Embrace the Zwift "off-season" with elite Team SZ racer Gabriella Nordin, Team CLS Jon Wakefield, and The Zommunique's Chris Schwenker
Summer in the Northern Hemisphere means having fun on Zwift that doesn’t involve ripping your legs off! That is precisely what passionate Zwiftin’ couple Jon Wakefield and Gabriella Nordin are doing with their latest challenge—a Robo Pacer Bonanza!
Jon Wakefield is a mountain biker, road cyclist, and avid Zwifter. He is a co-owner of Team CLS and is the Team Manager for the club’s racing activity.
Gabriella Nordin has 10+ years of road racing experience at an elite level. She recently switched her focus to esports, riding for Team Swedish Zwifters (Team SZ), and represented Sweden at the 2023 UCI Cycling eSports World Championships, finishing a fantastic 20th place.
Jon and Gabriella embrace the Zwifting “Off Season,” recognizing it is vital to take time away from racing to reset the body and mind—while still ensuring they get some solid endurance work in, which pays off when things get serious again come fall/winter.
Jon and Gabriella are making a bit of a tradition of coming up with a ‘fun’ Zwift challenge each summer. Last year they vEverested, entering the Everesting Hall of Fame, and this year they have decided on a challenge that celebrates the new in-game features of Teleporting, Coffee Stops, and Steering.
The idea is simple! Ride with each Robo Pacer for 1 hour in a single activity—using the new teleport feature to jump across to each of them.
It will be a 9-hour ride! No doubt, some hours will be more challenging than others.
The nice thing about this challenge is it’s accessible to anyone in the Zwift community and can be adapted to suit all levels. For example:
- If you’re a D cat Zwifter: You could set yourself a challenge of using the Robo Pacers as a ladder, seeing how far you can go.
- If you’re a B cat Zwifter: You could jump between the A, B, and C Robo Pacers for an over/under style session.
Jon and Gabby hope that members from their respective teams—Team CLS and Team SZ—will join them throughout the day. Of course, the invite is open to anyone in the community who would like to participate in the fun along the way.
Semi-retired as owner and director of his private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice after over 20 years, Chris is blessed with the freedom to pursue his passion for virtual cycling and writing. On a continual quest to give back to his bike for all the rewarding experiences and relationships it has provided him, he created a non-profit. Chris is committed to helping others with his bike through its work and the pages of his site.
In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to New York to support the charity he founded, TheDIRTDadFund. His “Gain Cave” resides on the North Fork of Long Island, where he lives with his beautiful wife and is proud of his two independent children.
You will read him promoting his passion on the pages of Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. Chris is co-host of The Virtual Velo Podcast, too!
