Rollin' with the Homies

Springtime in Central Oregon is a great time to roll around on two wheels. Obviously. But what if you’re new in town? Or new-ish to riding all together?

Listen, take it from me: I was new in Bend — and to group riding — back in 2016. Now I’m newly back in town after squandering a few years in Portland. The point is, like you, I’m looking around for group rides that will help me get back into riding shape, make new friends and bask in the High Desert and alpine terrains with every stroke of the pedals.

Disclaimer: This list is in no way comprehensive, but it’s handy enough to get you oriented. These rides are free, co-ed and multidisciplinary.

Join some rides, see what fits. Chat up folks and learn about other riding opportunities. Or hash out plans with your new friends and lead an adventure of your own! Nearing my 10-year anniversary of moving to Bend, I count some of my closest friends as those I met on these very group rides.

Bend Cycling Google Group

While not a literal group ride, the Bend Cycling Google Group is a great place to get situated. The mailing list connects 700 local riders. (And no, most of them are not Olympians nor national champions; there’s a place for you.) What Bend Cycling does win a gold medal for is local connectivity. Ride leaders announce roll times and staging locations. Folks offer bikes and parts with neighborly asking prices. And riders trade route intel, especially as receding snowlines unlock trails tucked high in the Deschutes National Forest and beyond.

Group rides listed on Bend Cycling range from road, gravel and mountain bike. Catch wind of gender-, age- and discipline-specific clinics. Throughout, catered abilities run the gamut, from friendly “party pace” cruises to the road race-simulating Hammer Fest.

Hammer Fest

OK, let’s get this out of the way: The Hammer Fest is for racers — full stop. Whether these co-ed cyclists are training for gravel grinders, endurance mountain bike races, or road and criterium races, participants are ready to throw down. They’re also prepared to roll solo if they get popped by the group — or pop a tire. To be clear, this a “drop ride,” as in hasta luego if you can’t keep up. The Hammer Fest rolls each Tuesday from Bull Springs Road, where it meets Shevlin Park Road on the way toward Tumalo, at 5:30 pm. The weekly group numbers around a dozen riders, but way more during summer. It follows the Twin Bridges Scenic Bikeway in a clockwise direction, gaining about 1,800 feet over 36 miles. If you’re highly confident in your fitness, group-riding ability and skill with a leg razor, this leaderless ride is for you. And if you get dropped the first couple times you join, don’t despair. Half the battle is knowing where the group attacks and where it relaxes, if ever so slightly. Chart your progress by sticking with the peloton farther and farther on subsequent dates. When you make it back to town with the group, you feel like a champion, every damn time. (I know I did.) An important note: riders soft-pedal before and after crossing US 97. As gnarly as these riders are, they do not tolerate stupidity. Also, upload a GPS route file to your cycling computer if you don’t want to catch a sharp elbow at every turn.

Rubber Mallet Ride

…You see what they did there? The Rubber Mallet Ride is a mellower road ride alternative to the Hammer Fest. Rolling Tuesdays at 5:30pm from WebCyclery, despite the bike shop’s recent fire, the Rubber Mallet Ride, depending on the week, alternates between three routes. On May 6, for example, the Rubber Mallet will follow the Twin Bridges loop counterclockwise. On May 13, the group will tackle a climbing route that ride leader David Caplan has yet to settle on. Although the Rubber Mallet regroups two or three times each ride, Caplan maintains that it’s “not a no-drop” ride. That means you have to be self-sufficient enough to get home if you’re really slowing everyone down. The average speed is 20 mph. If you know what that feels like and think it’s too languid, reread the previous paragraph. The Mallet (as locals call it) is a great place for a relatively fit rider to gain or refine their group-riding and pace-lining skills. If you’d like instructions, debrief Caplan before the ride about your riding background and what you’d like pointers on. When I was new to group riding, Caplan and a few other Mallet riders helped me develop good habits, like keeping a predictable line, shifting efficiently and how to draft. Caplan said he began the Rubber Mallet, “to focus on cooperative riding instead of the strongest just killing everyone else.” Aaawww! You can be as green to group riding as can be — just show up ready to learn!

Blazin Saddles

Last week we wrote about the six-date group rides that Blazin Saddles, a bike shop in Sisters, has organized in cooperation with Sisters Park & Recreation District. Meeting on Saturdays at 10 am, the upcoming rides for adult and youth riders will explore established yet immensely fun mountain bike routes and also those more suitable on gravel or cyclocross bikes. The rides are free, but register in advance.