How do I start a cycling club?

Hi Lisa,
My friends and I started a club(for USCF Racing). You should contact the USCF and have everyone join a nearby club. From your post your group should be more formal. Takes discipline to ride slow as it is to ride fast. The existing club will have advice on organizing rides based on ability. Encourage strong riders to race and feel some of the real pain. You can use the group's purchasing power to buy a team jersey.

-Adam

lisan said:

Any suggestions?

The goal would be to have an organization which offers regular rides for people training for distance rides or triathlons. I would also like to have regular informational seminars (bike maintenance, riding tips, nutrition, etc.).

Currently, there are about 20 or so of us that ride regularly; but sometimes people are left behind because of miscommunications, etc. We've also had people stuck that didn't know how to change their own tire (myself included!) and others that get left back and then upset because they break away from the group.

In any case, I would like to set up something a little more formal so that (a) we can address all of these issues and still keep a friendly and informal atmosphere and (b) encourage more people to join us on our rides - and increase the frequency of the rides.

So...any thoughts?

Is there a national organization that we can try and attach ourselves to; or is it better (given the informal atmosphere I would like to maintain) to just do our own thing?

Anyone here ever start there own cycling club? Thoughts?

Lisa

P.S. I'm going to cross-post this on a few other boards...

You could set up an e-mail list to notify people in the group about rides, events, and other items. You might also post notices at the local bike shops with contact information or times & dates for rides, especially if there are weekly rides that meet/start at the same place and time. One example these suggestions can be found at:

http://www.eibike.com

Hi Lisa !

Things may work differently here ( Melbourne, Australia ). However i'll let you know how some groups have been formed.

Firstly we have the groups targeting certain genders ie: all womens group that cater for social aspect / competitive / fitness. They vary in distance and like many groups they tend to split into two eg: First group Slower , second group faster.

Then we have the groups that meet regularly at specific points. These groups usually associate themselves with local bike shops ( can be sponsorship / advertisement benefits for the shop owner). Creates a sense of loyalty. Try and aline yourselves with a bike shop.

Work out who you want to target and a regular route to ride. Most of the rides / groups that form then join local bike clubs. This can create come competitive rivalry within clubs. Usually makes for interesting riding.

Creating your own group ride and setting some ground rules will create numbers through word of mouth.

This is probably stuff you already know. Sorry if it is.

Good luck getting things going the way you want them.

Tim 🙂

I did something different - check this link cyberrider.nethome.htmOpen ↗If you want to form your own club within the framework of i-Team you would be very welcome. We sort all the admin - you organise the get togethers - or see you online!

Regards

Guy Watson

Team Manager i-Team.co.uk

Be consistant with your group rides. Try to have them every day. If people know that they can join a ride any day of the week, and people will be there then they will come from far and wide. This isn't easy but it works.

Guy_Watson said:

I did something different - check this link cyberrider.nethome.htmOpen ↗If you want to form your own club within the framework of i-Team you would be very welcome. We sort all the admin - you organise the get togethers - or see you online!

Regards

Guy Watson

Team Manager i-Team.co.uk

New Home Page is www.i-team.co.uk

We now have over 200 members world wide, including USA, India & Singapore

We did it on an informal basis through Yahoo Groups -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PsychoCyclers/

I also joined another local club/group to keep informed on "their" daily and weekly rides -
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/TenaflyRoadDawgz/