Gamify your socially distanced cycling with sodisp
Brand new company sodisp has arrived fresh on the scene to provide you with a way to… uh. Well, its value props are a bit disparate to be honest.
What it looks like is a way to run events and challenges. At least that’s what they’re leading with. They’re calling them virtual challenges but that just makes us think of Zwift. What they’re really talking about is asynchronous outdoor events, similar to Strava Challenges or the Great Cycle Challenge. Or even the Liverpool Century Club 10 since lockdown. So it certainly has its uses.
But the other thing it does, and it’s the thing they named the company after so it’s quite important, is gamify the socially distanced cycling experience. It does this by giving you a score based on how well you socially distanced on your ride. The higher the score, the better. Presumably a tandem is an automatic zero.
We automatically analyze all tracks and calculate a social distancing score based on the estimated people density on each route! The more social distance, the higher the score!
sodisp’s quite excitable press release
Did you need yet another progress bar to fill or score to chase? This one’s to the benefit of society, and there’s a personal benefit to quantifying your social distancing too. Plus it’d be great ammo for a certain curmudgeon on the Century’s Facebook page to be even more grumpy with people. Everybody wins.
It connects to both Strava and Garmin, so you probably don’t have to do anything much to join in, and it works on walks, runs, and rides. Maybe we’ll organize a Cyclry event just to give us some impetus to get out riding again and testing those $400 Kalas shorts we got sent for review.
Here’s their press release, which helpfully explains their weird name:
sodisp is a brand new sports platform to quickly create virtual events and challenges. Our goal is to allow everyone to responsibly enjoy the great outdoors in the post-corona era. We automatically analyze all tracks and calculate a social distancing score based on the estimated people density on each route! The more social distance, the higher the score!
Challenge your participants to improve their social distancing
Now more than ever, we can make a difference for others around us by promoting and maintaining social distancing. Instead of focusing on the negative, we turn it around and challenge our users to optimize their social distancing while enjoying their outdoor activities.
By using gamification techniques we award points for avoiding crowded places, such as city centers, and for doing workouts off peak-hours.
Connect using Garmin and Strava
sodisp allows participants to connect using their Strava app or Garmin device. We automatically sync runs, walks and rides from Strava and Garmin, it all goes automatically! We also support manual upload of gpx files for users without Garmin or Strava.
Every run or ride gets a score which is based on the estimated people density at that specific track and at that moment in time. Read more on our scoring system.
Available now and free for most events
To celebrate our launch, starting a virtual event on sodisp is free of charge for all events with less than 10,000 participants. Do you have a larger event? Contact us to discuss possibilities.
Creating your own virtual event takes only a few minutes; simply go to https://sodisp.com/ and click on the ‘Create Your Event’ button at the top. After the quick setup, your participants can join using their Strava or Garmin accounts or quickly create a new account.
Feel free to drop us a line at hello@sodisp.com when you have a question or if you want to know how sodisp can help your event be more successful.
About sodisp: The name sodisp is short for social distancing sports. sodisp.com is launched in May of 2020 by the founder of the largest running app and community in The Netherlands and with over 10 years of experience in the endurance sport events industry. sodisp.com is the latest platform to combine gamification with outdoor sports to allow its users to enjoy the great outdoors, even in this challenging post-corona era. Feel free to contact us at hello@sodisp.com.