The latest indieVelo update, V0.2.49 released on May 13, includes a welcome inviting the indieVelo community to “transform cycling together!”
This a welcome message from indieVelo’s founder, Dr. George Gilbert!
Firstly, and most importantly, thank you and give a warm welcome to the significant number of people who have recently joined indieVelo. With more than twice as many riders this week compared to last, I’m humbled by the continued support for our connected community and its collective vision for the future of cycling esports.
I’m reminded of the three fundamental principles that I genuinely believe underpin why indieVelo exists, how it aims to shape the future, and what makes it unique – transforming cycling together.
Transforming: indieVelo’s core purpose is to define the future of virtual sport. Its aim is to collaborate across the industry in building the highest quality and most valued online cycling technology to benefit everyone no matter where they ride.
indieVelo can do this precisely because it is a small agile company that is free to focus on riders’ needs, proactively seek out new ways to help, understand what cyclists want, and pursue new ways of delivering that. By adopting a “Skunk Works” mentality, independent innovation, unencumbered by bureaucracy, is what allows indieVelo to be the very best in its field.
Cycling: indieVelo believes that what you see and experience online should be genuine athletic performance. indieVelo has incorporated fairness and authentic achievement into its DNA from day one.
While appreciating that there will always be a small number of people who cheat online to try and win, indieVelo works on the basis that the actions of a few should not spoil the enjoyment of the many. indieVelo embraces the “Type 2 Fun” philosophy we all enjoy when riding, of choosing to do this not because it is easy but because it is hard.
Together: indieVelo doesn’t have a community. It is a community. Without external shareholders or investors, your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas drive 100% of indieVelo’s roadmap. It is a true partnership – a community of peers where what gets built is what you want to see and experience in your online cycling.
The thing that matters most to us all is the value of shared experiences in sports, even if we happen to not all be in the same place. indieVelo provides the forum for us all to connect with each other, inspire, encourage, and motivate each other, and push each other to greater achievements.
This week’s release (see below for full details) includes a wide range of additions, improvements, and fixes that focus on giving you the information you want while riding and making indieVelo easier to use, all while continuing to improve the background infrastructure needed to keep everything running smoothly as we rapidly scale.
Please note, however, that with the network infrastructure changes, if you use a firewall or anti-virus scanner on your computer, you may need to add indieVelo as a permitted application and/or enable access to UDP Port 7777 and TCP Port 7777.
Note for Mac Bluetooth users: If you find that the Bluetooth icon on the pairing screen has turned red, please follow the instructions linked from https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/apple-mac-ble-permissions/ to first completely remove, and then re-add, permission for indieVelo to use the Mac Bluetooth connection.
Do you want to steepen your indieVelo learning curve? Check out our How-to-Guides page for details!
If all has gone well, you shouldn’t have to do anything to get the new version, as indieVelo will self-update the next time you start it up. If you find any problems, however, instructions on how to manually update are on the website: https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/updates
Please note that, depending on when you installed indieVelo, you may see a warning message recommending that you update the installer/launcher to the latest version. If you see this, download it again from https://indievelo.com/downloads, and the update will automatically apply. The entire process typically takes a minute or two, often much less.
The full patch notes are below!
“Your feedback as cyclists is essential to shaping the future of virtual sport and the only way we will achieve our shared goal and inspirational vision of transforming cycling together. Thank you!”
George Gilbert
Patch Notes – V0.2.49 – Key changes from the last version:
- Added multiple configurable route profile color schemes.
- Added event pen countdown timer visible when in other menus.
- Added dual UDP / TCP networking failover mechanism.
- Added pop-up confirmation menu if U-Turn will cancel a route.
- Added more realistic bot names for all major countries.
- Added support for dumb trainers / speed sensors (non-ranked events only).
- Added lots more teams & custom event brandings.
- Improved custom event creation menu to grey-out incompatible options.
- Improved bot AI when considering dropping out of points races.
- Improved notice shown for Performance Verified events to be more specific.
- Improved automated request to join team email infrastructure.
- Improved behavior when saving settings after an error.
- Improved error handling when login fails.
- Improved exception handling.
- Improved automated error reporting.
- Improved server state logging.
- Improved resilience of network layer.
- Improved resilience of file i/o.
- Improved handling of network errors caused by firewalls.
- Improved server protection against malicious port scanners.
- Improved diagnostics when recovering from disrupted network conditions.
- Fixed bug with leaving world simultaneously to your event starting.
- Fixed bug with simultaneous dropping of network connection from both ends.
- Fixed bug with action menu appearing after junctions if mouse is hidden.
- Fixed bug with logging out while route map being drawn.
- Fixed bug with splash screen sometimes not being displayed on start up.
- Fixed bug with Kickr Bike Buttons if pressed very quickly.
- Fixed bug with glance back camera if pressed very quickly.
- Fixed bug with benign error message.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
