We’re grateful and excited for you to join our rides!
Organizing group rides is as much art as it is science. We take great pride in organizing rides that bring out our Panthic spirit.
Despite the best of planning, cycling outdoors is unpredictable and variable. We do our best to plan rides accounting for as much as possible, but we can’t account for unexpected weather, route closures, traffic patterns, and variations in individual riding capabilities and experience.
In the spirit of Sikhi, we strive to be an inclusive and open group, and we aim to foster community within the club. As we continue to grow, we ask that you follow these guidelines for our group rides so that we can best serve everyone who rides with us.
How to join
Sikh Cycling Club is open to all people. There is currently no fee to join. However, in order to join, you must do the following:
- Fill out our registration form here: https://www.sikhcyclingclub.com/join
- Join our Strava group here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/sikhcyclingclub
We will admit you to the Strava group when you have first completed the registration form.
Participating in our rides
- Cycling comes with inherent risks. By participating, you assume full responsibility for your participation and safety and waive any claims on organizers.
- We ask that you only participate in rides for which you are:
- Physically capable: We advise that you only join if you’ve done the distance your assigned group’s pace within the last three months. If you have not done the distance recently or are not sure if you can, contact us about potential options. We want to set everyone up for a great day on the bike.
- Technically capable: We strongly recommend that you become practiced with repairing a flat tire and with navigating yourself on a route. Alternatively, you should ride with someone who has agreed to do this for you. We are unable to be with every cyclist along the route, so you should have basic cycling skills to return to the start independently, if needed. You should also be comfortable with maintaining proper nutrition and hydration while riding (and not waiting for rest stops to eat/drink).
- While we understand that “Indian Standard Time” exists, please arrive early enough to be ready to ride by the announced start time. We endeavor to stay on schedule.
- We provide GPS files for navigation and printable cue sheets well ahead of ride day on our Strava event pages and via e-mail. We expect you are prepared with these when you arrive to ride. Our capacity to provide technical support or navigation support for each rider on ride day is very limited.
- Depending on participants on ride day, we may create ride groups with designated paces and assign you based on an assessment of your ability. We hope this fosters a better experience for everyone.
- Our capacity to offer “sweeps” is only for exceptional/emergency circumstances. In other words, we are unable to support every rider who cannot keep up with group paces and you shouldn’t expect that an organizer can “rescue” you if you aren’t able to keep pace.
- We welcome guests to the ride. If you do bring guests, note that you are responsible for them. It is otherwise difficult for us to accommodate riders at the last minute that we don’t know very well.
- Depending on participants, we may assign riders to specific pace groups or route alternatives. Please abide by these assignments and stay with your group/route. If you choose otherwise to ride a distance or with a group, you are responsible for keeping up with the group or for navigating the route if you unable to keep up.
What to bring
- Your chardi kala
- A properly maintained road bike (we do not advise hybrid or mountain bikes for road rides unless otherwise indicated)
- Water (two bottles or a Camelbak)
- Food (energy bars, gels, high carbohydrate snacks)
- At least one spare tube and inflation device (C02 inflator or mini-pump), 2 tire levers, multi-tool
- Money for unexpected needs
- Cycling shoes with clipless pedals
- Lycra cycling shorts and cycling jersey
- Sunscreen
- Front and rear lights are recommended
Sikh Cycling Club 