About Our Rides

Everyone is welcome to ride with the El Paso Bicycle Club, you do not need to be a club member to join us. A complete list of all the club sponsored rides can be found on our calendar. For directions to and information about ride start locations use the links on the right side of this page. The Club usually sponsors a ride every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year. During the period of the year when we observe Daylight Savings Time we hold two week day evening rides, a training ride for beginning and intermediate riders (the B/IG rides) and a leaderless ride on Wednesday evenings. Unless otherwise indicated our typical weekend rides are for road bikes. B/IG rides are normally suitable for a road, mountain or hybrid bike. If you are a seeking a technical mountain biking experience we encourage you to visit our mountain biking friends at the Borderland Mountain Bike Association. Most weekend rides and all B/IG rides will have a designated rider leader. The ride leader will publish a route, set the pace and provide support if you break down or become stranded. The pace, distance, and route of leaderless rides will be determined by the riders.

So, if you are looking for a group to ride with, whether you live in El Paso or are visiting from out of town, we welcome you. We do have a few simple requests to make the ride safe and fun for the whole group:

The Do's and the Don'ts

• Helmets - You must wear a helmet at all times while riding. We require all riders to wear an ANSI/Snell certified helmet on all rides. No exceptions, no helmet, no ride.
• Ear buds - Please don't wear them. You must be able to hear other riders call out road hazards, turns and stops.
• Aerobars - its okay to have areobars on your bike, its not okay to use them when riding in a group.
• Sign In - Please sign our ride sheet, which will ask for your name, address, cell phone, home phone and emergency numbers. Please carry a cell phone and list that number on the sign-in sheet so we can call you if you get separated from the group.
• Flat Tires - Be prepared for a flat tire. At the minimum you should have a spare inner tube, air pump or CO2 cartridge, and tools to repair or change a flat.
• Start Time - Be ready to ride at the stated ride time. The time listed on all rides is the time of departure, not when riders start to gather. The ride leader will begin the ride description a few minutes prior to the departure time. At a minimum you should arrive five minutes early to sign in and hear the ride description. If you need time to air up, put on your gear and prepare your bike for the ride please plan additional time prior to the ride departure to do so, usually 15-20 minutes. Ride leaders will leave on schedule.
• Stay with the group. The ride leader is there to keep the group together and make sure all riders complete the ride safely. If you plan to take an alternate route or leave the group early please inform the ride leader in advance. Otherwise we will report you as missing and release the hounds.
• Please make sure both you and your bike are in condition to ride the stated distance and pace. We are not very good at CPR and tend to be grumpy when delayed by avoidable road side repair.
• Enough said, one final request - please join us and have a great ride.

Recommend reading for anyone not familiar with riding in a group -"How Not to Get Invited to the Next Group Ride."

Pace - How fast will we ride?

Each ride will have a stated pace. Rides are usually advertised as either beginner/easy, moderate or fast. Below are the speed ranges in miles per hour for the usual stated paces. The ranges are for rides on level ground, a smooth paved road surface and in good weather. Grade, road surface and weather (wind) can have a negative or a positive effect on the actual ride pace. Occasionally rides will include a different pace description, for example moderately fast or very moderate. Both descriptions mean something different than just moderate. If you have any doubts about a non-standard pace description feel free to contact the ride leader.

• Beginner/Easy - 10 to 14 mph
• Moderate - 15 to 18 mph
• Fast - 18 mph and above