In collaboration with Cyql
How Group Rides Work on ROUVY
Virtual group rides have grown a lot in recent years and ROUVY has been one of the leaders of this market. With ROUVY, riders can ride real routes from different places around the world. Most of the groups use Discord alongside the session to join a call and that's where a lot of the community building happens. The roads are based on real footage, so it feels more realistic than riding in a completely virtual environment. A feature many cyclists like is the rubber-band mode, which keeps the whole group together.
Here are some benefits:
- Stronger rides can still push themselves as the effort increase the closer you ride to the front of the group,
- Beginners can ride at more comfortable pace,
- Nobody gets dropped and nobody has to to wait,
- Ride leaders can choose any real-world route and set the pace for the group.
For mixed clubs this feature changes everything. It's one of the situations where experienced rider and beginner can ride together without compromising.
Why Are Virtual Group Rides Good for Cycling Club Engagement
Cycling clubs that regularly organize and ride indoors often stay much more engaged during the winter times. When people ride together all year, no matter the season they stay motivated, connected and by the time spring arrives they are already excited to finally go ride outside without the feeling of being disconnected or anxious to get back on track with everyone.
For newer members, joining a club in the middle of the season and then losing the contact for a few months can be stressful and the reason why many of them drift away.
A regular virtual ride throughout the year helps with:
- Keeping members engaged,
- Helping new members to feel included,
- Building an actual community.
The Key to a Successful Indoor Group Ride
A lot of indoor rides are difficult to organize because details are shared too late, reminders don´t get noticed, people showing up to an empty space because they didn´t read the message. Keeping everything in one place makes a bigger difference than admins realise.
When your club has a dedicated space to post the session, share the route, collect RSVPs and send reminders, everything is better. Easiest solution is to keep everything in one place so when members open the app they can quickly see upcoming rides, route details and any updates. This is something we’ve seen clubs handle really well with the Cyql cycling club app, beyond just organizing individual rides.
