Riding Buddies...How to find them.
I love riding alone. Me and my bike, nature, solitude. As much as I love my alone time on the trail, sometimes it’s nice to have some company. When I started riding, I didn’t know anyone who rode. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to find people to ride with. Here are some great resources to make new friends with similar interests and learn a lot about the sport. Don’t be shy, take advantage of the great groups out there. Everyone is there to have fun and learn. Here are some of my favorite resources for group rides and events.
Bike Shops. Every bike shop has a variety of rides that are open to anyone. If you’re new or less experienced and worried about not being fast enough, don’t be! Look for a no-drop fun ride. These rides are for all experience levels and no one gets left behind. Bike shops often host recurring rides for all types of biking and experience levels. Some rides are even Women only! Also, you can usually find great clinics through the bike shop where you can learn everything from basic mechanic skills, to riding positions. Liv Cycling West Michigan hosts rides and events for all skill levels through Village Bike and Fitness!
Join a mountain biking alliance for your area. Every area has trails that are cared for by an association. In my area is the West Michigan Mountain Biking Alliance (WMMBA). Join an alliance and you’ll contribute to trail upkeep and new trail building as well as have access to tons of great resources and member events.
Facebook and other social media. I’ve met so many great people and groups through Facebook. I found that as I liked groups on Facebook (like WMMBA) I would get recommendations for other great local riding groups. The more events you check out, the more people you meet. The more people you meet and are friends with, the more things you’ll see that they are going to, like rides and races. The more events and pages you are interested in the more new similar pages that Facebook recommends. It really snowballs quickly. I have a few groups I ride with fairly regularly now, and a calendar full of races that I’ve found through groups and friends.
Fliers at trailheads. Check out your trailhead bulletin board. Often you’ll find ads for upcoming rides, races and clinics.
Volunteer at an event. Even if you aren’t a racer or just don’t feel ready to race, you can meet a lot of great people by volunteering at an event. Help is always needed with registration, packet pick-up, course direction, clean-up and so on.
Join a team. I know, I know…WHAT?? Seriously though, team riding isn’t all cut-throat competition. All teams are different. Some teams don’t require you to race at all! Many teams host rides and events that you can be a part of in many different capacities from helping to riding. Which brings me to this point…follow some of the teams on social media and you can find all sorts of group rides for all experience levels that you can join, and you don’t even have to be a team member. Most teams are excited to get more people on bikes and spread the love of riding. Check out the All-Women Liv/Village bike team!
