Why are organized rides so popular?
 

I don't get it. And it also seems that people will general ride with a group of friends or clubs then why an organized one? I would think self-organized ride with a small group of friends would be more enjoyable.

I've pondered this too.
~Organized rides are a great place to meet people and make new friends.
~Friends are highly prone to flaking on informal rides.
~Riding with long-time friends is boring. It's too safe when everyone knows everyone else's foibles. Much more adventurous to ride with a pack of wobbly, Parkinson's afflicted newby-triathletes who can't tell the difference from a red or a green light.
~The only medal you get for an informal ride is the $#it you put up on Garminconnect. Organized rides give us promotional items such T-shirts, bottles, patches, which can be prominently displayed to reflect one's scab-defying feats in the Valley of the Wobblies.

Allows you to travel to areas you are not familiar with and ride a marked route without concern of getting lost or ending up in a section of town that will leave you practicing your sprints.

I do local organized rides to support the organizations that put them on. They are often the same organizations putting forth energy to create bike lanes and paths, doing driver/cyclist education, working with local owners of dogs that are quicker than my sprinting abilities, etc.

Many rides also are done for charity. So if it is a charity I like, it is a good way to support that charity.

Things we learned today in the 41: Some people have different preferences than I do!

For the jersey!

I like doing them for the different sceneries. Living in south florida, there are a lot of nice areas to the north and south of where I usually ride. Most of the events I've actually enjoyed have been at least an hour drive away.

It's an event.

The thing I find funny is that if you mention to a non-riding coworker that you rode 100 miles on Saturday, they'll ask whether it was a charity ride.

It's a fair question, but it's a bit like asking why people run in the New York Marathon. I mean, you want to run 26.2 miles...the road starts at your door. If you need to know how fast you went, you've got a watch. And if you need to run with people you could surely find some. So why go through the hassle of getting to Staten Island, waiting in line, etc. -- particularly when you have to pay for the privilege?

Well, because it's more fun that way -- something about participating in a big event is entertaining in a way that just getting up and going for a jog isn't.

No, no I don't.


Ever.


:)

I often get asked that on a rando ride. "So, what are you guys riding for?" Er...just to ride, I guess. Makes us sound selfish?

And it's nice to not have to carry so much food.

For me it's something to train for. If I don't have them as goals then I'd goof off in winter, then spring, then summer...

Self organized rides are fine and dandy, but the bigger organized rides usually have sag support, rest stops, t-shirts, some sort of charity attached to it, ect. Plus, they have more people. I think they are rather fun.

Group rides are better for me as I generally know the abilities and prdictability of most riders. Large organized rides are infinitely more hazardous as you are mixing a wide spectrum of cyclists.

I agree, I always have fun on the organized rides, and I like supporting worthy causes.

I do it for the massages. And the bagels, but mostly for the massages.

Meh. You don't have to get anything, do what you enjoy and let others do their own thing. There is nothing to get.

I find the question a bit interesting, actually. When I think of organized rides, I think of rides that I might have with one of the cycling groups I belong to; not so much a charity event per se. Guess everyone's interpretation is a bit different.

That said, I think the general alure is often either charity events or organized rides that are "just for fun" tend to give you more venues upon which to explore areas with which you're unfamiliar. If you've got a Garmin and know how to search for courses that others have created and/or make your own and put them on your device, then in theory you can do this yourself. But you miss the colleagial aspect of riding with others.

Also, whether you're talking an event or just a club ride, as a rule, people often push themselves more on these rides, giving them a better idea of what they're capable of.

and the sponsored beer tents..

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Agree.

I like to see the different bikes and meet the riders.

LOL - I get the same question "Why do you do rando rides?".

I have no answer...


This is true, too.

If you have to ask this question, you must not like girls.

I like organized rides for a lot of reasons.

First, it's great to support a good cause, and I feel like I'm doing something more than just writing a check. OK, sure... if I just wrote the check and didn't ride, the charity would net more $$, but it's so impersonal.

Second, it's a great way to get a long ride in where you don't really have to THINK. There are always plenty of stops that will always have food, water, and sports drinks. No need to bring cash or a Credit Card to pick up more snacks on the way - or worry about being out too far and running out of water/food with no open gas station in sight. No worries about mechanical problems. Sure, you should have your own spare and pump, but you don't have to stress about what being stranded if you suffer a major mechanical.

Third... Plenty of riding options. I like riding alone. I like riding in groups. But doing either all day is boring. On a charity ride, I can ride for an hour with a pack that's going faster than I can handle all day, then drop off sometime after I do my pull, ride solo for a bit, join a different group, and repeat that all day until I'm either in a group that matches my comfortable pace, or riding solo across the finish. And I get to meet a ton of people that way - many of them several times, as I tend to be in and out of rest stops a lot faster than most riders.

Fourth... No club-related drama.

Fifth, I've never been ridiculed for the type of bike I brought to a charity ride.

Very true.