Our community continues to grows by leaps and bounds as more of the world’s cyclists embrace Zwift not only as a foul-weather training tool but as a regular riding experience. The social experience is at the very heart of Zwift: it’s a key part of the software which Zwift leadership has protected and developed since day one. It is this community aspect, this interaction with other riders, which sets Zwift far apart from the competition.

I was curious what kind of growth we’ve seen not only in the number of group ride events, but also in the number of riders participating in those events. Thanks to data gathered by ZwiftPower.com, and a little wizardry from Zwift Insider team member Alex VanLaningham, we’ve got some group ride numbers to share.

First, let’s look at how many group rides have been held each month:

As you can see, the number of rides has exploded from 507 in October 2016 to 2,298 in October 2017. That’s over four times more rides in just twelve months, or an increase from 16 rides per day to 74.

But simply scheduling more group rides doesn’t get us anywhere if riders aren’t participating in the rides. Just how many riders are taking part in Zwift’s scheduled group rides (which include social rides, races, and group workouts)? Take a look:

Obviously there was some sort of a data collection issue in January-February of 2017, but apart from that we can spot a few interesting trends:

  • The number of riders decreased during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months, then shot up beginning in September of 2017.
  • The average number of riders taking part in group rides has even increased slightly from October 2016 to October 2017, with 35.5 riders per event in 2016 and 38.6 in 2017. This is an important metric for Zwift, as you don’t want to schedule so many group rides that the turnout for each is too low and you lose the social experience.
  • Overall rider participation has increased by a factor of four, similar to the increase in the number of group rides.

Based on the consistent level of rider participation along with corresponding massive growth I would say ZwiftHQ is doing an excellent job of shepherding the growth of group rides on the platform. And this is no easy task: hundreds of parties are interested in holding group events, plus Zwift has its own set of events. Maintaining a good level of participation across the calendar requires vision, ongoing effort and strong leadership.

I found this look into the social side of Zwift to be enlightening and encouraging, and I hope you do, too. Ride on!