Who on here regularly organises small group rides?

I ride with a very informal group throughout the summer and so far we survive by word of mouth and a regular group text just to confirm a regular(ish) meet point and time.

Anyone use facebook successfully or perhaps something like a shared google calendar to ease communication?

The groups I ride with generally organise via text, email or a trailbuilding forum some of us use. Someone did try to start using a shared Google calendar but it never took off.

My Bro-in-law seems good at it
He tried to get everyone on google calendar, but it didn’t last 5 mins. I’d imagine Facebook would be the same, most can’t be arsed. Best to just have someone motivated enough to do the organising via texts. Android phones do group texts, which is very useful, I think.

Si: ha ha

Neeps have web page

The splinter group have a Facebook group page that we use.

the group I rode with used a private facebook group, easy to organise and messages to your e-mail.

One way is to have a fixed time and place and take it from there – same night each week and make it more likely for others to join you

We use twitter to organise our group rides, usually successful although not knowing what people look like can present problems. Have met numerous great people we now ride regularly with through twitter as well.

yeah, same time each week, same start point, begins after the clocks change and runs till nobody turns up – its me that has to do the group text bit* I just wanted to share the workload a bit and open up some space to discuss other one off events etc

*new android phone, better set up a group

I was thinking about this the other day.

Some use a BB3 forum like this: http://www.sillygrin.co.uk – compact and bejou.
or Yahoo groups like the mutts nutts group
FB is ok only if you don’t want to ‘grow’ the group plus everyone has a FB profile and, ideally, accepts push notifications to mobiles (which can be done if they are members of a ‘group’. otherwise you rely on individuals checking in on the site.
Twatter has a similar problem – reactive checking

So you may as well use a forum. Which is also reactive, but has the added advantage of being able to have a bit of banter on.

We use Meetup.com

http://www.meetup.com/Mountainbikeglasgow/

We do what Mike says and it works for us.
Sat 10am at Level Crossing
Sun 9am at Market Place
Tue 6:15pm at George’s house
Wed 6:15pm at Market Place
Thu 7:30pm at Village Hall
Everyone who comes knows this. The only messages required are of the “it’s pi$$ing down, you still going?” or “I’ll be 10mins late, wait for me” variety. We also have a wee group on Facebook as Mike suggests for letting everyone know about anything out of the ordinary.

A single text off one of the guys to the rest of us in the group stating the starting/meeting place. It’s always a Monday and normally 6:30.
Mainly a different location each week, weather permitting so as not to tan the same trails week in, week out. Each location offers 3 or 4 different configurations anyway.

what you need is a cycle specific website/forum where you can invite like minded folks along for a pootle in the countryside….

Pook from here organises great rides through the forum.
we also use a yahoo group.

We meet at 7pm on Thursday, always. Failing that a website and forum.

Easier if anyone can publish ride details, much easier for new people to join you and someone take over if the ring leader can’t make it.

Texts etc. can make it hard as not everyone may be in the loop/

+1 for what Bob says http://www.meetup.com
http://www.meetup.com/Mountainbikeglasgow/

We’ve successfully used a combination of Twitter and a forum hanging off Yuku.com.

I’ve found with Twitter that the art is in coming up with a hashtag that isn’t going to get a lot of cross-posting.

Keep it simple, same time, rotate start points, no technology.

we use a forum – Bad Brains MBC forum

There are plenty of free forums about

Before that we produced a club ‘fanzine’ with ride details in (amongst other stuff).

Before that we met at the same time and place each ride and advertised it with hand written flyers in chip shops etc

soob – if you think that you can get that lot better organized, you’re pished again!

Even I can still remember where you meet at and at what time – and I’ve moved house 4 times since I rode with you!

My tuppence………..

Worst group ride – supposedly regular tuesday/thursday rides, always from the same place, but it seemed a clique could change/cancel this without notice.

Best group ride (Tunnel Hill Trolls) – different start point each week (choice of about 5 laybys), always announced on a forum almost imediately after the last ones finished, and despite the leading being far more technicratic the rides were much more laid back and fun and usualy covered a bigger distance anyway as they’d got the art of no stopping/faffing down to a fine art so despite ~50 people theres only ~2 stops in 2 hours riding.

Club website with rides list and forum as well as a facebook page works for the Bogtrotters. Out tonight near Coniston for a ‘new’ ride/route. Come along if you fancy a whip round the northern end of Coniston and beer in the pub afterwards.

trogbotters webshite

Having a list of rides up is good for regular riding – I’m a Wednesday night man due to family commitment (cheezy grin) but if I see a good weekend ride that temps me I ask (beg) for a pass out