Social Cycling doesn’t stop for winter

In the heart of Cheshire, we asked cycle enthusiast Rob Ricketts to describe his first experience using Social Cycling Groups and the motivation behind his new group ‘Don’t stop for winter’.

What inspired you to set up a Social Cycling Group?

Having enjoyed being a Sky Ride leader during the summer I was keen to carry on with something positive and encourage people to get out and continue cycling through the winter.  A good friend of mine had been using goskyride.com to run weekly summer rides which proved to be really successful so I decided to set up my own autumn/winter Social Cycling Group called 'Don't Stop for Winter'.

Was it simple to organise your first group ride?

It was very straight forward to set up a Social Cycling Group on goskyride.com. I simply followed the prompts on screen and when the ride was published it looked really professional. In terms of planning the ride route I just chose roads I know well and a route I thought would be suitable for a group.

How did you feel about meeting people you’ve never met before?

I was excited to meet new cyclists as I knew we would all have one big thing in common: our passion for cycling. Social Cycling Groups is a very relaxed way to meet new people and it’s easy to chat as you ride along.

How was your overall experience of your first ride?

I really enjoyed it! Even though it was a very wet morning, eleven enthusiastic people turned up and we cycled a nice route over the border into Wales and back through the Cheshire countryside. As promised we stopped halfway for a coffee which gave everyone the chance to mingle and have a chat.

Has your experience encouraged you to organise future group rides?

Yes definitely, I met some great new people I’d never have met had I not organised the ride, and everyone enjoyed themselves which was very rewarding. I’ll certainly organise more Social Cycling Group rides, in fact I’ve already published next month's on goskyride.com.

 Find out more and join Social Cycling Groups here.

Also worth a read;
Five ways to keep cycling this winter
One womans mission to get her town cycling
From local to social one group takes cycling to the next level