Little Darwin

I have created a group on meetup.com to organize rides for those of us that don't necessarily always want to ride fast. The group is based in Northeast Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area).

All are welcome, and Meetup is free (except to us organizers), so if you are in the area, and looking for an opportunity to do some casual rides with others, check us out.

https://www.meetup.com/Slow-Ride-Cyclists-of-NEPA/

I also organize NEPA Ground Zero, which is committed to getting people off of their couches, and getting active. Most rides will be cross posted into this group as well, so you can join this group if you are interested in cycling and walking:

https://www.meetup.com/NEPA-Ground-Zero/

I am also interested in hearing any ideas about events in the area, so please let me know. Along with rail trails and some easy road rides, I have also explored a couple of other things.

I checked out the possibility of riding around Pocono Raceway, but they are solidly booked on the weekends...

I have an email out to the Trexlertown velodrome to see if they would let a group of slow pokes ride their hybrids around the track a couple of times as a lead in to a road ride in that area.

I have sent an email suggestion to Pocono Downs to open up the horse track once a year for cyclists...

We will be possibly going as a group to some organized rides in the area (Tour de Scranton, Bucks County Covered Bridges Ride, etc.).

I am thinking of leading a Ride of Silence event... but to be honest, I am not at the level of involvement that many are when they lead events like that. I'll start discussing it when the group gets together.

I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I feel the urge to have a themed ride or two each year.

If you live in the area, or even visit the area, and any of our events sound interesting, you are more than welcome to join in the fun.

Consularrider

We have a similar Meetup group (Northern Virginia Casual Bicycling Group (NOVA-CBG)) started in 2008. It has morphed in to a much more extensive group, but still makes sure to include rides for beginners and to accommodate those who aren't interested in speed.

Little Darwin

That is a great group. I don't expect mine to grow to that size with the limited number of cyclists in this area, but you never know.

I have been trying to decide whether to require helmets or not, but I think it might be the wise thing to do.