Lauren Wolff — 5/13/2026

Inside a ROUVY Group Ride: What to Expect and How to Join

A ROUVY group ride is a scheduled virtual ride where you join other riders on the same real-world route. You ride together around a suggested pace set by a leader and stay connected as a group from start to finish.

TL;DR

A ROUVY group ride is a social, no-drop virtual cycling experience where riders stay together behind a leader (whether human or bot) while riding at their own effort level within the group.

Group rides follow a suggested pace set by the leader, but riders can adjust their effort depending on where they sit in the group.
The rubber band system keeps riders together, making group rides accessible for different fitness levels.
The further back you ride, the easier the effort becomes, while riding closer to the leader requires more work.
Most rides use Discord for communication, helping riders build friendships and recurring weekly groups.
You can find and join rides through the ROUVY Events section, with reminders, warm-ups and regular official ROUVY, bot and community-led sessions throughout the year.

Inside a ROUVY Group Ride: What to Expect and How to Join

In practice, it feels like a steady outdoor club ride. There’s a start time, a route already chosen and a group forming around a shared riding experience. You’re riding your own watts, but it doesn’t feel like a solo session anymore.

That is what catches most people off guard the first time. Riders often expect something chaotic or competitive. That’s not how a group ride is meant to feel. The aim is a controlled, predictable and surprisingly relaxed experience with enough flexibility to ride at your own level within the group.

What is a ROUVY group ride?

The leader defines the intended pace for the ride, usually shown in W/kg in the title, but you’re not locked into a rigid number. You’re riding at your own pace, adjusting naturally while remaining part of the group.

Blog_Inside a ROUVY group ride_2.png Manon Lloyd, a former road racer and GCN presenter, hosted a group ride through Eryri National Park in Wales.

In practice, you don’t need to match the suggested leader’s top pace to take part. Simply pedalling with the group is what matters, but finding a group that suits your preferred W/kg limits is a good call.

This removes a lot of the pressure that first-time riders often expect. You don’t need to react to sudden attacks or hold an exact number. The ride has a leader riding usually at a relatively consistent pace, depending on the terrain. Still, there’s room to settle into your own comfortable rhythm behind and be pulled along behind the leader.

The rubber banding algorithm is designed so that riders further back experience a greater pull of the band, allowing them to ride with less effort. Conversely, riding directly behind the group leader requires more effort, almost matching the leader's output, and even more effort if riding just in front of the leader.

The experience can feel relaxed if riders follow the group ride etiquette and individuals avoid treating it like a race. If that happens, it’s best to ignore it and enjoy your ride. You should be riding alongside others socially rather than competitively.

Where do you find group rides on ROUVY?

You’ll find all rides in the ROUVY Events section on the website using a detailed search or under all the events in the app.

Blog_Inside a ROUVY group ride_cover_3.jpg

This is where everything starts. It’s a live calendar of upcoming sessions and the easiest way to find a ride that fits your schedule.

You can scroll through the listing in the app or filter for group rides specifically on the website. Each event listing gives you clear, practical information before you join.

Blog_Inside a ROUVY group ride_4.png A close-up of what information is available before joining a group ride, whether an official ROUVY group ride or set up by a user.

Once you join, the ride is added to your calendar in the website portal, and you’ll get a reminder on the day closer to the start time.

Beyond the events calendar, you’ll find event adverts and reminders in ROUVY’s social channels:

The ROUVY Athletes Facebook Group
ROUVY’s Facebook and Instagram channels
Strava club and user shared rides
Email updates featuring upcoming events if you are subscribed.

Over time, the social side builds up steadily, especially if it is a regular ride set up on the same day and time weekly by a user. Many ride weekly, so the same riders show up again and again. You start recognising names of avatars in familiar shirts, and the ride begins to feel familiar.

A regular, Frank Kenik suggests, “It’s great to do the regular weekly user group rides. You get to know the riders more by seeing them every week. Also, the leader likes that.”

Some of these group rides run on fixed days and times throughout the year, which gives the rides a consistent structure and makes it easy to keep coming back. You start to recognise other users, and that adds another layer to the experience.

You’ll also find special group rides hosted by pro riders, triathletes and ambassadors, often built around iconic routes and major cycling races.

Blog_Inside a ROUVY group ride_5.png Above: Wout van Aert of Team Visma | Lease a Bike has hosted some of the largest group rides ever held on the ROUVY cycling app.

These rides follow the same group ride format, including a no-drop, which means the bunch stays together all the way to the finish. That makes even demanding climbs accessible, whether you’re training for an event or simply want to experience the route in a group setting. Riding with a group alongside pro riders adds a different kind of motivation you don’t get riding alone.

How do you choose the right ride?

Choosing a ride comes down to a few factors: official, non-official, or user-created distance and terrain, smart or all trainers and, if stated, W/kg range. What to check before joining: 👇🏻

FACTOR	What it means	What to look for
Pace (W/kg) if stated	Suggested effort set by the leader	Choose something with a lower end that you can hold comfortably.
Official or non-official	Whether it is set up by ROUVY or a user	The official yellow and black ROUVY symbol
Distance	Total ride length	From short rides to long endurance sessions
Profile	Terrain type	Flat, rolling or climbing routes
Smart Trainers or all trainers	The event is only open to smart trainers or to all trainers	The smart trainer or all-trainers icon

What it means
Pace (W/kg) if stated	Suggested effort set by the leader
Official or non-official	Whether it is set up by ROUVY or a user
Distance	Total ride length
Profile	Terrain type
Smart Trainers or all trainers	The event is only open to smart trainers or to all trainers

What to look for
Pace (W/kg) if stated	Choose something with a lower end that you can hold comfortably.
Official or non-official	The official yellow and black ROUVY symbol
Distance	From short rides to long endurance sessions
Profile	Flat, rolling or climbing routes
Smart Trainers or all trainers	The smart trainer or all-trainers icon

The suggested pace is a guide rather than a strict requirement. You’re aiming to ride around it, not hit it exactly every second.

That flexibility is what makes group rides accessible. Riders can ride at their own pace with some assistance from the algorithm, as long as they remain behind the leader.

What should you do before the ride starts?

Preparation is simple, but it helps the ride start without any hiccups.

Blog_Inside a ROUVY group ride_6.png Above: Join the warm-up about 10 minutes before the timer counts down to start, with a fan, bottle and towel.

Start with a quick setup check:

Route downloaded
Join the ride in advance
Fan, towel and bottle nearby

Join the ride around 10 minutes before the countdown begins. This puts you into the warm-up phase, where riders start gathering before the start.

During this time, riders appear gradually on the left of the screen in the nearby list, and avatars appear on the start line. Some are already pedalling lightly, others join closer to the start time. When the timer reaches zero, you start pedalling, and everyone rolls out together.

How to start smoothly: avoid pedalling too hard immediately to avoid overtaking the leader. The lower reality level you are riding at in a group ride can accelerate your speed if you pedal hard.

How do group dynamics work on ROUVY?

ROUVY group rides use a leader-driven ‘rubber band’, where the riders are pulled along at a lower reality level while riding behind the leader.

Your position will affect how much effort you need to put in:

Closer to the leader, the higher the effort, the less watt saving.
Further back in the group, the lower the effort and the greater the watt saving.
In front of the leader, the effort increases.

So if you want a harder session, you can move closer to the front. If you want something easier, sitting further back reduces the workload progressively. This flexibility allows different riders to train at slightly different intensities while still sharing the same ride.

Most riders settle somewhere in the middle, especially at the beginning, to get a feel for what effort is needed in that position.

There are a few important details that define how this works:

The only time you form a gap in front of you is if you slow down or stop pedalling.
Larger groups stay tighter, with fewer gaps.
Fast finish times: All riders who stay behind the leader finish with the same time as the leader, even though you probably wouldn’t achieve that alone on a normal ride.

How do people communicate during the ride?

Most communication currently happens outside the app, usually through Discord community channels, which get shared in the community, such as this highly popular weekly ROUVY group ride set up by a community member called ROUVY Tuesday and Thursday group rides (1,5-2,5 W/kg).

As Ellen Penney, a regular, says, “Slowashell (Athol Scott) has been organising the Rouvy Tues/Thurs 1.5-2.5 rides for many years. Our avatar jersey & bib have become a popular sight on ROUVY. The discord associated with the 1.5-2.5 group ride has spawned friendships from around the world and resulted in real-life meetups. It is a non-judgmental, everyone-welcome ride that happens every Tuesday & Thursday.”

Some groups run open voice chat where riders talk throughout the session on Discord, while others keep things quieter and only use text before or after the ride.

As Ed Wiser, a regular ROUVY group rider, puts it:

“Discord is what turns a ride into something more social. You’re not just riding, you’re chatting, meeting new people from around the world, and before long, the miles start to pass without you really thinking about them.”

What’s the etiquette on a ROUVY group ride?

Group ride etiquette keeps the experience enjoyable for everyone and helps the ride run smoothly. The main principles are straightforward: try not to overtake the leader, and keep your effort consistent without sudden surges. Riding a little ahead of the leader is not a problem, but riding off into the distance is. Riding ahead breaks that structure and changes how the ride flows for everyone else.

The leader usually sets the suggested pace when setting up the ride, but if the pace isn’t advertised, just follow at your own pace. Positioning within the group gives you flexibility. You can move slightly forward or back depending on how hard you want to work, but the aim is always to remain part of the peloton rather than to separate from it. The ride works best when everyone holds a steady pace and moves together naturally. If you fall behind a bit, you can catch up by pushing hard on the pedals for a couple of revolutions. You’ll quickly reconnect with the group.

Group rides are designed to be social experiences. Riders who want to push hard or make it competitive usually get more out of a dedicated race instead.

Also, if you are late, you can still join by simply entering and pedalling, and you will be instantly transported to the back.

Best practice: ride consistently, remain behind the leader and keep moving smoothly together without surges.

What happens at the end of the ride?

The ride finishes with everyone still together.

From there, it depends on your session. Some riders do a short cooldown, others finish and save the ride. Most will:

Upload to Strava and start a discussion there, usually to thank the leader.
Log the session as part of their training.

The leaderboard on the website in the event upload will show the same time as the leader. Those with faster times are riders who chose to ride ahead of the leader and broke the elastic band effect.

How do you join your first ROUVY group ride this week?

Joining your first ride is straightforward.

Step-by-step

Open the ROUVY app or website.
Go to the Events section.
Browse or filter for group rides (searching via the filter is only available on the website for now).
Select a ride and join it.
It will appear in your calendar on the website.
Closer to the start time, you’ll receive a reminder via the companion app and via email.
Enter the ride about 10 minutes before the countdown.
Start pedalling after the countdown.

After one ride, the process becomes familiar.

As a previous frequent group ride leader, I highly recommend joining official ROUVY-created group rides or well-established user-created rides that consistently run on a weekly schedule at the same time. These events are generally more reliable, tend to run smoothly, and often attract a larger number of participants.

Ready to try a group ride?

Pick a ride, join it and let the reminder get you on the bike to enjoy the social side of ROUVY.

Join your first group ride

Lauren Wolff

ROUVY Writer

With a background spanning 30 years in the creative and writing industries, Lauren brings her love of storytelling and cycling together in her work for ROUVY. A lifelong athlete with almost 40 years of racing experience, she spent a couple of years riding with a semi-professional road racing team and went on to achieve podiums at National Championships and UCI World Masters events. She also completed the gruelling 2005 Cape Epic and earned triathlon medals back in the early ’90s. Lauren has trained on ROUVY year-round since 2016 and writes passionately to inspire others to ride and explore.