{"id":189657,"date":"2022-05-31T08:53:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T08:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=189657"},"modified":"2022-05-31T08:53:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T08:53:55","slug":"back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>You have your bike and gear ready, your first ride planned, and your snacks prepared but something still doesn\u2019t feel right. Yes, it\u2019s your cycling buddy that\u2019s missing! The last puzzle piece for a successful start of a new cycling season is your community. Let\u2019s go over a few tips to help you reconnect.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>They help when you need it<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At the start of a new season, you probably don\u2019t need much motivation. You\u2019re itching to get back in the saddle and ride again. But just like with everything, the novelty wears off and life gets in the way, and your regular rides turn sporadic. And this is exactly where your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/12\/06\/8-uplifting-stories-from-the-cycling-community-in-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cycling community<\/a> comes in. They keep you accountable, help you grow as a cyclist, and they can give cycling a whole other level of meaning. As much as cycling can be a wonderful solo sport, the sooner you find or create your cycling community, the easier every return to cycling will be.<\/p>\n<p>If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question they will invite you on a group ride unless you organize one first. If you\u2019re newer to cycling or have recently moved, you might not know your fellow cyclists in the area yet. Here are a few tips to get you connected.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_177102\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-177102\" style=\"width: 1250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2020\/03\/Friends-Cycling-Training-profimedia-0281706419.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-177102\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2020\/03\/Friends-Cycling-Training-profimedia-0281706419.jpg\" alt=\"Friends cycling\" width=\"1250\" height=\"831\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-177102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Get your friends into cycling. \u00a9 redsnapper \/ Alamy \/ Alamy \/ Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>Connect with other cyclists<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There are two ways to make sure you\u2019re surrounded by friendly cyclists. Either you have to join an existing community or build one yourself. The first option is usually easier, plus it brings a lot of benefits, such as advice on the best local routes, cafes or bike stores. Here are a few ways to get your foot in the door.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sign up for a race \u2013 even if you\u2019ve just moved to a new area and you don\u2019t know a single cyclist, signing up for a race and meeting people there is a sure way to find like-minded cyclists. Plus, there\u2019s nothing better that creates a shared sense of excitement and bonding like suffering and overcoming hardships together.<\/li>\n<li>Ask around at a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/06\/27\/a-love-letter-to-the-local-bike-shop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local bike shop<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s almost guaranteed people working there will know all the local cycling groups, teams, and clubs that might be good for your skill level.<\/li>\n<li>Look at social platforms \u2013 there are local cycling groups on Facebook, Strava has local meetups, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zwift.com\/eu\">Zwift<\/a> holds local group rides, and even servers like meetup.com include cycling groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Bring new cyclists in<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The second way is to build a community yourself. This can be as simple as getting your family or a few friends into cycling. If you succeed in that, there\u2019s a chance it snowballs into a whole cycling group you would be able to call your own. Here are a few tips to get started.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Organize group rides \u2013 this is the easiest and most approachable way to introduce new people to the joys of this sport. Invite your friends for a ride and complain about how much your legs hurt at a coffee stop while enjoying coffee and cake together. There\u2019s no way this won\u2019t work!<\/li>\n<li>Plan a cycling holiday \u2013 you can get your family or friends excited about cycling if you outline <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/10\/13\/the-5-best-european-bike-parks-for-your-next-vacation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a cycling holiday.<\/a> Cycling can be that something special about your next holiday together.<\/li>\n<li>Challenge them \u2013 a friendly challenge can be a very effective way to get a friend to join you in cycling training. If you both get excited about a race that pushes your personal limits, you can strategize, discuss and train together. How does a century ride sound? Or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2021\/06\/02\/connecting-europe-through-cycle-lanes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip across Europe<\/a> on a bike?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Regardless of how you connect with other cyclists, you\u2019ll be better for it. Now, that\u2019s enough preparations, it\u2019s time to get back in the saddle for another season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You have your bike and gear ready, your first ride planned, and your snacks prepared but something still doesn\u2019t feel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":189659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[332],"tags":[6352,4218,6244],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-189657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-training","tag-back-in-the-saddle","tag-cycling-community","tag-cycling-vacation","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-31T08:53:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tereza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jiri Kaloc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/\",\"name\":\"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-31T08:53:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926\"},\"description\":\"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Cycling community\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine\",\"alternateName\":\"\u0160koda WLC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926\",\"name\":\"tereza\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tereza\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/tereza\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community","description":"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community","og_description":"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","article_published_time":"2022-05-31T08:53:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":667,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"tereza","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jiri Kaloc","Est. reading time":"5"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/","name":"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp","datePublished":"2022-05-31T08:53:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926"},"description":"If you already are a part of your local cycling community, there\u2019s no question your friends will invite you on a group ride.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2022\/05\/Community-cycling-profimedia-0679839190-CVR.webp","width":1000,"height":667,"caption":"Cycling community"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2022\/05\/31\/back-in-the-saddle-connect-with-your-community\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Back in the Saddle \u2013 Connect with Your Community"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine","alternateName":"\u0160koda WLC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/50f01ecd18718d2333cf72e823c4f926","name":"tereza","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f9eb71be33845f0afabce3791bc1c58ecdb0a25c62964987e5dbcf7a20d2ec7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tereza"},"url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/tereza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189657"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189660,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189657\/revisions\/189660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189657"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=189657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}