professional cycling has almost completely stopped. For cyclists in some parts of Europe with strict quarantine restrictions, home training is currently “sort of” the only way to do training and ride together. All riders, during the period of March 18-April 1, who join #RideForItaly, can experience canceled events and diversify their workout agenda with online rivalry or group rides. At the same time, they can assist affected regions in Northern Italy to cope with and recover from the coronavirus epidemic. (The period of the marathon can be prolonged, depending on the situation.)”
Join the #RideForItaly challenge by registering here, and get full details here.
RGT Cycling makes all premium features free
RGT, one of the other online cycling training apps we profiled in our 12-app roundup, is offering free premium subscriptions during the outbreak and quarantine period. Usually €12.99/$14.99 per month, you can use all of the included premium features at no charge.
From RGT Cycling: Workouts, organizing your own events and creating your own roads are now freely available for all, allowing all riders the opportunity to benefit from RGT Cycling’s global indoor cycling simulator, stay active, ride with others and explore iconic cycling roads during these unprecedented and challenging times.
The RGT team has made this decision in response to the developing situation around COVID19, having yesterday seen national governing body British Cycling suspend all sanctioned cycling activities and suggest restrictions on club riding. Meanwhile, governments in cycling hotbeds Italy and Spain have banned recreational cycling outdoors with other nations expected to follow suit.
“RGT was created to empower all cyclists to ride inside in the same way they ride outside,” said Alex Serban, Founder and CEO. “As the impact of COVID-19 is felt around the world, this mission has become more important than ever and after watching inspiring communities come together to support each other, our need to do everything we can to help became obvious. At a time when focusing on profit would be easy, this removal of restrictions will provide free access for all and, we hope, offer some support to the cycling community.”
“I really hope that this initiative sets a precedent for others to join our #rideitout movement. We are already in discussions with many of our friends and partners in the cycling industry to encourage and enable them to do more to help the global cycling community at this time.”
Details on how to get your free account are listed here. Brands interested in sponsoring online events, roads and accounts can reach out, too.
