Capital City Connection - Meet New Friends and Ride Bikes!

Name: Capital City Connection - Meet New Friends and Ride Bikes!
Start: 2024-07-14T07:30:00-05:00
Location: Nelson Center parking lot - Lincoln Park, 1601 N 5th St, Springfield, IL 62702-2644, United States

Schedule

Sun Jul 14 2024 at 07:30 am

UTC-05:00

Location

Nelson Center parking lot - Lincoln Park, 1601 N 5th St, Springfield, IL 62702-2644, United States | Springfield, IL

Are you intimated by the idea of riding in a group? Worried that you'll be too slow and get left behind? Not sure when or where to find people to ride with? Or maybe you just don't know that there's a cycling community in Springfield or don't know how to get started?
If any of those sound like you, Capital City connection is an event just for you! Our goal with this event is to help new (or old!) riders find other like-minded and like-ability cyclists. We will meet at 6:00 at the Nelson Center parking lot for a brief meet-and-greet, followed by a brief informational session on basic bike maintenance.
Once we've gotten all that out of the way, we will have a handful of ride leaders to escort us on laps around the park. We will start at an easy pace of 10mph, and every lap one leader will remain at that pace and the rest will increase the speed. Stick with the group until you find a pace that is comfortable, then drop off with a leader when things get too spicy. By the end of this, everyone will have filtered out to their preferred pace:
A: 18-20+
B: 16-18
C: 14-16
Slow C: 12-14
D: 10-12
After the speed selection ride completes, make your way back to the parking lot with your pace group leader, who can help get you pointed in the right direction for finding regularly scheduled group rides at your pace. The Springfield Bicycle Club hosts regular weekly rides at all levels, as well as various one-off rides throughout the year.
This event is open to both members and the general public. We will host similar meet-and-greet/informational session/speed selection events approximately a week before each of our monthly Sangamon Cycling Series rides.
After this installment of the CaCiCo, we will have ride leaders offering slow-C through B paced rides. Even if you're an experienced rider and know your pace, please feel free to join us for a ride and maybe you'll learn a little something!