Every riding club offers a unique approach. Cycle Folsom aims to improve rider skills through training. While we enjoy many social aspects of group cycling, our primary focus is on improving fitness. We prefer to ride, rather than just talk about riding, so we don't sit around too long chatting at water stops. We're not really into Latté rides either, except for the occasional"all group" social ride for events like Thankgiving, New Years, seasonal picnics, etc.

Regardless of your fitness level, or your skill and confidence on your bike when riding alone, group riding requires a different set of skills and awareness. We often rely on our Leaders and our more experienced members to observe your skill level during the first several rides you join. Our goal is not to intimidate anyone, but, if needed, we'll likely offer some guidance and tips to better ensure your safety and the safety of others riding with you, as well as others who may be on the trail or road. This is important to everyone in the group, so please keep an open, receptive mind.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Ride Leaders
Cycle Folsom relies on volunteers to act as Ride Leaders for our various Groups. Our Ride Leaders don't claim to be experts, teachers or coaches, but most have a fair amount of experience that their happy to share if you're interested. Ride Leaders plan their respective groups' calendar of ride events, taking into account a general progression of fitness throughout the year. They often rely on our library of past ride routes, but also research and plot out new and interesting rides. Ride Leaders post the rides and routes, and collectively work to enhance the ride on the day of the event, simply by gauging the pace, adjusting when necessary, or even splitting the group during a ride if it makes sense. While ride leaders plot out rides and sometimes offer to "sweep' rides to ensure that no one get left behind, most Cycle Folsom rides are "no sweep" rides, which means that each rider is responsible to know the route, and should be fully prepared to be self-sufficient if they somehow get lost, or fall off the pace. Our groups typically stop for mechanical problems, but not necessarily "bio-mechanical" problems. Ride Leaders are not responsible for the safety of any participants. Each rider is responsible for their own safety, and for protecting themselves from the inherent risks associated with cycling.. Please read, sign, and submit a Membership Application and Liability Waiver prior to joining anyCycle Folsom rides.

Ride Calendar and Scheduling
Collectively, our groups offer numerous cycling opportunities each week (click here to see our ride calendar on MeetUp.com). Our primary rides typically occur Saturday morning, year round (although we'll cancel or move it to Sunday if weather is a problem, or if no Ride leaders are available). During summer, we generally host one or two weeknight rides as well. During winter, some of our riders even hit the trail at night to gain an early training edge. The level of fitness for all groups improves over the course of the riding season.

It's important to note that we begin our training cycle in October, building base fitness through late fall and early winter. By February we move into rolling hills and increase both intensity and distance. By late winter and early spring we begin planning and timing training schedules based on attaining a desired peak for a targeted event or multiple events. The combination of early season and regular weeknight training elevates Cycle Folsom just a wee bit above your average weekend warrior.

This is an important aspect of Cycle Folsom because many of our riders enter Spring with established fitness base. If you show up for your first ride in April or May, you may not see much of the group after the warmup. If you're not sure which group matches your fitness or training needs, but you have a burning desire to work hard and improve, contact me (Stan Schultz) directly. Between me and our other ride leaders, we can often determine a suitable group and ride based on your riding experience and recent training volume. We can point you toward one of our rides or pair you with a rider from Cycle Folsom who can help you determine where you would get the most benefit.

GROUP CATEGORIES AND DESCRIPTIONS
At Cycle Folsom, we challenge each others' fitness, working from the premis that "if you want to get better, ride with better people." We also say it another way, "Chase or be Chased." We offer three categories of group rides: Performance, Peloton, and Gruppetto. If you're targeting a Criterium, Road Race or Time Trial, this is your group. Rides are generally in the 40-60 mile range and may include intervals, overloading, etc. These rides also serve riders who simply need to pack a lot hard work into a few hours. Routes include flat or moderately rolling terrain, but often also include steep, repetitive climbs that require and explosive efforts.

If you're targeting a Criterium, Road Race or Time Trial, this is your group. Rides are generally in the 40-60 mile range and may include intervals, overloading, etc. These rides also serve riders who simply need to pack a lot hard work into a few hours. Depending on time of year, routes can include flat or moderately rolling terrain, repetitive climbs that require and explosive efforts, or both within the same ride.

If you're comfortable riding in groups on public roads with traffic, and are familiar with various types of pace lines and group riding safety fundamentals and signals, this may be the group for you. This group is relatively social during warm-up, but the focus typically shifts to maintaining proper rider spacing, cadence and performance for the balance of the ride. This group attempts to foster a pervasive emphasis on improvement, and our more seasoned cyclists share tips and information to help newer riders improve over time. Many former Peloton Group members have graduated to our Performance Group and beyond.

Peloton Minimum Requirements:
In addition to the requirements listed below for the Gruppetto Group Description, there are few additional minimum requirements that need to be met to ensure safety and enjoyment for you and riders around you. At minimum you should be able to:

• Comfortably ride within a pace line or peloton
• Comfortably ride on public roads with tight shoulders and/or traffic
• Maintain a consistent pace

Mission: The Gruppetto Group is designed to help people learn to ride in a group, learn the basics of nutrition, bicycle etiquette, and build a fitness base. Our leaders offer encouragement and experience. Intended to serve as an "on-ramp" to Cycle Folsom’s Peloton Group.

Click here to see the Gruppetto Group 12-Week Training Schedule
(Note: subject to change without notice; see calendar to confirm actual events and distances)

• Ride a standard road bike with fully functional brakes (Sorry, no mountain bikes, recumbent bikes. Use of aero bars is not allowed during group rides.)
• Be able to take on nutrition and drink from your water bottle while riding
• Point out debris/hazards to other while riding with one hand
• Clip in/out of your pedals
• Maintain a consistent pace
• Change a flat tire (Ride leaders will lend advice on tire changes for those new to the process, but you will need to perform the actual work yourself)