dark13star

Since the Colorado contingent is pretty active here lately, I thought I would pose this question to you all.

I have decided that I may not be the miserable misanthropist I chalk myself up to be and I am considering joining a riding club so I can continue to meet other cyclists, develop some better riding skills, and push myself harder. I have seen several of you mention your clubs on this list, so I wonder if you could tell me how well they stack up to this list of criteria I would like.

-I want to do climbing rides, maybe a little bit on the plains
-I am looking for a laid back attitude, at least by road cycling standards. In other words, not a race team.
-Rides need to be in foothills and mountains near Denver for the most part, but I wouldn't mind traveling for some special rides.
-It would be nice if the club used something like a facebook group for non-riding interaction and organization of ad hoc rides.
-Looking for one good weekend ride and maybe one after work ride each week.
-It would be good if club members like to hang out and drink beer too, since that is another favorite sport of mine.

Ok, that is a lot. I look forward to your replies. I will be on the road today, so I may not see responses 'til later.

Thanks

DataJunkie

clubhypoxia.com

I do not think I have been on one ride with this club that has not been primarily climbing.

We meet irregularly but have members just about everywhere. Some race but many do not. It is not a racing club. More of a social hammerfest.

Our rides range from Fort Collins to the southern suburbs

We are on facebook. One of our members just added social networking integration with the website.

Here we have an issue. The club meets several times a month and at the moment we do not have any scheduled rides. Our hammerheads are heading up Mt Shasta Sat and a few of us are pondering our Labor Day rides. Cinnamon Roll Century! However, whenever I am ready for a ride I just send out a note and those that have time meet up and ride together. I have plenty of ad hoc ride partners.
bmclaughlin802 introduced me and pwnt to the club. Valygrl also rides with us from time to time.

This is our favorite post ride activity. It seems like every member is friends with the other members and I have yet to meet anyone with a bad bone in their body.

I would say join up and give us a go. However, you may need to find another club to ride with regularly but this is a good one for those of us with irregular schedules. A few of us ride with a different club for the regular rides and clubhypoxia for the killer beat down rides.
This club has quite the range in riders. Some serious hammer heads to several times a year recreational riders. We take all kinds.
Also, we have a cool jersey. The 5 year redesign is nearing completion and we will have our yearly clothing order in the next few weeks. Yours truly is in charge of the order since I missed the order last year.

Then there is RMCC, DBTC, etc
I'm not a terribly social person in large groups so I have been sticking to club hypoxia and a few random group rides here and there.

You can send me a friend invitation on facebook and I will suggest the other members we have on facebook. Zin is an awesome guy to ride with and lives west of Denver. Maybe a bit south.

petalpower

Depending where I end up living, I'm down for it.

LAJ

Rocky Mountain Cycling Club has mountain rides on Saturday, less hilly rides on Sunday. That can change, but you can look at their schedule and plan as far ahead as you want. They also have weeknight rides as well.

https://www.rmccrides.com/

Denver and Front Range Cycling has stuff going on all the time.

https://www.meetup.com/Denver-and-Front-Range-Cycling/

valygrl

I ride with the RMCC sometimes, but they aren't very social - it's more of an ad hoc road race. If you can keep up, though, there are some cool folks. They are rather brevet-centric. They have some weekday rides, that I've never done.

I primarily ride with a women's club.

DataJunkie

I'm a bit isolated in my current work environment. Social is a big thing for me.
DFRC on meetup.com has a ton of stuff going on and they seem fairly friendly. However, I have yet to make a ride.

colorider

I've ridden with RMCC a few times. They seem like nice folks although I usually get dropped by faster riders and end up doing the rides myself.

superdex

I think I'm the only BF-er in the Highlands Ranch area, but any of you have insight on the hrcc? (https://www.highlandsranchcycling.com/) ?

I rode a couple times with RMCC a few years ago, I was a little younger than the average age I saw on the rides, which affected how often I came out (eg not since)

DataJunkie

I dropped a dude on the triple wearing a hrcc jersey. That is all I know.

hocker

I am part of Team Evergreen, but I am not so sure I would recommend them. Can't really say why, but this is my first and only year.

I have really enjoyed being a part of Front Range Cycling meet up group. Everybody is really low key, you can lead rides, suggest rides and there aren't any expectations to volunteer, show-up, etc. It is free too. There might be club jersey's next year, we will see.

Here is an example of a ride that is taking place this Saturday.
https://www.meetup.com/Denver-and-Fro...ndar/10975098/

dark13star

It seems like some combo of Club Hypoxia and Meetup might work for me. I actually found the Meet Up site through Google Analytics. Looks like people have linked to some of my ride descriptions from there.

DataJunkie, where do I join Club Hypoxia? Is it as simple as creating an account on the site? I can't find anything about membership on the site, but your description might explain that, being that it is pretty loosely organized.

I like the fact that they seem to rely on a lot of social networking. Being a telecomuter, I rely on a lot of social networking to keep in touch with friends and collegues. It is also my job to stay up on the latest technologies

DataJunkie

Yes, just create a login. No membership dues or anything formal like that.
You can say you are a friend of me in the notes. I do not remember if they have to approve the user first or not. I am known as DataJunkie there as well.
Once you add me as a friend on FB I can suggest other members to get you introduced to the group. It is a really friendly group of folks.

bmclaughlin807

I've never had an issue finding someone about my speed to ride with on RMCC rides. They generally do two rides that leave from the same place and time... a fast, fairly short ride for the racers, and a longer, slower paced endurance ride.

My first ride with them I didn't realize this and took off with the fast riders... made it to the half way point with them still in sight. From then on I was "that kid in cammo's" ...... yeah, I did a pretty good job of keeping up with the hammer heads while wearing Camouflage pants and riding a 40+ pound touring bike with fenders, rack, etc.

But no group anywhere tops Club Hypoxia. You'll never find a better group of people, on bike AND off.

dark13star

Well, I guess I joined Hypoxia today. Pretty easy and non-committal. Probably just right for someone like me and I am looking forward to the first chance to ride with folks.

Thanks again for the advice

clydesdale

I signed up with club hypoxia but never recieved the email with password. I was not sure if I needed an invite or not.

dark13star

The site is giving an error instead of sending the email. DataJunkie helped me get in touch with the person who maintains the site on facebook to get in. I would gladly do the same for you. Are you on facebook?

If not, PM me with an email address and the username you wanted and I will get it to him.

clydesdale

This is an invite to a ride I have been planning for sometime. I am planning on riding from Garden of the Gods in the Springs along Rampart Range Road. Here is a quick description: A 60-mile-long gravel road that travels the forested crest of the Rampart Range from the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs to the highway 10 miles west of Sedalia. The Rampart Range Road, one of Colorado’s best off-the-beaten track drives, traverses the undulating crest of the Rampart Range for sixty miles between Colorado Springs and Sedalia. The beginning is a steep climb and the road is one heck of a lot of rollers. If you are up for a challenge you are more than welcome to join team Big and Tall August 8th @ Garden of the Gods @ 7am (wheels on the road) This is a totally self supported with no sags. PM me if you will be there.

UGASkiDawg

+1

Come out on Wednesday for the Handlebar grill ride....we go for beers and dinner every week and then you'll know some people on the weekend rides and can judge who to hang with.