Let's get started...
The purpose of this page is to make it a little easier for you check out the club, to find out what it does and how it works.
So select the link in the item below that most closely describes you and your bike club experience.
No Previous Bike Club Experience...
You’ve seen groups of cyclists out on the roads or a friend told you about bike clubs and you figured you might try it.
Some Bike Club Experience...
You were a member of a local or out-of-town club at one time. You want to see how the RABA experience will compare.
A Lot of Bike Club Experience...
Previously a bike club consumed your life (and spare time). What are you getting yourself into?
It's More Than Just the Rides!
Though cycling is the heart of what RABA is all about, the club is involved with much more than that.
No Previous Bike Club Experience...
New to bike clubs? Well, here’s a page just for you.
Though there’s no need for you to wait until then, on the first Saturday of every month between April and August, RABA has a New Riders ride. This 20 mile ride to Ashland and back will introduce you to club members and to the techniques of riding as part of a group.
If you want to get started sooner than that, look at the ride listings on the Monthly Ride Calendar. Be sure to look at the Ride Pace and Terrain Tables page to see what some of the information in the ride descriptions means.
Also look at the Ride and Safety Tips on this page and this one.
And, finally, if you haven’t joined yet, please do. Go here. You’ll meet and ride with a nice bunch of people and have a chance to get involved with some of the club’s other projects.
Some Bike Club Experience...
Now, you’ve been in a bike club before. You might have moved here from out-of-town having been a member of a club there. Or, you were a member of RABA before and you’re wondering what things are like now.
A lot of the advice given above to those new to bike clubs applies to you also, but mostly as a way of showing you how we do it here. For example, your previous club’s definition of what we call a “B pace” ride might be different from ours. If you’re from either the mountains or the beach, you have your own ideas about what constitutes a “hilly” or a “flat” ride. Be sure to look at the Ride Pace and Terrain Tables page to see what it means to us.
But mostly look at the Ride Calendar to see the rides and their description. On that page you can click some buttons and see what the schedule looks like at different times of the year. With Daylight Savings Time and the longer days of spring, summer, and early fall, numerous after-work rides take place most days of the week! You have many options!
As was said above, if you haven’t joined yet please do. Go here. Same reasons. And if you are thinking that it would be great to have even more ride options than what you see on the calendar, you’re in luck. As a member, you’ll be able receive e-mail notices about additional impromptu rides organized by other club members.
And don’t forget to look at the Ride Safety Tips pages mentioned above. On the main web site, they’re under the main menu bar’s Maps/Ride Advice > Ride Safety Tips and Advice options.
By the way, that section also contains a link to a Ride Leader Toolkit page. Consider volunteering to be a Ride or Pace leader.
A Lot of Bike Club Experience...
You’ve had a lot of experience with bike clubs. So you know that, like people, they come in all shapes and sizes and have their own points of emphasis.
Look at the links and tips in the previous two sections to familiarize yourself with what we do. If you have questions, there’s usually a contact link that you can use to find out more. A list of all of the club’s officers can be found on the main web site under the main menu bar’s About Us item.
Whether you’re about the rides or about our other projects, RABA offers enough that squeezing the RABA related activities into the 168 hours per week each of us gets in life in addition to all of your other commitments may require some trade-offs.
Good luck!
Maybe it doesn’t have to be repeated again, but… If you haven’t joined yet, please do so by going here. As cycling accessories go, a $20 (individual) or $25 (family) annual RABA membership is a great value!
It's More than Just the Rides...
In addition to the rides, RABA is involved with many projects that can use all the energy and enthusiasm you are able to provide. We couldn’t do it without volunteers!
RABA’s Advocacy Director and the club have been and are part of the groups advocating for laws and policies benefiting the cycling community.
Every year RABA’s Bikes for Kids program raises money to purchase bicycles to donate to area Christmas Mothers so they in turn can give them to kids less fortunate in our community.
RABA’s Heart of Virginia Bike Festival takes place every September. 500+ riders participate in our primary annual fund-raising event which raises money for our Bikes for Kids and RABA Grants programs as well as that for the work of our partners such as the Brain Injury Association of Virginia (BIAV).
The club’s RABA Grants Program is designed to award grants of up to $1500 in support of bicycle-related programs, events, and projects sponsored or offered by governments, organizations, or individuals. The accompanying picture shows some of the work of one of the grant recipients. It’s Sportable, which provides adaptive sports and recreational activities in the Richmond region to people with physical and visual disabilities.
RABA participates in the state’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Several times a year, members pick up the trash along a stretch of the route of the club’s signature Ashland Breakfast Club ride in Hanover County.