Do you use a service/app to find group rides? I have been using meetup.com for a few years and I'm wondering if something has come out that more people are using.
Alan

I use the meetup app. I am actually asking because numbers were down this year for the weekly ride i frequent and I was wondering if people have moved onto something else.

Agreed. A good local bike shop will know about all the local rides and clubs and can recommend something specifically for your level.

As much as I despise Facebook, you should search there. I'm sure today most clubs have a page.

I usually google it.

Name of town and "bicycle clubs".

Several ways have worked in the past for me:

1. Google bike ride/club and the city I'm in
2. Going to the LBS and seeing what they have to say. Normally the know of rides or have rides themselves.

I struggled with finding groups. My LBS does not organize any, meetup only has beginner rides and the groups on Strava do not do group rides. Even the local forum here on BF proved to be a bust.

There used to be such a thing as actual bike clubs which held various rides. The only clubs in my area nowadays are really just support organizations for racing teams.

Bike shops are the same routes, week after week. I go once in a while, usually with a fixed gear bike just to make it fun.

Email cliques really are all that's available in my area.

I've gotten creative - ask where the rides start whenever I meet other riders, show up at the start locations and introduce myself, etc. I'm not shy about asking, "Hey, mind if I sit in with your group today?" or who runs the ride and if I can get on the email list. Bringing a bagels to the ride start or a case of cold Topo Chico for after helps get me invited back.

Mostly it's solo rides though. That's fine.


-Tim-

Some people in my area connect on Strava.

My favorite rides aren't organized or led by anyone, they just exist on their own. They leave at the same time, from the same place every week, over more or less the same route. Whether it's a hard ride or an easy ride depends on the wind, your fitness, and who shows up.

Any chance you can branch off from the beginner rides? That is go to a meetup ride and see if there are any beginners that are quicker/and or interested in picking up the pace. Then you can start your splinter group of quicker riders. Just an idea...

Yeah, I'm noticing this with the group rides around here too. There are many different clubs, but a lot of them are focused on racing. And if you're not interested in training for a CAT 1, 2, etc. then it can be intimidating and not a very welcoming group. Finding a group of people to ride with that have the same interests/goals as you is definitely a challenge. Gotta say I'm still looking for the perfect ride group myself.

It is not about faster rides, it is about harder ones. I only like to do climbs and the meetup rides rarely go over 50ft of climbing per mile. Beginners will either struggle up mountains or most likely do not wish to go up a two-three climb. Putzing around flats is fine with many.

Maybe start a MeetUp group that is climbing focused? I've never started a meetup so I don't know all the logistics involved, etc. But you never know, there might be others out there in the same boat as you.

Time to bring back the 'Watts is Watts' thread

The best resources I've found have been FB groups and an e-mail list, along with connections from coworkers who also ride. One of our local bike shops has information about the FB groups and e-mail lists on their website, which is very helpful. We do not have clubs in the traditional sense, other than race teams, but clubs are often a useful way to find other riders.

After riding with a group for a while, things can get easier: I've found riders with similar goals and fitness levels to go with on other rides, usually arranged by text.

[MENTION=341575]RFEngineer[/MENTION] If you can get to Denver or Boulder, there are a ton of bicycling clubs, most of which have their own websites.

Facebook. Once you like, follow and/or join one bicycling group, Facebook will suggest others. Pretty soon you'll see more than you could ride in a week.

It's pretty easy to ignore the drama on Facebook if you want to just focus on the group events that interest you.
1. Assign priority to the groups and people you want to hear from first. Those will deliver push notifications, which is helpful for group rides, especially when times or start/finish locations change.
2. Assign regular priority to everyone else.
3. Unfollow or mute the people you want to *appear* to be friends with, but don't actually want to see their posts too often. That includes most of my relatives. It also includes the filibuster posters who post dozens of times a day, every thought that pops into their noggins or annoys them during that particular 5-minute period.
4. Get off FB for the day after reading what you want. Most FB pain is self-inflicted.

I rarely unfriend anyone but I'll occasionally use the option to mute them for 30 days if they're on a crapposting binge. I don't even mind if folks post rants about hot button issues, as long as they confine it to one or two a day. But some of my friends post literally dozens of political rants every day. I love 'em even when we disagree, but when they drown out everything else I'll mute 'em or unfollow them for a few weeks. I'd prefer it if Facebook would condense everyone's daily allotment of crapposting under a single tab. Sometimes I actually want to read rants on politics, economy and religion -- my friends are pretty intelligent folks and have something interesting to say. But not when it drowns out everyone else.

Try to find an unofficial (non-club) group. I've lived in a bunch of places and ridden with a lot of groups. The best one I ever rode with was in the 90's. Not a club, the leader was an ex cat1 and worked at a bike shop. Those were the coolest rides I ever went on and we didn't have club dues, meetings or club jerseys to buy. We just met up at 9am every Saturday and hammered for a few hours with one 10 minute stop at a store. No organised ride routes, we just did whatever. One day the leader asked if anyone was in a hurry to get home and nobody was so we did a century. And I have never seen a club jersey that didn't look gaudy and hideous. But if you're a member of a club and don't buy one you feel bad. Club rides always make too many stops for me as well. One group I rode with stopped every 30 minutes, then we would sit there forever because nobody would stop talking.

This ^^. I couldn't agree more. I used to ride every Saturday with a group of guys (6 - 10) and we had no dues, no club jerseys, etc. We decided where to ride when we showed up and then went. Very informal and very casual. But also competitive at times too. They were the great rides. So what happened?

Word started to percolate about our ride and more and more people started to show. Then our 'friend' ride was merged with a local club ride (because they were low one numbers) and whammo! Our friendly ride was taken over by waivers, rules, club jerseys/kits, etc. Totally ruined the vibe. I stuck with it for a year after that and then bailed.

That group I rode with is long gone. Replaced by a club with these $85 jerseys that will give you epilepsy looking at it and they ride the exact same route every Saturday.