How to start an awesome weekly group ride

You don’t need to join a club to for fun group rides. If you are new to a city, club rides can be a great way to initially meet people. Eventually, you might want to start your own thing that works better with your schedule, is with your core group of riding friends or better meets your riding goals. This could be everything from long and steady weekend rides to short weeknight hammerfests, or maybe a ‘cross ride with a mix of gravel and trails. Whatever suits you, to get a new group ride started will take a little bit of work but certainly not a daunting amount. Here is how to start your own weekly group ride:

1) Keep it consistent

Choose a steady date, time and departure point for your ride. Speak to the people you hope will make up the core of the group choosing a time that works throughout the year. Regular morning or evening rides happening at the same time every week are easy to plan around. If your ride isn’t predictable, it will be harder to get a regular group joining for it. Consistently doing the ride on the same day and time with a consistent departure places makes it easy for people to join since they will always know when it will be taking off. Take the same approach for planning the route. You can change the route from week to week but keeping it the same length will make it easier for everyone to plan around.

2) Start with a select group of friends and let the ride grow naturally

Instead of inviting every single person you know to join your ride, select a group of your closest friends to get the ride started. Refine the route with this more compact group and commit to making it a weekly get together. Before too long, word will spread about your super fun ride and it will grow naturally. Don’t worry if it’s not as popular as you hoped when you first start it. Being consistent and spreading the word about it will help your new ride grow.

3) Enforce safety and etiquette

To ensure the ride goes smoothly, make sure everyone understands the reason for the ride. Make it clear if it’s a drop ride. Otherwise, commit to regrouping after particularly spicy sections. Ensuring everyone who shows up for the ride is on the same page is super important. Additionally, help everyone have a good time by making sure everyone obeys the rules of the road and shows good intentions to one another with top-notch etiquette. If someone is straying from how you want to ride to go, calmly take them aside to ask them to turn it down a notch.

4) Have a post-ride routine

No good ride is complete without a little social get together after where you can catch up with everyone over a coffee or beer. This social incentive can draw more people into the ride because it’s hard to say no to winding down with your mates after a satisfying ride. Pick a spot you know well and enjoy going to.

5) Encourage people to come with witty emails or clever invites

You can organize a group ride in a number of ways. From informal invitations to social media posts or an email chain to the people you hope will make up the group. While a simple invitation with the time, departure point, distance and intensity of the ride is a good place to start, folding in some humour or making it a slightly themed ride may make it seem more appealing than just a simple ride.

6) Spread the word about your ride on social media

Make sure to snap some shots on the ride for social media. A good way to make your ride identifiable is having a name for it so everyone can easily refer to it without confusion. Use the name of your ride for your Strava activity and throw in a shot of everyone having a good time on their bikes.

Once you’ve organized the logistics of the ride and gotten it started, the key is keeping it consistent. If you can’t make it, still send out the invite and make sure your friends are riding. Only consider cancelling if the weather is very grim and even then, maybe some will still want to head out. By making it a fun part of your friends routines, you can start a real good group ride with a little bit of work.