Hello? Is There Anyone Else Out There Who Shares My Passion?
Several years go I decided to pick up a new hobby: trials biking. I had discovered this amazing sport serendipitously based on a recommended video in YouTube. Since there aren’t too many trials bikers in the United States – let alone locally – I’d never seen anyone riding trials and certainly didn’t know any trials bikers. I asked friends, family, and co-workers if they knew anyone who rode trials. I posted on our company’s internal employee discussion forums asking if there were any trials bikers. I scoured the web looking for anything I could find about trials biking and local riders. After weeks of searching and asking, I discovered some useful online resources, but still hadn’t been able to actually connect with anyone locally.
Initial Encounters
Finally, by sheer luck, I saw a post in a trials biking forum that there would be a trials competition nearby within a few weeks. This was luckier than I realized, since there aren’t many competitions in the US – certainly no organized series of progressive elimination towards a final championship like there is in other countries and different sports. I asked the competition organizer a few questions about the event and he encouraged me to enter the competition. This was only about 3 months after I started even learning trials. I’d never met any trials riders, and had never even seen anyone riding except on YouTube. Honestly, I could barely even balance on my bike in a ‘trackstand’, let alone ride trials. Three weeks after my first trials bike arrived, I figured I had nothing to lose and anxiously showed up for my first competition, having no clue what to expect.
The event was like nothing I’d experienced before. While we were all competing, all the riders were encouraging each other! In addition to meeting other trials riders, I also added my name to the organizer’s email list. Using the email list to notify everyone, a couple larger group ride events were held as well (e.g., one in the fall, one in the spring). Apparently, they had been doing this for a couple years – larger but infrequent group events and an annual competition.
At some point during one of the group rides, the competition organizer (our ‘ring leader’ so to speak) asked me if I wanted to join him and one or two of the other local riders on their weekly rides. Of course I accepted – riding at home and/or by yourself can be great, but riding with a group is a different dynamic. In addition to learning from, challenging, and encouraging each other, there is also the enjoyment of just hanging out socially with people who share a common interest. When I first started riding with them, there were usually 3-4 of us each time.
Critical Mass
Over a period of months I had been telling everyone who would listen about my new trials biking obsession. I discovered that one of my colleagues at work, who is also an avid mountain biker, used to ride trials when he was in high school. Through my posts on the company’s employee discussion forums, I also received a couple of additional responses – one person who rides mountain bikes and wanted to learn trials and another who used to ride trials in high school (also a mountain biker). It certainly wasn’t a flood of replies, but at least I was starting to develop a network of people interested in trials biking. For months I would chat with these guys about biking in general as well as trials specifically. I invited them to join us on the weekly group rides, which still of only consisted of 3-4 of us during a given week. Eventually all three of the people from work participated in the group rides; two bought trials bikes (again) and now are active riders in our group.
Interestingly, I was also contacted by a couple other guys who found me in a Facebook group for trials bikers (our ‘ring leader’ is the administrator of one group, Northeast Bike Trials). I invited them to join our weekly group rides as well. One lives a bit far away for weekly rides, but the other is fairly local and is now a regular with the group. Other riders began to trickle into the group as well – some coming and going, others still active. Once a group hits ‘critical mass’, it’s easier to sustain its size or continue growing. Additionally, most of the folks in the group also ride mountain bikes frequently (I’m the exception, at least for now…), so now there is a larger group of folks who gather to go mountain biking as well.
Now that our local band of trials riders has grown, we have riders at pretty much every level from novice to pro. We have a number of different locations that we ride with a variety of obstacles and lines to support all skill levels. Weekly group rides now continue throughout the entire year, including winter – as long as the snow and ice is clear enough. While for some weeks only 3-4 riders show up, we also frequently have weeks with 5-10 riders (that’s me wearing the green plaid shirt in the Instagram post below).
Trials riding in the US apparently peaked and waned well before I even discovered it, so there aren’t many of us. Obviously, that also makes it more challenging to find other trials riders. It also makes what we have in our local community so much more special. Given how relatively ‘rare’ trials riders are and how difficult trials riding is, being part of this group provides a strong sense of belonging.
Every week I look forward to the group ride. There is a routine on riding day: riders trickle in, greet each other with a little banter, prepare our bikes, warm up a little bit, ride together, then stow our bikes, and finally hang out and chat for a while over a beer before heading our separate ways. During the rides, we often pick ‘challenges’ that some or all of the riders repeatedly attempt. Other times, we each pick our own lines to challenge ourselves. We rib each other at times (light-heartedly, all in fun), but we also encourage each other constantly. We even coach each other on how to learn new moves. It’s an extremely inclusive and positive culture.
Keys To Success
While I’m still a beginner, I’m now in my fifth year of trials biking (already?!?). My journey started with a search to find any other trials riders, but is now shared with a decent-sized group of fellow trials enthusiasts. It certainly didn’t happen overnight, and I only played a small part in growing the group. I believe there are a few critical factors that have contributed to the growth of our local community:
- Having a charismatic ‘ring leader’ who steps up to build and maintain an email list, run an online community, and organize events, including the weekly rides (this role is crucial!)
- Fostering a fun, positive, encouraging, inclusive group culture
- Actively seeking people with a shared interest
- Inviting others to join
- Sharing the positive aspects of the group with anyone who is interested
- Adding variety to the events to keep it fresh and interesting
If you have a new interest or hobby, I would strongly encourage you to join or start a community of people who share your passion. Even if takes a while to find or develop a group, persevere and you will be rewarded.