One thing I really liked and felt was comforting when I first started cycling with groups was knowing there would always be someone “sweeping” and that I’d never be dropped. I kept riding with that group and went from barely keeping up with the C group to riding comfortably with the A group.
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Post to your club’s Facebook page EVERY WEEK.
Every Thursday, post a reminder of the weekend’s upcoming group rides, in addition to any relevant/semi-relevant photos.
Abandoned Facebook page = defunct club.
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FWIW if you do launch a club and then want insurance, here is a snapshot from June 2020 of the requirements our club’s insurance provider put on group rides:
From Strava I see the usual folks out there riding together, on the usual days. Just not under the flag of our 600 person club.
Read my post above. The best club I was ever in had no organization other than it was a regular Sunday ride at the same time/place. You can even order jerseys for such a “club”. Ask yourself why you want to involve money, insurance, officers, politics, etc.
If you just want to ride with others then find like-minded individuals, you can form an informal “club” using a Facebook group. A friend did this primarily because he didn’t want to ride with the A group of our club and didn’t like the 7/8am start times. He wanted to ride at 9.
I’ve been trying to start a club through my school. I’ve been finding it really hard to get any momentum going. My approach so far is just to keep putting out very casual invites to people that have expressed interest and keep things consistent once anything starts working. One thing that I always do is send out the ridewithgps route with each ride announcement. I know that being uncertain about the ride was something always made me nervous when I was a newer rider.
Consistent rides: Same time, same meeting place, same day of the week. Do the rides even if nobody shows up. Get a reliable 2-3 guys. It will grow.
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Thrillhouse Cycling on Instagram today nails what it takes to build a team 
Amazing follow for those who love cycling and classic Simpsons.
I’ll give an update to my club,
We have continued to grow since I posted this. This past year our active riders have grown significantly. We have about 160 members on Facebook, and 80 or so on Strava.
Looking back on it, these were the keys to our growth:
- Starting the club with 3 or 4 people.
- Creating a Facebook group and Strava group.
- Posting our rides to those groups weekly (during lockdown we did a strava segment challenge that worked out great).
- Created a facebook group chat with guys you click with. Keep it active with ride ideas etc…
- Designed a kit (We use Pactimo).
- Reached out to other clubs and offer to host joint rides.
- Asked others to host rides around where they live to keep it fresh and increase your reach.
- Listen to the advice of people who show up. Altering routes etc. has made our weekly ride a better fit for everyone.
- Keeping it chill, free, and open to everyone.
There are some things I’ve learned…
- The usa cycling membership isn’t worth the money.
- Insurance is expensive and I’m not sure it covers anything (yeah, I said it!). I’m glad I didn’t let this hurdle stop me from starting the club.
- Some people are just assholes. They will create drama. They will try to take you down, steal riders, say bad things about you, etc. Just remember for every asshole there are like 20 great people, so it’s worth it.
- Lots of people just like riding alone, don’t take it personally.
Hope that helps someone. Starting a club has been the most rewarding bike related thing I have ever done. It has connected me to all kinds of great people in my town and has definitely made me a more dedicated rider.
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Where are your clubs located, maybe some folks from the forum would like to ride if they live in the area