The latest indieVelo update, v0.3.7, released August 19th, 2024, fosters the spirit of community through rider-to-rider "Chapeau" function.
Sportsmanship is central to the history and culture of cycling. Whether it is deference for the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France, working with your rivals in a breakaway, or Coppi & Bartali sharing a water bottle, there is a universally recognized unwritten rule in cycling of acknowledging the achievements of others.
What brings us all together as cyclists is not shouting about it from the rooftops, but rather, just a subtle sign of respect between those who have bonded through suffering.
Even at the point of exhaustion, there’s always time and space for others – a simple nod of the head, the tip of the cap, or, as the French would say: “Chapeau.”
This week’s release of indieVelo (see below for full details) now brings that spirit of kinship and connection to indoor cycling, too, with the ability to give a private rider-to-rider ‘Chapeau’ in recognition of their achievements. Simply view another rider in the virtual world (either riding or spectating), and select the “Chapeau” icon from the action bar to express your appreciation. They may expect them, but that’s the whole point – if you receive one, you know you will have earned it.
Here’s how to get indieVelo on your AppleTV!
1) Anyone with access to indieVelo on iOS (iPhone/iPad) should now automatically be able to access the AppleTV version too. Simply download TestFlight from the AppStore on your AppleTV, and indieVelo should be there waiting for you to run.
2) Anyone who is a member of the indieVelo Founders Club but doesn’t have access to the Apple versions of indieVelo can email: help@indievelo.com with the email address they use in the AppStore and will receive instructions.
3) Anyone not yet an indieVelo Founders Club member should click here to join, then email me as above.
As usual, there is also a wide range of other additions, improvements, and fixes, mainly focusing on updates to the UI and infrastructure to keep everything intuitive and running smoothly as indieVelo increases in size and scale.
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, then you shouldn’t have to do anything to get the new version, as indieVelo will just 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
The full patch notes are below!
“With 100% of the indieVelo roadmap determined by your ideas and suggestions (including the “Chapeau”!), every piece of feedback is incredibly valuable. It really makes a difference to the continued improvement of indieVelo each and every week. Thank you, everyone, for your continued support and encouragement.”
George Gilbert
Patch Notes – v0.3.7 – Key changes from the last version:
- Added ability to “Chapeau” another rider.
- Added ability to sort free-ride routes by average gradient.
- Added option to display power values smoothed over 10 seconds.
- Added FPS display to graphics settings menu to easily see impact of changes.
- Added lots more custom team kits and event banners.
- Improved wind direction indicator when using north facing minimap options.
- Improved windmills to dynamically point in direction of the wind.
- Improved security of API.
- Improved various bits of internal infrastructure.
- Improved various internationalized translations.
- Fixed bug with taking screenshots when using multi-monitor displays.
- Fixed bug with display of event distance when exactly 100km long.
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.
