It's a cycling group for everyone, and it's off to a great start.
EveryBody Bikes is an inclusive cycling club that's for people of all ages and abilities to feel welcome while going on a ride with other bike-lovers.
The group had its first ride amid GoByBike Week in Vernon Thursday evening, June 5.
Dana Hudson founded the cycling group having noticed that some people, including herself, find other local cycling groups intimidating, too fast, or their routes too difficult. She wanted to create a group where everyone can take part in the joys of cycling, no matter their equipment or skill level.
"With my body shape and size, I've often been the person struggling at the back of a group ride. But I really wanted to be part of a group ride and cycling community — that's one of the funnest parts is biking with your friends and feeling like you're part of a community," she said. "And so I just wanted to create a space for other people who didn't feel included in the amazing biking community that we have already in Vernon, and just extend that community to include more people."
Hudson has partnered with Sun Country Cycle to make EveryBody Bikes a reality. Thursday's inaugural ride saw 26 people take part, which Hudson said was Sun Country's biggest group ride of the year and much bigger than she anticipated before the registrations had come in.
Hudson relied on three lead riders — Chalan McVey, Laura Medcalf and her son, Ryan Hudson — to lead and follow the group, setting the pace and making sure no one was left behind. In the spirit of inclusivity, the group made sure every rider had enough breaks during the 6.5-kilometre ride, which had about 54 metres of elevation gain and went from the Sun Country parking lot up the multi-use trail towards Vernon Golf and Country Club, and ended with a couple laps around Polson Park.
There was one major hill on the route. Too steep? No problem. The lead riders accompanied others who needed to walk their bikes up the incline.
Hudson said one of her favourite parts of her week is cycling with a ladies' night mountain biking group. But she said part of her own group's purpose is to offer a group ride for people of all genders.
Three more rides are coming up, on June 12, 19 and 26, starting at 6 p.m. each week. The routes will be different each ride, and Hudson says she'll be posting information and a video of each route on social media, to give people a sense of whether the route is right for them.
The rides are free to attend but registration on glohaven.com is required.
Hudson gave a shout-out to Sun Country Cycle for sponsoring the event and handling registration, and to Camilia Courts for designing the posters for the event.
She says it's possible she'll add more rides in the fall.
