Advice on organizing group rides

[traveller_62]

One of the things I want to do next year is to foster the sport of cycling in my area. There are plenty of organized rides for experienced cyclists so I want to organize a weekly rides for people just getting into cycling.

Any advice on how to get a successful club up and running for novice cyclists? What's the best way to encourage people to overcome the initial barrier of worrying that they aren't "good enough"? Is it enough to have only 2 or 3 routes mapped out or is it better to try and have a different ride every time?

Thanks everyone for any advice you might have!

-traveller

[mary9761]

This is something that I may be working on as well myself next year. I would say see if you can work something out with your local cycling club. Work with their resources (ie insurance etc) and see if there is anyone who could help mentor you in the best ways to set up a local ride.
I'm lucky enough to have at least one ride leader that has offered to help me possibly setting up rides for people who ride more my speed and riding level [of course that's getting better all the time, but I don't want to forget where I started] He's offered to help me set up/find routes possibly on my side of town, print maps and cue sheets etc. I'm seriously considering it. The good thing about working with the local club is the fact they have more resources than an individual would. ron has offered to help me with a ride or two as well.
If you don't have that access, my recommendation would be to check out some routes [possibly some that you have ridden often]. Check for traffic hazards, road conditions, is it a route that would be easy for all levels of riders [rate of grade, etc] One fun thing is to possibly set up a ride with a destination to ride to [and or back] One of my favorite rides is the Carbos and Caffiene Saturday Breakfast ride. I can't keep up with all of the roadies, but periodically I have someone I can keep up with or will stay back with me. I know the route now and if necessary I can cut short so I can still meet with the rest of the group for breakfast at a pre determined meeting spot. The ride leader calls ahead to let them know approximately what time to expect and how many to expect. Then after breakfast, the real "meat" of the ride distance happens. Have alternate routes available in case you need to change as conditions or circumstances do. Do try to keep a main specified "RIDE" consistant if you can though. That's what will often keep bringing people back. If they ride once and find they're able to keep up and enjoy it, they'll return. If they never really know where they're going to ride or how they'll do, they might not.
It's going to be a big undertaking, so it's something I'm going to way over before jumping in. At least being able to work with the group, I'll have a place to publicize my ride a bit easier as well.
Good luck,
I hope I've been SOME help.
Mary

[bcipam]

I am the membership director for a large cycling club in California. For years the Club has tried to get people involved who are newbies, inexperienced riders. We came up with a solution. Every couple of months we offer a "newbie" ride. The purpose of the ride is to introduce riders of the same ability to meet and ride together so there's a reason to keep coming back each week. It's always nice to have different routes each week but there's nothing to say, that routes can't be repeated. Make it a coffee ride. The point is to locate a nice coffee shop, and ride there, have coffee and ride back. You have to decide the length of your rides. Our "Newbie" rides are about 15 miles and I try to keep them as flat and traffic free as possible. This means it is about 7 1/2 miles to the coffee shop and 7 1/2 back. 10 miles is also a good length especially for beginners. I used bike trails as much as possible. Also for "newbie" rides it should be "no drop" so re-grouping here and there is necessary. Can't speed away and leave the other riders lost and trying to find the rest of the pack. We usually have several ride leaders (who are familiar with the route) who sweep the group to make sure no one gets lost or left behind. The point is to make everyone feel like they aren't holding others up adn everyone is enjoying the ride. If someone wants to go faster, then they can speed ahead but as the leader, you always stay with the main group.

If you don't already have a group to ride with, partner with the local bike shop or gym (people who do spin class are usually interested in trying road as well). They can refer new riders (people who come in and buy bikes) to your "club." Come up with a clever name that says it all - "Pedal Pushers", "Coffee Cyclists" something that says this is going to be a fun group. Nothing wrong with starting with a small group to work out all the kinks and hopefully word of mouth gets more riders involved. Also if you have a favorite coffee shop you can partner with them. Have them post flyers about the ride and maybe offer a free cookie with a coffee purchase. You can also start at the coffee shop and end there and then have your coffee.

Good luck - and have fun!!!!

[cindysue]

P.S. I don't work for LUNA (I'm on their Bay Area (California) Road Cycling Ambassador team) but I do tend to "push" the LUNA Chix program because I really believe in the cause! Hope no one considers this as spam :(

with that said, consider this:

Team LUNA Chix is expanding their program to another dozen or so major cities throughout the US. These new cities have not been predetermined: The program manager is looking for the most compelling applications. In fact, the program manager stresses that LUNA is not looking to sponsor a pro team under this program - it's all about reaching out to the novice athlete........

Team LUNA Chix is NOT a race team - the program is comprised of a diverse group of ordinary women with the goal to outreach to an even more diverse group of female rider/athletes.

Here's what LUNA says about the program:

Our Team LUNA Chix are dedicated to getting more women into sports and outside to play! At the same time, we raise awareness and money for the Breast Cancer Fund.

Our teams are a group of women who go to work everyday and swim, play, run or ride as often as they can. They are also a diverse group, from moms to single women; business owners to freelancers; casual sports enthusiasts to competitive athletes.

Each of us know all too well what's it is like to be intimidated by getting into a new sport and the unending search for fellow women who enjoy the same active pursuits.

The goal of Team LUNA Chix is to get groups of women together so they can support each other through learning a new sport, developing skills, training and most importantly — have fun!

We've expanded our Team LUNA Chix program beyond mountain biking to include running, cycling and triathlon. We'll be accepting new applications in January of '06.

Just so you know a little more about our cause, the Breast Cancer Fund is a non-profit organization that identifies — and advocates for the elimination of — the environmental and other preventable causes of the disease. For more information about how to join the fight against this terrible disease please visit, breastcancerfund.org

PPS - the website below has a page showing you all the existing cities. It also has a page showing you the sort of events we do....

[Aint Doody]

In our club--which, by the way, is not yet one year old--we have two "social rides" each week. They are 5 to 20 miles long and are as others have said as flat and as traffic free as possible. There are only about 4 routes, and the "socials" don't mind the repeating at all. Somehow I've sorta become the Mama of the socials and I really enjoy going along slowly and encouraging them and visiting with them. We're not riding any right now w/ice and snow on the ground. The goal is to get the "socials" to realize that they can tackle a regular ride.

If y'all want to see our website for our club it's:

www.pendletononwheels.org

[pkq]

Many years ago, a bike shop owner had a short, around town, Saturday or Sunday morning, breakfast ride for newbies. It was so much fun, more experienced riders usually showed up to ride and help out. Early in the morning, you have little traffic and you are never far away from anything, especially in Lake Charles, LA. It gets people used to road riding, obeying traffic laws, some traffic, etc. The breakfast stop was always Mary Ann's Cafe, which was a local favorite. You could get beignets and cafe au lait there, which was a favorite of everyone. Many new people showed up for the ride.

[traveller_62]

Thanks to all of you for the great insights and ideas! I love this board more every day....:)

I'll keep you posted on progress. I stopped by to talk to my local bike shop folks and they are very supportive of this idea and want to work with me on getting information up on their web site. Now I'm going to have to think of a snappy name. Fortunately I have a few months yet to work on this until the roads thaw out again!

-carol (traveller)

[Geonz]

The one that got me started was the "Ashland Breakfast Club" ride. What made it 'accessible' was that it was every Saturday, year round, so I went on the Saturday that *I* was ready for it. It was always there for me; it was "10 miles out and 10 miles back, stop at Hardee's" with the option for going further. (People get together at Hardee's and decide from there.) Since it was in the paper every week, reminding me... eventually I went.

The big risk there is that any time you have a regular ride, you start getting regular riders, who go 'way too fast for newbies even when they think they're going slowly. IMO it's a huge mistake to ask them to go slowly - they think they are. It just doesn't happen. Then people get dropped.

What made me go *back* was that there really *were* people (even in Februrary) who ddin't drop me - in fact, I was never in back of the group.

Out here in Illinois, we have two rides a week that are 'entry level,' and we work at keeping them that way but it is a challenge. We also have a monthly "new member ride" that doesn't get too many riders but we've pulled some people in who've stuck with it. Next summer, unless I forget, I'm going to have one Saturday ride a month be a "family special" ride with a short, easy loop about 10 miles long.

Usually our Saturday Saunters are 16-20 miles long, mainly because most of the next-towns-over are 8-10 miles away. Tuesday Pedaling for Pleasure is usually 12-15 miles.

We have three or four standard routes depending on the wind. Every year I keep saying I'll get maps ... soon as I find somebody with the software that makes it easy...

Sue J, webmastress
http://www.resourceroom.net

[cindysue]

..... Every year I keep saying I'll get maps ... soon as I find somebody with the software that makes it easy...

Try:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

or

you can play around with earth.google.com by placing stick pins at your rest stops along the route....