Setting up a new group within a club.

Donie75

Hi,
I have dabbled with joining a cycling club over the last few years. I was a member for two years but didn't renew this year. The club is well established and has a good few members but there seems to be only two real parts to the club. The racers and the cruisers. The racers are fine for a while during the winter when they do their base training but once January/February arrive the speeds and distances get crazy. Then the cruisers are a leisurely group who do shorter distances of around 40/50km but their average speed can be very low.
The club tried an inbetween group but if the numbers were low they merged with the racers. I noticed that a lot of people came along to try out the club spins but they didn't last because they didn't want to race.
I am thinking of going to the club president and offering to set up a Sportive group. The idea is that it would attract the types who have no interest in racing but want to do a decent 50 to 80km spin with the ocassional 80 to 120km spin thrown in. There would be an average speed of 25 to 28kmh and each spin would be planned out on mapmyride or similar and the route posted before the spin. A halfway coffee stop would be mandatory.
I also think a seperate start time with seperate meeting point would help to avoid small numbers merging with the racers.
I know a few who would be interested in joining in and I think the club is currently ignoring this demographic entirely.
Has anyone ever done anything like this before?

wirelessdude01

I know in my club that the sportive group is very successful. The stronger people in the 60km group use it as a stepping stone to see if they want to step up the levels. Attendance fluctuates during the year but there is always 5/6 on any given Saturday morning.

jmrc

I know my own club do have different levels also. very important to have spin leaders each week, that way the pace is kept at the level for that spin.

dancrowley

I'm part of a club over here that had a similar issue. There was the quick group, and the really quick group. I, among many others, have fallen off the back of the quick group more times than we would all care to imagine. Also, with the summer temps getting pretty crazy, and the associated dangers of being out on the road in those temps, a few of us broke away to form a smaller group who just wanted to build mileage.

About 5 or 6 of us rode each weekend together up to ~100km during the summer (setting off before 5am), with a shorter (40-60km) ride or two thrown in for good measure during the week. We picked a different start point and ride a different route to the quick/really quick groups but all manage to meet up for coffee etc afterwards at a regular place.

With the improving temperatures, and good communication via facebook to club members seeking a bit more than "keep up or fall off" riding, we've increased our group size to over 50. We average 28kph, which, for the kind of temperatures and group size we have, is pretty good! We have a quick safety-related chat before we set off and have a few "marshalls" among us who keep an eye on the group and stop folks straying into different lanes and also help those at the back. We also stop around half way for bottle refills and a bit of a chat etc. We communicated the routes to all (using Strava) prior to the ride so people know what they're getting themselves in for! There's a part of the route that's a simple 9km rise and subsequent 9km fall back to the same starting point that gives folks the chance to stretch their legs; those not feeling up for it can canter along and we'll all meet up at the end of that part of the route in order to convoy back to the coffee shop (staying together as a group is safer on these roads).

Wow... I didn't plan on writing that much...

TL;DR - make the group more "inclusive" than "exclusive" and shephard the noobs. Riding as part of a group is fun, but only once you've done it at least once before.