<p><img src="https://imagedelivery.net/lLmNeOP7HXG0OqaG97wimw/67b075f3-6abc-402f-bccc-19a4b260cdc2/4a21d4b9-ead4-4d72-8a39-7d0aa650aa60/public" alt="Group ride out and riding on a bike path!">One of the best things about cycling is that the community is everywhere. Every city, every town with a decent road or trail network has riders, and most of them are out there on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://roll.ooo/blog/what-is-a-group-ride">group rides</a> multiple times a week. The hard part when you're traveling isn't finding cyclists, it's finding the right ride fast enough to actually get out before you leave.</p><p>Here's how to do it.</p><h2>Start With the Local Bike Shop</h2><p>This is the oldest trick in the book and it still works better than anything else. Walk into a local bike shop, tell them you're in town for a few days and looking to ride, and ask what's going on. Most shops run their own weekly rides or know exactly who does. The people behind the counter are plugged into the local scene in a way that no app or website fully replicates.</p><p>Even if they don't run rides themselves, they'll point you toward the club or the Tuesday night group that everyone shows up to. Bike shop staff talk to every type of rider in town, from the hammer fest crowd to the no-drop coffee ride crew. They can match you to the right group in about 30 seconds.</p><h2>Use Roll to Find Rides Before You Arrive</h2><p><img src="https://imagedelivery.net/lLmNeOP7HXG0OqaG97wimw/67b075f3-6abc-402f-bccc-19a4b260cdc2/9637d2c0-ad71-42a8-a73a-4362c8d24757/public" alt="A cyclist looking at their phone to find local group rides while traveling">The easiest way to find group rides before you even land is Roll. Search by location, bike type, and date to see what's happening wherever you're headed. Roll pulls rides from BikeReg and BikeSignUp as well as local club and community rides into one searchable calendar, so you're not hunting across five different club websites trying to piece together what's happening that week.</p><p>Filter by pace and bike type so you're not accidentally showing up to a hammer session when you want something more social, or a casual spin when you're looking to put in real miles. Search at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://roll.ooo">roll.ooo</a> before your trip and you'll show up knowing exactly where to be and when.</p><h2>Check Strava for Local Clubs</h2><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.trainerroad.com/blog/cycling-group-rides-a-guide-to-etiquette-pacelines-drafting-and-safety">Strava's club feature</a> is one of the most underused tools for finding rides in a new city. Search for clubs in the area you're visiting, find one that matches your riding style, and check their upcoming activities. A lot of clubs post their weekly rides directly on Strava so members can RSVP and see who's coming.</p><p>The bonus with Strava is that you can also look at popular segments in the area and see who's been riding them recently. Drop a message to someone who clearly knows the local roads and ask for tips. Cyclists are generally pretty good about responding to a genuine ask for route advice.</p><p><img src="https://imagedelivery.net/lLmNeOP7HXG0OqaG97wimw/67b075f3-6abc-402f-bccc-19a4b260cdc2/8a8c5cf2-d7f4-41a7-b257-a0f554f5ff16/public"></p><h2>Search Facebook Groups</h2><p>It sounds old school but local cycling Facebook groups are still one of the most active places where rides get organized and announced. Search the city name plus "cycling" or "cycling club" or "bike rides" and you'll usually find at least one active group where rides are posted weekly.</p><p>The quality varies by city. Some groups are extremely active and well organized, others are a ghost town. But in most mid-size and large cities there's at least one Facebook group that functions as the de facto community board for local cyclists, and rides get posted there consistently throughout the riding season.</p><h2>Look Up Local Cycling Clubs Directly</h2><p><img src="https://imagedelivery.net/lLmNeOP7HXG0OqaG97wimw/67b075f3-6abc-402f-bccc-19a4b260cdc2/125eb2bc-d844-4d98-9ed3-19022d8d56ec/public" alt="Large gran fondo heading out!">Most cities have at least one established cycling club with a website and a published ride calendar. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://usacycling.org/clubs">USA Cycling's club search tool </a>lets you find registered clubs by location, which is a solid starting point if you're not sure what's in the area: usacycling.org/clubs.</p><p>Once you find a club, check their website for a ride calendar and any details about pace groups and routes. Many clubs offer multiple ride options at different paces so you can find the right fit without showing up blind and hoping for the best.</p><p>A quick email or DM to the club contact before you arrive goes a long way too. Let them know you're visiting, your riding level, and what kind of ride you're looking for. Most clubs are welcoming to visiting riders and will point you in the right direction or even make sure someone looks out for you on the ride.</p><h2>Ask on Reddit</h2><p>The cycling subreddits are genuinely useful for this. Post in r/cycling or, even better, find a city-specific subreddit and ask where locals ride and what group rides are worth joining. You'll usually get a handful of responses from people who actually live there and know exactly what's going on.</p><p>City-specific subreddits like r/Denver or r/Chicago often have active cycling communities who are happy to answer questions from visiting riders. Keep the ask simple, tell them your riding level and what type of ride you're looking for, and people will point you toward the right groups.</p><h2>Show Up to a Shop Ride</h2><p>Shop rides are one of the most reliable ways to get out with local cyclists when you're traveling. Most shops run a weekly ride, often on Tuesday or Thursday evenings or Saturday mornings, that's open to anyone who shows up. No registration, no fee, just show up with your bike and introduce yourself.</p><p>The pace and vibe varies by shop. Some run fast, competitive rides where you'll be working hard from the first mile. Others are more social with a coffee stop built in. Check the shop's Instagram or website before you go to get a feel for what their ride looks like.</p><p>Shop rides also double as the fastest way to get local knowledge. You'll be riding for two or three hours with people who ride those roads every week. By the time you're done you'll know the best climbs, the best routes, and probably a few people you'd want to ride with again next time you're in town.</p><h2>Be Upfront About Your Level</h2><p>Wherever you find your ride, be honest about your fitness when you reach out or introduce yourself. Showing up to a fast group ride and getting dropped in the first ten minutes is a miserable experience for everyone. Showing up to a casual no-drop ride when you're looking for a proper workout is frustrating in a different way.</p><p>Most groups have multiple pace options or can at least tell you upfront whether the ride is appropriate for where you're at. A quick "I'm visiting from out of town, I ride at about X pace, is this the right group for me?" before the ride starts is all it takes and people will appreciate the honesty.</p><p>The cycling community is genuinely welcoming to visiting riders almost everywhere you go. Show up with the right attitude, follow basic <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://roll.ooo/blog/group-ride-etiquette">group ride etiquette</a>, and you'll usually have a great ride and a few new contacts in your phone by the time it's done.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://roll.ooo/blog/find-bike-events-near-you">Find rides</a> wherever your travels take you at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://roll.ooo">roll.ooo</a>.</p><p align="center" style='text-align: center;'><small><a target="_blank" href="https://www.synscribe.com/?utm_source=web&amp;utm_campaign=attribution&amp;utm_content=cmrbd7k0e00061415xdodp6al">Powered by Synscribe</a></small></p>

Traveling doesn't have to mean riding solo. Here's how to find group rides in any city, plug into the local cycling scene fast, and ride like a local wherever you land.


How to Find Group Rides When You Travel

Traveling doesn't have to mean riding solo. Here's how to find group rides in any city, plug into the local cycling scene fast, and ride like a local...