Editor note: This is the first post in a series of guest posts Minor Baker is writing for us as the winner of our spring My Ride contest. Today, he writes about his first Thursday Night Social Ride by Social Cycling Austin. We’ve written about and promoted the weekly institution, but this is a engaging second take on a first experience of a great event.

I have to admit that I was underprepared for my first ever Thursday Night Social Ride, but in the end that did not diminish the experience in the least.  A college friend, Andrew, was in town for diversity training with a national outdoor retailer. Upon discovering this fact, we made plans to squeeze in a true Austin experience.  Within the Baker house there was some debate about what that experience would be, with consideration given to Alamo Drafthouse, catching a live music show, or waiting in traffic.  Considering that Andrew was going to sit on his butt for 8+ hours getting more diverse by the minute, we finally decided on an evening bike ride.  I have been meaning to get out and ride one of the Thursday Night Social Rides sponsored by Social Cycling Austin, so this seemed like an opportune time.

I picked Andrew up at a local hotel and turned the car towards downtown around 7pm.  We decided to park closer to Waterloo Cycles, which was celebrating 20 years of being in business (congratulations!), because we knew that is where the ride ended up.  We were on our bikes by 7:30 and rushing down to Festival Beach to make sure we didn’t miss the group leaving at 8:00.  Looking back we should have taken our time and picked a few things up (more on that later) and possibly even grabbing a bite to eat.  We arrived at 7:45, and joined with the 200+ people already hanging out and waiting to get rolling.  As the minutes ticked by, it became apparent that there was a heavy emphasis on the hanging out and nobody seemed in any hurry to get off and rolling.  Sitting around and waiting to get going we could have used a beer or two (item #1 we should have picked up before riding) to pass the time we commented on the wide variety of bikes and people moving passed.  I personally love people watching and love bikes, and this was an excellent opportunity to do both at once.  There was everything from custom track bikes to beaters that I was positive would not make it out of the park.

As the sun went down we eventually got rolling around 8:30.  I know that some people do not particularly like riding with 400+ people, but I think it is great.  Everybody was being courteous, and the pace was very leisurely.  If you have hesitated from doing these social rides because you are worried about all the people around, I really don’t think it would be a factor. There was plenty of space to move around and stop without worrying about running into anybody.  People are overly polite throughout the ride, including the number of times somebody had a flat or a mechanical problem, and there was always people stopping and lending assistance.  Riding through downtown we eventually made our way to Pease Park, for a break.  I assumed that the break was just to let the group, which had been strung out through all the lights of downtown, get back together.  WRONG AGAIN!!!  I kept forgetting this was a social ride but was reminded as we pulled into the park.  Before I even got off the bike to take a couple of pictures, people had cracked open more ice cold beverages of their choosing and were taking the time to just hang out with their riding friends.

Eventually we did start riding again and made our way up to Waterloo Cycles where the party was just getting started.  With food, drinks, and lots of giveaways you would have a difficult time finding somebody that didn’t have a good time.  The next ride is tonight, so get out there and ride it.

1. Pack snacks and beverages
2. If you are worried about the distance, don’t be, there will be more socializing than miles
3. Leaving at 8, appears to be more of a suggestion
4. Don’t bring your trail light that turns night into day…people don’t want to be blinded
5. Follow traffic rules.
6. Don’t worry about the bike you ride, just get out and ride it.
7. You want to show somebody from out of town what Austin is about, the Social Rides are a great way to show off our beautiful city.  Andrew was glad he skipped the corporate trip to the Salt Lick in favor of a bike ride, and many of his coworkers expressed their jealously.