How to Ride with Friends on ROUVY: A Simple Guide to Group Rides and Social Riding

Joining a live ride is quicker, although your friend may already be halfway through the route or up a climb when you appear. For a more coordinated start, agree on a time beforehand through your usual private-messaging channel.

What do you need to ride with friends on ROUVY

Each rider needs a ROUVY account, the current version of the app and a compatible trainer and sensor setup. Pair your trainer and check the sensor connections before the ride starts.

It also helps to add the people you know to your ROUVY friends list. Log in to Riders Portal, open the friends panel and select Manage Friends. Search for each person by name or ROUVY username and send a request.

Adding friends makes invitations and spontaneous rides easier. An organiser can invite people from their friends list when creating a group ride, while the friends panel in the ROUVY app shows which friends are currently online.

1. How to join an existing group ride on ROUVY

Joining an existing group ride is the simplest place to start. Public rides include official ROUVY events and group rides created by other users.

Finding upcoming group rides

Public group rides appear ahead of time in the Events section of the ROUVY app and Riders Portal. Each event listing shows the route, date, start time and information supplied by the organiser.

If you're looking for a specific event, use Search events inside the Events section and set the event type to Group Ride. The available filters can help you narrow the results by date, category or organiser.

Above: Use the filters in Riders Portal to find upcoming group rides by date, category or organiser.

Above: You can also search Events in the app to find upcoming group rides by date, category or organiser.

Official ROUVY group rides may also be announced through:

• The ROUVY Athletes Facebook group
• ROUVY's weekly newsletter emails
• ROUVY's Facebook and Instagram channels
• The ROUVY Strava Club and other cycling communities

You can also find featured group rides and special events on ROUVY's virtual cycling events page, including rides with top pros and cycling legends such as Wout van Aert.

ROUVY riders live across different time zones, so group rides take place throughout the day. A social ride might start in the morning, over lunch, after work or late in the evening. There is no single standard time.

How do you join

An invitation from a friend will appear in your ROUVY app notifications. Open it, check the route and start time and select the option to join. The ride will then appear with your upcoming events.

You can also find and join a public ride yourself:

1. Open Events from the top navigation in Riders Portal or from the left-hand menu in the ROUVY app.
2. Find a route tile marked Group Ride.
3. Open the event and select Join Event.
4. Check the start list and download the route if needed.
5. Return to the event shortly before the scheduled start.

Above: A regular group ride listing shows the route, suggested pace and options to join, share or invite friends.

Enter the event around ten minutes early. That gives you time to pair your trainer, start your fan and warm up before the countdown reaches zero. It is considerably calmer than searching for a heart-rate strap with 20 seconds left.

Check any suggested pace before joining. Organisers sometimes include it in watts per kilogram in the event name or description, even though W/kg is not available as a search filter. A flat route described as a friendly spin becomes a very different proposition when the title says 3.5 W/kg.

2. How to create your own group ride

Creating a group ride gives you control over the route, start time and guest list. It works well when several friends want to begin together or when a Club or regular group is arranging a planned session.

Group rides are created through the Events section of Riders Portal:

1. Select Create event and choose Group Ride.
2. Complete the event name, date, time and visibility settings.
3. Choose the route.
4. Review the advanced options.
5. Select Create Event.
6. Open the completed event and use Invite to select ROUVY friends.
7. Use Share or copy the event link for other channels.

Above: Select Group Ride, add the event details and choose a route in Riders Portal.

The new ride will appear under upcoming events in the ROUVY app. Include enough information for riders to judge whether the session suits them, particularly the expected pace, distance and purpose of the ride.

How can you share your group ride

The organiser can use Invite to send the event directly to people on their ROUVY friends list. The Share option or copied event link can be used for other channels.

Public group ride links can be posted in the ROUVY Athletes Facebook group, where members can discuss the ride, ask questions and agree on details before joining. You can also share the link through a Strava Club or another cycling group used by the riders.

Organisers can share a group ride through a ROUVY Club chat or Community feed as well. This provides another way to reach riders who may be interested in the route, time or type of session.

3. How to join a friend who is already riding on ROUVY

You can join a friend who is currently cycling in Ride mode without creating or entering a scheduled group ride:

1. Open the friends list in the top-right corner of the ROUVY app dashboard.
2. Select the profile of a friend who is currently riding.
3. Check the route and select Ride now.

Above: When an online friend's profile displays Ride now, select it to join the route they are currently riding.

If your friend is taking part in a race, you can watch them in Watch mode instead. You cannot join a friend who is completing a workout through this method.

Challenge note: If the route is part of a Challenge, ROUVY gives you the choice of starting at the beginning or teleporting your avatar to your friend's position. Teleporting places you beside your friend immediately, but the ride will not count towards Challenge or leaderboard progress.

Joining through Ride now does not provide the shared start or leader-based elastic band used in a group ride. It suits an informal ride with one or two friends, while a scheduled group ride works better when several people need to start and stay together.

Attacking during a social group ride is therefore a rather efficient way to work harder while becoming less social.

The elastic band allows riders with different fitness levels to share the route, but the advertised pace still matters. Choose a ride with a pace and duration you can manage comfortably. For a fuller explanation of the start, positioning and finish, read what to expect inside a ROUVY group ride.

How to communicate with friends during a group ride

ROUVY supports in-ride text chat in the main app and Companion App. Messages remain visible only briefly, so the feature works as a live conversation rather than a saved chat history.

The Companion App is the easier place to type while pedalling. Voice dictation through your phone keyboard can help too. Some established groups use Discord or another voice channel for longer conversations. Kudos offer a quicker way to acknowledge someone when the gradient has removed your interest in typing.

ROUVY rider Heike values the way group rides keep people connected:

For more guidance on pacing and social riding, see the ROUVY guide to group ride skills and etiquette.

How can Clubs and Communities help organise regular group rides

Above: Find and join cycling Clubs and Communities through the Social section of Riders Portal.

Clubs and Communities offer different ways to connect with other riders on ROUVY:

• Clubs are smaller groups with their own feed, chat and leaderboard. You can belong to one Club.

• Communities are open groups based on shared interests, routes or events. You can join multiple Communities.

A Club can provide a familiar home for riders who meet regularly, with space to arrange recurring rides and continue the conversation between sessions. Communities can help a wider group discover public group rides that match their interests or available time.

They are particularly useful for riders who do not use Facebook, Instagram or Strava, as rides can be organised and discussed within ROUVY.

The ROUVY community guide covers other places where riders meet, including Facebook groups and Strava Clubs.