Group ride sweeping is a challenging, sacrificial job. If you do it right, your ride will be dictated in large part by the actions of weaker riders as you drop away from the main pack to pull riders back, or just give them a friendly wheel so they don’t ride alone.
We often focus on ride leaders (the yellow beacon), but the most successful group rides on Zwift also have dedicated sweepers (the red beacon). Perhaps the most well-known sweeper on Zwift today goes by “Buddy the Elf” in game, and after watching him work on a recent ride, I reached out to see if Buddy was up for an interview.
He was happy to oblige, and included many tips for sweepers and group rides. I know you’ll enjoy hearing from this big-hearted guy as much as I did!!
ZI: Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from, how old are you, what do you do for work, etc?
Buddy: Well, first off, my real name is Bill and I have always been a midwesterner (U.S.). Born in Illinois, lived the majority of my 55 years in Wisconsin, with a brief stint in Michigan. My wife Tracy and I will celebrate 28 years of marriage this year and have three adult children.
My employment history has consisted of being an entrepreneur (food delivery service in the mid-1980’s – wish I could have predicted the technology that brought us apps like Uber Eats, etc today), a chemical and equipment salesperson, a stay at home dad, and a property manager/handyman for my wife’s business.
What is your level of cycling experience, and how long have you been on Zwift?
I am a recreational cyclist. Group rides, charity/fundraising rides do provide summer miles but most cycling IRL are impromptu solo rides. Cycling is a way to keep in shape and a great way to mentally unwind for me. I was a runner from the age of 14 up until about the age of 45 when both knees needed to be “tuned up” and cycling became the primary form of exercise.
Zwift was brought to my attention by my local bike shop. It started as a great way to stay engaged in cycling during the winter months but has become much more than that. It is a great community and I have really enjoyed riding with people from all over the world. A funny thing is that my wife likes Zwift as much, if not more, than I do and she doesn’t Zwift… yet.
Too many close calls with those we share the roads with makes my wife nervous when I head outside. She is much happier knowing I’m safely Zwifting in the basement. Cycling miles for me in 2019 were about 9,300 on Zwift and about 2,500 outdoors. My 3rd anniversary on Zwift occurred last month.
When did you first start sweeping for group rides, and what motivated you to do that?
It took a little time getting the hang of Zwift but I soon began joining group rides. The PACK was the first group ride I joined and still ride with them today. After getting somewhat comfortable hanging around the back of the group and not getting dropped, I began assisting riders who needed a little help getting back into the group draft. I reached out to PACK admins Steve and Tony and expressed interest in being placed on their official sweeper list.
Family and work scheduling forced me to bounce around to different group rides and I have had the pleasure of helping sweep with other groups such as DIRT, HERD, Ascenders, World Social Riders, TBR, AHDR and anyone else who will have me.
My motivation for sweeping is to help riders go a little further, faster, and harder than they thought they could. People join a Zwift group ride to be part of the group. Motivation to sweep may also come from my running days. I would often try to plan a running route to accomplish a task or an errand – I used to refer to it as “running with a purpose”. Have some letters to mail? Sure, you could put them in the mailbox… but you know a 5-7 mile loop would take me right near the post office. That has translated to cycling outside with a purpose and also Zwifting with a purpose – helping other riders. My goal is to keep riders in the group or give them someone to ride with to the end of the event.
I think we like to ride around the same time each day (early morning Pacific time) because you seem to be online sweeping whenever I’m riding! How many rides do you sweep for in a typical week? What percentage of your riding would you say is done while wearing Buddy’s sweeping hat?
My current Zwift riding has me taking part in two group rides per day and when I am Zwifting, I am usually sweeping. My guess would be that I sweep or assist sweeping on 10-12 rides per week.
I have joined rides with the intention of just blending in with the group and that all goes off the rails when someone asks for help back to the group or the ride leader says riders need help. It is kind of like trying not to sprint when you know a sprint is ahead.
Speaking of Buddy: why that name? Are you just a big fan of the movie? I know I am!
Yes, the Buddy name is from the movie Elf – a family favorite for us. I started out with it to provide a bit of anonymity and never got around to changing it. It can be very entertaining when riders begin to throw out Elf movie quotes. Please note: I do try to avoid acting like a cotton-headed ninny muggins at all costs!
Describe what it’s like to sweep a typical group ride. What are you watching for, what do you actually do when you “sweep”, and is your job ever done?
When sweeping a group ride with the official Red Beacon, I believe the role is to act as a marker at or off the rear of the main group. The distance, usually in time/seconds, depends on the pace of the ride. The faster the pace, the closer you want to be to the group as they can pull away very quickly.
There is a lot of fellow rider checking happening when sweeping. Through the Zwift Companion app, I click on riders’ profiles to look at things such as: what Zwift level are they, heart rate (if available), speed, and watts. It can also help to look at a rider’s w/kg on the main screen rider list to see how they are doing relative to the rest of the group. It is useful to use the Fan View feature on the Companion app when someone calls for help. This allows you to jump to their view, find out where they are on the course relative to the group, and how far back.
My sweeping technique involves identifying riders that may need help, sending a message asking if they need help, and if so, attempting to get in front of them so they can draft on me. For me, this means that about 75% of my Zwift riding is done using the rearview camera angle in order to properly gauge the pace and gap of the riders that are behind me.
The most difficult part of sweeping for me is leaving a rider who is working really hard but below the required pace and will not make it back to the group. Hopefully those riders understand, keep joining, and get stronger so they are able to stay with the group in the future.
For me, the role of sweeping is done when the ride ends.
Sweeping seems to involve both pulling people back to the group, and just riding with others who are off the back and don’t want to ride alone. Is that accurate? If so, which thing do you do more of?
Yes, I believe sweeping does involve both pulling riders back as well as keeping riders company to the end of an event, and I would say I do both equally. Sometimes riders just lose contact and fall out of the group draft and need a little pull to get back on. Without assistance, they find themselves maintaining the group pace but the group is pulling away – we have all experienced that helpless feeling.
Other times, riders discover they are not able to continue at the group pace and just want to finish the ride. This can be a time to message the group and let them know you’re joining a rider or a small group off the back to cruise to the finish. It can be very rewarding when a rider, or riders, inform you post-ride that they were going to quit, it was their furthest ride, they blew up and just wanted to finish, but they stuck with it because they had someone to ride with.
It should also be mentioned that sweep helpers are great assets on group rides. While the Red Beacon is maintaining control of the back of the group, sweep helpers can go a little further back to help riders and/or create a subgroup of lower-paced riders. As a sweep helper, it is always a good rule to let the ride leader and sweeper know if and how you are helping.
Is there anything Zwift could change about the game to make your job easier? If so, what?
I would really enjoy having a dual camera view feature when sweeping. The ability to have a normal front view and rear view simultaneously would really be a game-changer for me.
It would also be helpful to burst out of the “100 riders closest to you” restriction. When sweeping, you can have a rider or a group of riders somewhat close behind but cannot see them. Riders will randomly populate on your screen and then disappear due to this restriction. It is difficult to sweep/assist riders when you cannot see them.
What advice would you give to folks who are struggling to hang with the group on a social ride?
Number 1 rule on group rides: find the Yellow Beacon and pace with them. If you cannot see the Yellow Beacon on your screen, you are likely in front of them.
While in the pen before the start of a group ride, look for the location of the Yellow Beacon on your main screen and mini-map. Be sure you are pedaling before the countdown timer hits zero and the ride begins. When the ride begins, again look for the Yellow Beacon and pace with them. If the leader is ahead of you, pedal harder/faster to catch them and then settle in. If you fly out of the pen and do not see the leader, SLOW DOWN, they are behind you. Stay in the main group draft and do not dangle off the back. Sometimes it does not take much of a gap to lose the group.
Sometimes you’ll do everything correctly out of the pen but still lose contact with the group. Communication is key! A simple message saying HELP lets the sweep team know you need assistance. Never be too shy to ask for help. Many fellow riders have been there and are happy to help you.
If you have tech issues or something else occurs that puts you well back from the main group, I recommend using the Late Join feature (join or rejoin a group ride within the first 30 minutes). This feature will drop you into the group allowing you to avoid franticly chasing to get back on. Note: if you use the Late Join feature, check your location relative to the ride leader – remember the Number 1 rule above.
There are hundreds of group rides on Zwift, and probably never enough sweepers. What tips would you give to someone who is interested in helping out as a sweeper?
I would recommend you ride with a certain group numerous times to get the “feel” of how things go. Then reach out during a ride to the leader and/or sweeper and offer to help during that ride. It helped me to “shadow” a sweeper during rides to see how and what they did. If all feels good after assisting a few times, reach out to the group’s admin and ask if they need help. Sweeping on rides is a great way to stay mentally engaged and get a workout.
What About You?
Have you ever been on a ride with Buddy, or been helped by a sweeper? Or perhaps you’re a sweeper yourself? Chime in with your thoughts and experiences below!
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