- Jordan Trout, Ride Spot Event Guru
Are You Missing Women in Your Group Rides?
Updated: Dec 16, 2019
“I’m looking for community,” says Melissa Henao-Robledo, a business development professional in the Austin, TX area. Melissa purchased her new e-bike with the intent of riding more and finding people to ride with. She found out about the Bicycle Sport Shop Women’s ride day online and decided to check out their Bee Cave casual ride. “I will definitely be back,” she said after the 15-mile loop around the hilly suburb.
Women like Melissa are in every city across the country — interested in riding, looking for community. How retailers and bike industry people speak to these women can encourage them to join group rides and become a part of your shop’s community. Making sure your events are accessible, engaging, and easy to find will make all the difference in the world: enter Ride Spot Events.
Ride Spot makes it simple to create events focused on your beginner or inexperienced riders and takes little effort on the part of your employees or volunteers. If you have the concept and plan, you can create your event in Ride Spot in under 10 minutes, then share to your social networks or email lists to get people to join.
Follow these tips + tricks to make sure you're leveraging the best features of Ride Spot events:
Make sure you get all the details in — date, time, address, cost (if applicable).
Upload the route using our best-in-class route builder. You can trace uploaded GPS routes to get audio turn-by-turn directions that help your riders feel confident they won’t get lost. You can even add custom voice cues for tricky intersections or points of interest to show your riders landmarks, support stations, bathrooms and more.
Photos are worth a thousand words - include images from previous events and try to find photos that capture the feel and demographic you’re trying to reach: women for women’s rides, a variety of body types and ethnicities.
Put yourself in the shoes of a new rider. Remember what it was like the first few group rides you went on. What sorts of photos would entice you to join a group ride if you had never joined one before?
Once you're in Ride Spot, play around with Events. Start small — an event you're already running each month is a great way to practice putting in routes. If you're confused, be sure to check out the Classic Routes video on turn-by-turn route creation. Once you've got the platform part down, think about the segment of women riders you're trying to reach. Plan a ride that will cater to them and don't get discouraged if your first few rides only attract a few riders. Build up your word of mouth at the shop, promote via social media and email lists and make sure you provide the best customer service during those first few rides.
The long term return on investment is worth a few months of growing pains to connect with women cyclists. Have fun, keep it light and keep the rubber side down.