Mountain - Plains - Fort Collins Club Rides for Newbies

I've never done a club ride but would like to try. Obviously, I don't want to go out with a group that isn't interested in acclimatizing new riders. I'm not really a new rider, just would be new to riding in a group and don't know the rules, expectations, etiquette, etc. Any groups like this around? I'm not looking for overly easy beginner rides. A 15-17 mph pace with some hills is fine and in the 40-50 mile range. Thanks.

lots of options in FC...

theres a club in town called Velo-one that has a lot of the kind of recreational but not necessarily "easy" paced rides youre talking about.

they do a saturday morning ride from Lee's South, as well as a lot of social events like potlucks and such throught the year.


they also offer opportunities to race if you decide youre interested in that down the road.

in addition to velo-one, check yourgroupride.com and velocal.org for more about group rides.

Have you ever done The Oval, badhat?

yeah i did it pretty regularly last spring. will start up again this winter for oval-lite.

Good to know. Oval light?

lots of options in FC...

theres a club in town called Velo-one that has a lot of the kind of recreational but not necessarily "easy" paced rides youre talking about.

they do a saturday morning ride from Lee's South, as well as a lot of social events like potlucks and such throught the year.


they also offer opportunities to race if you decide youre interested in that down the road.

in addition to velo-one, check yourgroupride.com and velocal.org for more about group rides.

Thanks for the info. I was aware of a couple groups in town but most seemed to made up of semi-pro or pro riders and I was afraid I would be in the way or left in the dust. These sound more my speed. I checked the velo-one website and see that they have rides going on. Having never done one of these before, I was hoping to find a group that would "put up with" new riders as they learn the ropes. Their site seems pretty friendly to new users so that's a good sign.

Do you know anything about FC cycling club? They don't seem to have as much going on in the winter. Sounds like the have some more recreational rides but I don't know if those would be too easy or not. Maybe trying a few easy ones would be a good place to start and maybe they won't be all that easy anyway.

What is "the oval"?

Thanks again.

http://thegroupride.wordpress.com/heavy-hittin-group-rides/the-oval/

FCCC is very beginner friendly but in my experience hasnt been as integrated with the community and isnt as social as V-1. they dont get much turnout and yeah they seem to drop off a lot in the winter.

v-1 has a TON of members and organizes all kinds of rides from beginner to races, mtb, road, and cx. all year. theyve actually got quite a cross cult going this season.

dont just rely on the v-1 website though, it doesnt always have everything, write to Bob Green who runs the club, and get on the club mailing list. but i promise theyre a patient, rec paced, welcoming group.

the oval is a pretty challenging weeky training ride that goes from december through early race season, leaving from the CSU oval. If youre concerned about speed its probably not the best place to start. definitely more of a training race for racers.

"oval-lite" is the shortened, winter version of the oval ride before it reaches its full 80+ mile course in early spring.

by the way, LAJ, "thegroupride.com" is defunct and no longer updated. its author migrated to a new home, yourgroupride.com, which is the definitive online resource for norther colorado competitive cycling at this point.

Nice. Thanks badhat.

FCCC is very beginner friendly but in my experience hasnt been as integrated with the community and isnt as social as V-1. they dont get much turnout and yeah they seem to drop off a lot in the winter.

v-1 has a TON of members and organizes all kinds of rides from beginner to races, mtb, road, and cx. all year. theyve actually got quite a cross cult going this season.

dont just rely on the v-1 website though, it doesnt always have everything, write to Bob Green who runs the club, and get on the club mailing list. but i promise theyre a patient, rec paced, welcoming group.

the oval is a pretty challenging weeky training ride that goes from december through early race season, leaving from the CSU oval. If youre concerned about speed its probably not the best place to start. definitely more of a training race for racers.

"oval-lite" is the shortened, winter version of the oval ride before it reaches its full 80+ mile course in early spring.

by the way, LAJ, "thegroupride.com" is defunct and no longer updated. its author migrated to a new home, yourgroupride.com, which is the definitive online resource for norther colorado competitive cycling at this point.
Thanks again for the info. I'll contact them and get some more info. Sounds like it could be a good group. Looking forward to doing some group rides.

Want to mix it up with some off-road? Overland is a good mountain bike club, a lot of the regulars are roadies as well, and would offer some other options for groups rides.

Browse http://www.overlandmtb.org/

Want to mix it up with some off-road? Overland is a good mountain bike club, a lot of the regulars are roadies as well, and would offer some other options for groups rides.

Browse http://www.overlandmtb.org/

Thanks for the tip. I have a mtb but I have no skill at all. I ride up around Dixon reservoir and that's about it. I'll check out the link. Thanks.

Thanks for the tip. I have a mtb but I have no skill at all. I ride up around Dixon reservoir and that's about it. I'll check out the link. Thanks.

Bikerjp, they do MTB group rides for all skills, don't even have to be a member. For instance, there's a pretty big group that meets weekly at the CSU stadium, then they split up into groups by skill level. Some go to Pineridge (easy), some do Shoreline (harder) and some do Lory, etc. It's pretty fun, and usually end up at someone's house afterward for beer. And really, no one cares about the membership status, so there's no pressure or anything to join (even though it's only like $20 a year). They get most funding from other sources so it's no biggie, it's just a group ride club.
I hear a buncha of the people talking road riding as well, so might be worth checking out.