When I’m mountain biking, there’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing, but ask
me that when I’m laying in bed on Saturday morning and I’ll give you a very different
answer.
Even Drama would rather lay here than go to the dog park.
Still, at 9:00AM, the Band of Bikers, or BOBers for short, have all made it out to Johnathan
Dickinson State park.
For most of us this is a long drive, but just like a gym buddy helps motivate you to
work out, the peer pressure of a bike club can get you out bed on Saturday morning.
Of course, going to the gym sucks, while mountain biking and BBQing are awesome.
The BOBers aren’t a racing group, or an exclusive brotherhood of clipless, tubeless
Strava enthusiasts.
No, the BOBers are just friendly pack of mountain bikers who enjoy riding together.
Group events can be anything from a short morning ride, to a Sunday cookout with barely
any riding at all.
Today’s event at Johnathan Dickinson Park is a group ride followed by a BBQ.
JD Park is the perfect place for today’s ride, as the trails are smooth enough for
beginners, but packed full of fun stuff for riders like me.
By use of some alien technology, the maintenance crew, Club Scrub, has built jumps, berms,
and even a pump track out of sugar sand and shells.
You can even ride it when it’s soaking wet.
While Club Scrub is more of a maintenance group, many of their members are also part
of BOBers.
Clubs don’t necessarily compete with one another, in fact a lot of the time they share
a number of members.
With members all over South Florida, you’re bound to see BOBers anywhere you go.
Sometimes you can pick them out by a their Jerseys, but there’s another way to flag
them down.
Cacaw!
When you see a grown man or woman cawing like a bird, it’s a safe idea to stay the hell
away from them, but in the case of the BOBers it would actually mean the opposite.
This is their battle cry, and with all the group rides they do it’s a great way to
stay together.
Riding together is one of the main benefits of joining a bike club.
Sure, there are many less structured ways you can ride with others, but bike clubs are
organized and easy to understand.
Even if you think you’re too busy to make new friends, you can ride once a month with
a group and meet tons of people.
So clubs are a great way to meet new friends and find people to ride with, but what if
you already have that?
Why not just call up some friends and ride?
Why does it need to be official, and have a name?
Is all this necessary?
Well, no, not at first.
It's when the group grows that these things start to happen.
Many bike clubs start with a group of friends who meet up to ride casually.
Little by little, things get too big for the likes of a group text.
Before you know it, the group has a name, jerseys, and a long list of inside jokes.
This is how many bike clubs materialize, and the BOBers have a similar story.
Although the Band of Bikers is a very diverse club, there is a consistent group culture.
In this case, inclusiveness and lightheartedness.
Other groups have their own cultures as well, so there’s always a club out there that
will fit your personality.
Maybe you like to do trail maintenance, or maybe you’re super competitive and want
to find riders who will push you to the limits.
Maybe you want to ride for 10 minutes and drink beer for the rest of the day.
There are groups for that.
At most BOBers events, they’ll wait up at checkpoints to keep the ride together.
Other clubs might prefer a more rigid structure where they know that everyone is at the same
skill level.
These determinations can also be made per event.
So if your group of riding buddies is becoming a little too big to handle, you have the option
of taking it a step further and starting a club.
Unless you want do more than organize group rides, there’s really no need to incorporate,
or register the group as a non-profit.
A cycling club can be as loosely or rigidly structured as you choose.
What do you guys think?
Do you think cycling clubs get you out riding more?
If you’re part of a mountain biking club, tell us the name and where your home trails
are.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.